TCU surprises Oklahoma for a big-time Big 12 victory

FORT WORTH — Gary Patterson and No. 25 TCU finally have a big attention-grabbing victory in the Big 12 Conference

The former BCS-busting Horned Frogs sent quite a message in their third Big 12 opener, getting Paul Dawson’s 41-yard interception return for a touchdown and a big fourth-down stop in the fourth quarter Saturday in a 37-33 victory over No. 4 Oklahoma.

“It basically gives us confidence,” dual-threat quarterback Trevone Boykin said. “Knowing that we can play with guys like OU, because a lot of Big 12 championships have gone through there.”

TCU (4-0, 1-0) has won its first four games for fifth time in the last seven years under Patterson, but didn’t have a victory of this magnitude in its first two Big 12 seasons.

The Frogs had won three consecutive Mountain West titles without a league loss, including a 13-0 season in 2010 capped by a Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin. There also was a season-opening victory over then-No. 5 Oklahoma in 2005, before moving to a power conference.

They were 6-12 in Big 12 games the last two seasons, though four of their losses last season were by three points or less. Their two losses to the Sooners in that span were by a combined 10 points.

“With our group last year, they fought and came back. … This group here learned how to fight back,” Patterson said. “We just didn’t have quite enough firepower last year.”

So Patterson hired new co-coordinators to install an up-tempo offense similar to what most other Big 12 teams use.

And while Boykin is flourishing — he had 395 total yards Saturday — the key plays against the Sooners came from the defense that Patterson has overseen since arriving at TCU as defensive coordinator in 1998. He replaced Dennis Franchione as head coach after the 2000 regular season.

TCU provided a jolt but maybe not a fatal blow to Oklahoma’s standing for the new four-team College Football Playoff. The Sooners (41, 1-1) weren’t the only highly ranked team with a loss to start October, with No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Alabama and No. 6 Texas A&M also losing.

“This isn’t the defining moment of our season. There’s a lot of football left,” Sooners quarterback Trevor Knight said. “Who knows what’s down the road. It’s early in the season, a one-loss team can still make it.”

Oklahoma had the ball after the teams had three turnovers in a span of four plays — another interception by Trevor Knight between two fumbles by TCU.

On fourth down from the TCU 22, Samaje Perine was stuffed by linebacker Marcus Mallet for no gain. Officials confirmed on a replay review that Perine, who had 87 yards rushing and three TD runs in the game, was stopped short of a first down.

Dawson’s big pick came with 14:12 left. The former high receiver reached up with both hands to grab the ball and raced untouched to make it 37-31. The Sooners got two points when Jordan Phillips blocked the extra point and Zack Sanchez returned it to the end zone.

“The guy made a heck of a play,” Knight said. “There’s not much you can do about that.”