SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- In the most insane bowl game of the season, No. 11 TCU rallied from a 31-0 halftime deficit to force overtime against No. 15 Oregon and then came up with a little more magic in triple overtime for a 47-41 victory to win the Valero Alamo Bowl. Here’s what we learned:
What the win means for TCU: Now that was special. Gary Patterson’s squad produced the most memorable win of this bowl season by regrouping at halftime and refusing to give up. The Horned Frogs' odds of beating the Ducks without Trevone Boykin and Josh Doctson weren’t great, and pretty much slim-to-none when they took a 31-0 deficit into halftime.
But senior quarterback Bram Kohlhausen ended up being sensational, throwing for 351 yards and scoring four total TDs while guiding the greatest comeback in the Patterson era at TCU. He showed up big in overtime, rushing for the game winner on an improbable option keeper, and his phenomenal defense finally finished the job for him four plays later. The Frogs end up with 11 wins and an awful lot to be proud of after a season that should've been derailed by injuries.
What the loss means for Oregon: Once Vernon Adams Jr. was knocked out of this game, the Ducks were doomed. This was shaping up to be an easy Oregon blowout, but losing Adams late in the second quarter on a head-to-head hit flipped this entire ballgame. The Ducks completely unraveled on defense against Kohlhausen, a guy who'd never started a game at the FBS level, and were clearly gassed in the fourth quarter.
Losing this game should've been impossible, but as we learned multiple times in 2015, these Ducks are a very different team when No. 3 isn't on the field. That was made painfully clear on Saturday night.
The game turned when… Patterson changed shirts at halftime. Well, that didn’t actually change the result, but it certainly didn’t hurt. Patterson switched from a black mock turtleneck to a purple one in the hopes of changing the Frogs’ fortunes. Maybe the changeup brought a little good mojo, but the way his defense rebounded and thrived against Oregon backup quarterback Jeff Lockie probably had more to do with this game flipping the way it did. Another early, important turning point: TCU freshman Arico Evans forced a fumble on a kickoff when down 31-10, setting TCU up for an easy score that helped build momentum.
Stat of the game: The yardage margins in this game were ridiculous. In the first half, Oregon outgained TCU 376-142 and was picking up a healthy 7.2 yards per play. In the second half, it was the complete opposite. TCU produced 356 total yards on 7 yards per play. Oregon ended up with 18 yards on 18 plays. Yes, 18 plays in an entire half of football. Each half was absolutely one-sided.