The TCU Horned Frogs made a statement to the College Football Playoff committee that they indeed belonged in the playoffs which begin on Thursday when Florida State battles Oregon at the Rose Bowl and Alabama faces Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.
The Horned Frogs combined their up-tempo offense with a nasty shutdown defense to defeat the Ole Miss Rebels 42-3 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Wednesday afternoon.
The game was never in doubt from the beginning. In fact, the only real drama in the game was if whether the Rebels would be shutout but that became a moot point midway through the fourth quarter when Ole Miss kicked a 27-yard field goal with 7:18 remaining in the game.
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It was a clear sign of things to come when TCU (12-1) scored one minute into the game after Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace was intercepted on the third play of the game. On TCU’s second play from scrimmage, quarterback Trevone Boykin turned and threw a lateral to wide receiver Kolby Listenbee who then threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Green.
Boykin, who many think will be a serious Heisman contender in 2015, completed 22 of 31 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw three interceptions which was about the only thing that went wrong for the team in purple.
Offensively, the Horned Frogs only managed 423 total yards in scoring 42 points. But it was the defense that shined on this day holding the Rebels to a mere 139 yards in total offense while forcing four turnovers which led to 14 points.
Even more incredible was that while TCU turned it over four times, Ole Miss (9-4) could not convert any of those turnovers to points. Rebels quarterback Wallace was 10 for 23 passing for a minuscule 109 yards and three interceptions.
The game was highly anticipated due to TCU’s high-octane offense against Ole Miss’ highly ranked defense. But by the half, the score was already 28-0.
When the game was totally out of hand late in the fourth quarter (the Horned Frogs led 42-0), TCU fans began shouting “We want Bama!”
The TCU Horned Frogs made a statement which will clearly carry over into next season. One thing they learned for sure this season is don’t lose a 21-point lead with 11 minutes remaining in the game to lose like they did to Baylor earlier this year.