TCU falls 49-29 at Oklahoma State

Why Oklahoma State won: The No. 14 Cowboys routinely got behind the TCU secondary for touchdowns. Sophomore James Washington beat TCU cornerback Nick Orr on touchdown catches of 50 and 74 yards in the second and third quarters after catching a 48-yard touchdown on a play with some apparent communication issues between TCU’s safeties. Washington finished with five catches for 184 yards and the three touchdowns.

Meanwhile, after solidifying a potential Heisman resume over the past month of the season, Trevone Boykin threw four interceptions in the first game of the November gauntlet that includes matchups at Oklahoma and at home against Baylor later this month. Going into the game, the last team to win in both Stillwater and Norman, Okla. in the same season was Colorado in 1995. Boykin went 35-of-57 for 445 yards through the air, one touchdown and the four interceptions. He ran for 73 yards and two more scores.

But injury was added to the insult when wide receiver Josh Doctson, Boykin’s primary target in the passing game, left the game with less than two minutes to play in the first half after sustaining an injury to his left hand. After a catch in the middle of the field, OSU linebacker Jordan Burton came down on Doctson while Doctson was bracing his fall with his left hand planted on the ground. The senior wideout, who held TCU school records for single-season receiving touchdowns (14), receptions (71) and receiving yards (1,250) coming into the game, did not return. Doctson finished his day with six catches for 64 yards before the injury.

Players of the game: Washington’s three big catches make the sophomore wideout for OSU the easy candidate. Mason Rudolph got the primary looks behind center and threw five touchdown passes on 352 yards through the air, completing 16-of-24 passes. His longest was an 82-yarder to wideout Marcel Ateman in the second quarter, on a play in which TCU cornerback Torrance Mosley fell down in coverage. Cowboys linebacker Chad Whitener nabbed two of Boykin’s interceptions and took the second back for a 42-yard return touchdown with 44 seconds left in the game.

TCU running back Shaun Nixon moved to slot receiver duty after Doctson’s injury and finished with nine catches for 146 yards for the Horned Frogs.

Key stat: Despite more than doubling OSU in plays run on offense (110-53) and outgaining the Cowboys 663-456 in yardage, the TCU loss wasn’t as close as the final score. That’s because of Oklahoma State’s four interceptions. With those extra possessions and an average of 8.6 yards per offensive play, OSU made a win over No. 8 TCU look easy.

Records: TCU 8-1, 5-1 Big 12; OSU 9-0, 6-0 Big 12

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 6:43 PM with the headline "TCU falls 49-29 at Oklahoma State."