The TCU football team beat Grambling State 56-0 Saturday night at Amon G. Carter Stadium. With the win, TCU coach Gary Patterson now holds the school record for wins with 110, passing Dutch Meyer.
Here are a few highlights from the game:
Welcome to the show. True freshman Deante’ Gray began his college career with a splash, returning a Grambling State punt 70 yards for a touchdown with 13:01 left in the first quarter. GSU had gone three and out on its first possession. Gray fielded the ball around the TCU 20-yard-line near the Frogs’ sideline, started out retreating a bit then found a few creases and reverted his path toward the southeast corner of the field into the endzone.
Gray didn’t stop there. He had four more returns and finished with 165 return yards, a single game school record.
Pachall perfect. Hard to get much better than Casey Pachall was tonight. The junior quarterback completed 9-of-9 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns while only playing the first half. Best part of his performance, for TCU, was the crispness of his passes. Looked like he was in midseason form, which always a good thing in the season opener.
Boyce has big first half. Junior receiver Josh Boyce had a big first half, too, catching four passes for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His second score was a short screen pass from Pachall, which he took 66 yards from one side of the field to the other for the touchdown.
Strong showing by students. Every seat in the student section was full at the start of the game, and it even looked like some students were spilling over into the Grambling State section. With those seats so close to the field, all the way across the bottom portion of the east side, TCU should have a decent home field advantage the rest of the season.
Boykin scores on electric run. Redshirt freshman quarterback Trevone Boykin started the second half Saturday night and showed off his mobility. With 7:15 left in the third quarter, and the Frogs facing third down and six on the GSU 34, Boykin scrambled out of the pocket, weaved his way in and out of defenders and eventually found the endzone for a score, his first career touchdown. Boykin won the backup role last month.
More records. Pachall and Boykin combined to go 17-for-17 passing, setting an FBS record previously held by Iowa. The Hawkeyes' quarterbacks went 12-for-12 in a 2002 game.
Grand entry. Not only did a jet flyover accompany the national anthem Saturday night, but the game ball was delivered via jetpack. That’s right, a man on a jetpack hovered in over the north end zone seats, circled around the west side of the field and landed just east of the TCU logo at midfield.
Grambling band a hit. Despite TCU’s 42-0 lead at halftime, nearly every Frog fan stayed in their seats to watch the Grambling State band.
