MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Jaden Oberkrom kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired to give No. 10 TCU a 31-30 victory over No. 20 West Virginia on Saturday.
The Horned Frogs (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) overcame a 13-point deficit to keep their national championship hopes alive.TCU entered the game No. 7 in the College Football Playoff ranking.
West Virginia (6-3, 4-2) led 27-14 midway through the third quarter, but was held to one first down the rest of the game.
B.J. Catalon had two second-half touchdown runs for TCU, including a 6-yarder with 7:33 left that cut it to 30-28. He finished with 105 yards.
Boykin threw an incomplete pass on fourth down with 3:46 left, but TCU got another chance with 2:07 remaining after West Virginia punted.
With TCU starting for its 24, Trevone Boykin threw 40 yards to Kolby Listenbee to the West Virginia 33. Three running plays advanced the ball to the 24 to set up Oberkrom’s kick.
The Mountaineers (6-3, 4-2) committed five turnovers, all in their own territory, and had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Both offenses struggled in cold, windy conditions, and a rain shower in the second quarter practically brought them to a halt.
TCU played its first game outside the state of Texas this season and the nation’s highest-scoring offense looked nothing like the unit that scored 82 points against Texas Tech a week ago.
Boykin went 12 of 30 for 166 yards and a touchdown after throwing a school-record seven TD passes against Texas Tech. The Horned Frogs had a season-low 389 yards of offense but scored two touchdowns off turnovers in the third quarter.
A snap hit West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett in the leg when he wasn’t looking. TCU’s Mike Tuaua recovered the fumble at the West Virginia 27, and Boykin scored on a 2-yard run to put the Horned Frogs ahead 14-13.
Dreamius Smith’s third carry of the game was a 50-yard run that set up his 5-yard scoring run to put the Mountaineers back on top.
Terrell Chestnut extended the lead to 27-14 when he stripped Josh Doctson after a catch, picked up the loose ball and ran 35 yards for a touchdown.
TCU’s Paul Dawson later intercepted Trickett at the West Virginia 29, and Catalon followed with a 23-yard scoring run.
After West Virginia’s Josh Lambert kicked his third field goal of the game, a 23-yarder to start the fourth quarter, Catalon scored on a 6-yard run to close TCU’s gap to 30-28 midway through the quarter.
Trickett finished 15 of 26 for a season-low 162 yards. He threw two interceptions. Kevin White, West Virginia’s 1,000-yard receiver, was limited to three catches for 28 yards.
