No. 20 TCU routs Grambling State
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Casey Pachall threw for 201 yards and three scores on a perfect 9-for-9 passing as No. 20 TCU opened its season with a 56-0 pasting of Grambling State on Saturday at Amon Carter Stadium.
Backup quarterback Trevone Boykin went 8-for-8 through the air for 75 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for 57 yards and a touchdown on five carries for TCU (1-0), which played its inaugural game as a member of the Big 12 Conference.
Waymon James rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown on five carries, while Josh Boyce led the receiving corps with four catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Brandon Carter contributed a touchdown catch.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}David Bush added a receiving score and Deante' Gray returned five punts for 160 yards and a touchdown in his first college game. TCU head coach Gary Patterson earned his 110th victory, becoming the program's all-time winningest coach.
"I guess if you were going to script a first ball game, this is the way we would do it." Patterson said. "We got a chance to play a lot of players. The one thing we have to work on is organization, especially with the No. 2 offense. We had to call some timeouts, but other than that it was what you wanted to start off with."
D.J. Williams completed just three passes for 14 yards and an interception and Cedric Skinner led the rushing attack for Grambling State (0-2) with 25 yards on eight carries.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}TCU came flying out of the gate in the opening quarter, scoring 28 points to take control of the game early.
The Horned Frogs opened the scoring when Gray returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown, and they picked up their first offensive touchdown of the game on their opening possession, using a nice balance of run and pass plays to march 75 yards in seven plays before James punched it in from one yard out for a 14-0 lead.
It took just one play for TCU to find the end zone again as Williams was picked off on the first play of Grambling's ensuing touch by Elisha Olabode, who took it 28 yards for the score.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}With just over five minutes left in the first frame, Pachall hit Carter with a 21-yard touchdown strike to finish off a quick 2-play, 67-yard drive and a dominant first quarter.
The Horned Frogs kept their offensive momentum going in the second quarter as Pachall completed a 12-yard touchdown strike to Boyce early in the frame and connected with Boyce again on their next possession -- this time for a 66-yard touchdown bomb and a 42-0 lead.
Boykin took over at quarterback for TCU to begin the second half and wasted no time making an impact on the game.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Facing a 3rd-and-6 on the Grambling 34, Boykin pulled the ball down in the pocket and took off, showing excellent speed and elusiveness as he darted around potential tacklers for a 34-yard touchdown scamper with just over seven minutes to go in the third.
Boykin found Bush for a 7-yard touchdown strike with a little more than two minutes to go in the quarter to cap the rout.
"With a team like TCU, who's been a strong team for the past 12 years, we tried not to turn the ball over and make mistakes," Grambling State head coach Doug Williams said. "To give up a touchdown on the first punt is certainly not the best way to start out the game, but you have to give TCU credit too because they made plays and it's about what they did and what we didn't do."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
Grambling State punted 11 times and finished with just 70 yards of total offense, while TCU racked up 531 yards of offense ... TCU converted 4-of-6 third down opportunities, while the Tigers managed just three third-down conversions on 14 attempts ... Patterson passed Dutch Meyer on the all-time wins list. Meyer led the Frogs to their only national championship in 1938.