Texas Christian Offensive Preview: One Person Can Ruin It All

There is no better barometer for how bad a team's season may be going, than by how they perform against KU. With five fumbles and two interceptions, It is obvious the TCU Horned Frogs have an issue with protecting the football. The catalyst being Trevone Boykin. He was covered in the "Bye Week Musings" last week, and although on paper, the game against the Jayhawks should have been a tune up game, Boykin was a huge aspect of the team's struggles. The very first play of the game Boykin threw an interception. That was the tone setter for a sloppy performance. Without Casey Pachall, TCU cannot function offensively if they turn the ball over at all. With a defense like OSU's where takeaways are paramount, Glenn Spencer's unit could and should have a field day.

Believe it or not though, there is still a way that Boykin can lead his teams to victory (by some act of God). In games that TCU has won this season (besides KU), the Horned Frogs passed for over 200 yards, zero interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 150 or more. So basically a perfect game. One of those was against SE Louisiana where Pachall and Boykin split the stats. This was also the game that put Pachall on the shelf again. The other came against SMU with Boykin handling the show. I would put Kansas on par, if not lower than SMU.

This game screams trap game, even though it is being played within the confines of Boone Pickens Stadium. With the 11 a.m. kickoff, the Cowboys need to be ready and not sleepwalk into this one, like they did in Morgantown. Hopefully students will be the only ones that are groggy entering the stadium. If the Cowboys don't come out with their "A" game, they may end up like TCU did last week struggling to a much inferior team. Maybe even worse. Losing.

Brandon Carter will be the key to the offense. If Boykin can find a way to get him the ball (there are several), then that adds a dimension to the team that has not been evident in their losses. Carter also is a weapon in the special teams game. In the last few weeks, especially against West Virginia, special teams was an incredibly weak spot for the team.When Carter averages over 20 yards a return on punt returns, the Frogs have come away with wins. Carter's open field ability can hurt the Cowboys if tackling one-on-one becomes an issue. If the Cowboys are sound fundamentally on defense (it may not be exciting though), then the Frogs will commit their mistakes that they have made themselves known for this season.

Three main guys can keep Carter from being a factor next Saturday. Kip Smith, Justin Gilbert, and Trevone Boykin. Yes, there is a pattern here. Trevone Boykin. If he doesn't play perfectly, TCU offense goes down the tubes and really for the most part the entire team does. The defense can't get off the field and the offense can't stay on.

A stat that will encourage fans, is that the Cowboys have won five of its last six homecoming games and has a .577 winning percentage in all homecoming games.