FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Trevone Boykin threw for 454 yards and five touchdowns and added a highlight scoring run when he ducked out of a sack as third-ranked TCU held on for a 56-37 victory over SMU on Saturday night.
The Horned Frogs (3-0) won their 11th consecutive game, a winning streak second only to the 16 in a row by top-ranked defending national champion Ohio State.
TCU was up 42-17 when Boykin threw a 31-yard TD pass to Kolby Listenbee on the first series after halftime. But SMU, with its own dual-threat quarterback in Matt Davis, scored the next 20 points before Boykin’s 42-yard scoring strike to Josh Doctson with 6:32 left.
Boykin, who finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting last year, completed 21 of 30 passes. His only interception did help the late surge by SMU (1-2), but the senior quarterback made another big throw to Doctson to make sure the Frogs avoided being upset in the Battle for the Iron Skillet.
Doctson had five catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns. Aaron Green ran 21 times for 164 yards with two scores, including a 1-yarder in the final minute.
Davis, who began his college career as a freshman at Texas A&M and never played over Johnny Manziel, was 17-of-31 passing for 330 yards with a touchdown, and ran 17 times for 62 yards and two scores.
Both of Davis’ TD runs came in a 79-second span of the third quarter. He scored on a 4-yarder and added a 1-yard plunge three plays after Horace Richardson intercepted Boykin’s pass.
SMU, playing its first road game for new coach Chad Morris, was within 42-34 when Chad Hedlund kicked a 21-yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter.
After Green was stopped on fourth-and-1 at the TCU 23 on the ensuing possession, Davis scrambled 19 yards and then threw a 42-yard pass to freshman Cortland Sutton, who made a tremendous catch at the 15 between two defenders called for pass interference. The Mustangs then lost yards on three plays in a row before Hedlund made a 32-yard field goal.
The Mustangs opened the season at home with a 56-21 to fifth-ranked Baylor, which last year shared the Big 12 title with TCU. They beat North Texas.
TCU was up 28-10 just before halftime when Boykin had his highlight run, after he was back to pass and suddenly had a defender coming at him. Boykin pulled the ball down, turned his body and ducked while linebacker Nick Horton swiped over his head, then spun back around and took off for a 20-yard touchdown.
When SMU freshman Xavier Jones scored on a 2-yard run just more than 3 minutes into the game, TCU trailed for the first time this season. After freshman KaVontae Turpin turned a short pass into a tying 61-yard TD, Hedlund’s 22-yard field goal put the Mustangs ahead again before the Frogs went ahead to stay on Green’s 1-yard score.
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AP college football website: collegefootball.ap.org