Game report: No. 13 TCU 23, Kansas 17

First quarter

Key play: TCU return man KaVontae Turpin opened the scoring with a 49-yard punt return for a touchdown, a weaving jaunt that left a pile of would-be tacklers in his wake.

Key stat: KU outgained TCU 71-15 on the ground.

Second quarter

Key play: Kansas running back Taylor Cox rumbled in from 3 yards out, tying the game at 10-10 with 11:29 left in the second quarter.

Key stat: TCU quarterback Trevor Boykin was 5 of 8 passing before leaving the game.

Third quarter

Key play: Kansas safety Fish Smithson kept TCU off the board early in the second half, picking off backup quarterback Bram Kohlhausen at the Jayhawks’ 10-yard line.

Key stat: KU limited TCU to 166 passing yards in three quarters.

Fourth quarter

Key play: Third-string quarterback Foster Sawyer completed just one pass; it was a big one. Sawyer hit Shaun Nixon for a 42-yard touchdown that gave the Frogs a 20-10 lead with 11:51 left in the fourth.

Key stat: KU has lost 38 straight away from home.

Offense

C

Quarterback Ryan Willis is banged up, and there’s not much KU can do in that area. But the Jayhawks still struggled to move the ball on Saturday. The offensive line is patchwork and the running game can be a struggle.

Defense

A

This was Kansas’ best defensive performance of the season — by far. Junior safety Fish Smithson racked up 12 tackles and had an interception. Junior linebacker Marcquis Roberts also had 12 tackles. And sophomore Joe Dineen can be a scrappy presence; he had 11 tackles on the day.

Special teams

C

Junior kicker Matthew Wyman has turned into a do-everything special-teams weapons. Wyman is now handling the punting duties, and he’s acquitted himself well, averaging better than 43 yards per punt on Saturday. His one punt, though, was costly. Wyman drilled a line drive to KaVontae Turpin, who took it to the house in style.

Coaching

B

If Kansas coach David Beaty can inspire this type of effort when the Jayhawks are 0-9, that bodes well for the future. Defensive coordinator Clint Bowen installed the right scheme on Saturday, and the defense missed few assignments. That’s also a positive sign.

Player of the game: TCU running back Aaron Green. On a day where starting quarterback Trevone Boykin went down with an ankle injury, Green carried the offensive load, finishing with a career-high 177 yards rushing in 30 carries. It was his fourth 100-yard rushing day of the season.

Reason to hope: The Jayhawks were 46-point underdogs and nearly took out TCU on its home field. That’s a lot of hope.

Reason to mope: Well, the Jayhawks did not win, and now they will still likely finish 0-12 after finishing with West Virginia and K-State.

Looking ahead: The Jayhawks return home to Memorial Stadium, where they will play host to West Virginia at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Game report: No. 13 TCU 23, Kansas 17."