Frank Lorenzo
(4) TCU Horned Frogs (-24, 57.5 o/u) at Kansas Jayhawks
In the latest College Football Playoff rankings, the TCU Horned Frogs snuck into the all-important top-four. In order to stay there, the Frogs will need an impressive victory over the Kansas Jayhawks this Saturday at Memorial Stadium, in Lawrence (3 p.m. Eastern).
TCU is 8-1 on the season and recorded arguably their best win of the year last weekend, pounding then-No. 7 Kansas State 41-20 and crushing the six-point spread in the process.
“A win is a win, and that’s pretty much how it goes,” said quarterback Trevone Boykin,.”We have to grind, and we can’t look past anybody or take anything for granted. We have to come out with everybody. It’s nothing new for us.” The Heisman-candidate QB got the job done with both his arm and his legs last weekend, running for 123 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 219 yards and one score through the air.
Kansas is 3-6 on the season and 1-5 in the Big 12, but did manage to beat Iowa State last week, 34-14, snapping a five-game losing streak. With the win, the Jayhawks edged above the Cyclones (2-7, 0-6 Big 12) in the conference standings.
“We talked about going out and playing the game and doing special things, and our players did special things today,” coach Clint Bowen said after the win. “We are starting to develop a good little system in the way we operate, and I think it just gives the guys some belief that what we’re doing is putting us on the right path.”
While the Jayhawks did look improved against Iowa State, they have been struggling on both sides of the ball all year, averaging just 18.2 points per game (122nd in the nation) while surrendering 30.0 (89th in the nation). Recognizing the Jayhawks’ woes, the Horned Frogs are 24-point favorites. However, the Frogs are just 1-4 ATS in their last five games against Kansas.
(Photo credit: GoIowaState.com (flickr), “Iowa State Kansas Football” [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped from original.)
