TCU scores late to beat Texas Tech 55-52

Given the way that TCU's visit to Texas Tech had gone all Saturday, you knew it was bound to end with something crazy.

Those premonitions were fulfilled.

Trevone Boykin hit running back Aaron Greene on a four-yard touchdown pass with 23 seconds left and a 55-52 win for the Horned Frogs. But it was no ordinary touchdown pass.

Boykin was looking for Josh Doctson, who tipped the ball into the air. Doctson was in the middle of the end zone and Greene was in the back. Greene dove and caught the ball and dragged his foot for the touchdown.

The touchdown was the game's 10th lead change. And it came on fourth down, as TCU had run the ball on the previous three downs inside the 10-yard-line to force Texas Tech to use its remaining timeouts and run as much time off the clock as possible to miminize the Red Raiders' chances of a game-tying field goal.

Texas Tech's final drive went nowhere until an offside penalty and roughing-the-passer call on what should have been the final play of the game. With an untimed down, Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed a pass underneath and a lateral frenzy began. It came up short, as the Red Raiders were only able to get to the 10-yard-line.

Perhaps even crazier than the touchdown pass was TCU coach Gary Patterson's gamble to rely on his defense in the last five minutes of the game. Facing a fourth down just outside the 50 and trailing 52-48, TCU elected to punt and attempt to pin Texas Tech deep. Given the plethora of points to that point, Patterson seemed to be simply relying on a hunch rather than the evidence presented in the first 55 minutes.

It worked. TCU forced a three-and-out and got the ball back with 3:11 left for its game-winning drive. But it certainly ran counter to the stall strategy that Patterson later utilized. Had TCU not converted the crazy fourth down play, Patterson's late-game strategy would have been severely criticized.

Boykin was targeting Doctson on the final play for good reason. The receiver had a monster game. He finished with 18 catches for 267 yards and three touchdowns (that all came in the first half). Green finished with 28 carries for 162 yards.

And most importantly for the Big 12's College Football Playoff chances, the Horned Frogs are undefeated (sorry, Texas Tech). The battle between TCU and Baylor and maybe Oklahoma is still on for the Big 12 title. Unless Texas Tech upsets Baylor in Week 5, which doesn't seem all that farfetched at this point. But to do so, the Red Raiders may have to score 60.

We're looking forward to seeing if they can. If this game is any indication, the Big 12 is going to be the land of offensive craziness once again.