TCU Beats Gophers 30-7
September 13, 2014

Minnesota coach Jerry Kill wasn’t shy about his opposition to playing the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs, and the outcome of the game showed why. TCU had no trouble handling the Gophers, beating them 30-7 in Fort Worth.

Kill’s first game as head coach in 2011 was against the University of Southern California. Even though the Gophers were competitive in that game, losing by only two points, Kill has made it clear he wanted no more nonconference games against teams from power conferences. TCU, a member of the Big 12, is one of those teams.

Minnesota’s offense did little against the Frogs, starting from the opening possession. “When you’re big and you can run, it gives you a pretty good chance to do well on offense,” Kill said. His quarterback, Mitch Leidner, had injured his knee a week before and played with a brace on it against the Frogs, but Kill said the TCU defense had more to do with the offensive troubles than a hobbled knee. “They put pressure on even without blitzing.”

The speed of the TCU offense also posed problems. Minnesota has played all three of its games against teams with no-huddle offenses, and the Frogs in particular operated at a rapid pace. Kill once had to call a time out in a red-zone situation to get enough defensive players on the field. “It’s hard to keep up,” he said of how quickly TCU ran its plays. “We’re not the first team to get caught that way.”

TCU seemed in control from the time that Cameron Echols-Luper returned a Peter Mortell punt 36 yards to the 18. Three plays later Trevone Boykin lifted a pass toward the right corner of the end zone that Josh Doctson pulled in. Early in the second quarter Doctson pulled in a second scoring pass in the same spot of the end zone, this time corralling the ball with one hand.

TCU led 24-0 at halftime, added two field goals in the third quarter, and the Gophers finally got on the board in the final period on a 12-yard pass from Chris Streveler to tight-end Maxx Williams. Streveler had entered the game after Leidner was shaken up on the play.

“We played hard,” said Kill, “but we turned the ball over a lot and put our defense in bad situations.”

Doctson’s second quarter touchdown came after an interception, one of three thrown by Leidner. The Gophers turned over the ball two other times on fumbles.

TCU outgained Minnesota 427 to 268 in yards from scrimmage. Boykin complete 27 of 46 passes for 258 yards. He passed for two touchdowns and threw one interception. Boykin was also the Horned Frogs’ leading rusher, carrying the ball 12 times for 96 yards.

Leidner was 12 for 26 for 151 yards, and Streveler completed two of three passes for 18 yards. On the ground, David Cobb had 41 yards on 15 carries while Streveler was the Gophers second-leading rusher with 33 yards on 7 carries.

Boykin connected with 10 different receivers, Doctson being his favorite with 6 catches for 64 yards. For Minnesota K. J. Maye had 2 receptions for 65 yards; Maxx Williams and Drew Wolitarsky each caught the ball 3 times, Williams for 26 yards and Wolitarsky for 24.

TCU linebacker Paul Dawson had 15 tackles, including 9 unassisted and 4 for losses.

“It was nothing we didn’t expect,” said Kill of the type of game the Gophers saw from TCU.