TCU defends the belt, 23–17, on the road at Minnesota.
AP poll, week 1: TCU No. 2 at Minnesota unranked · No. 1 that week: Georgia. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
TCU came in 306 days into reign #291, which began with a win over West Virginia, with 5 defenses already behind it; this was its 6th defense. TCU went on to defend it 7 more times before Oklahoma State took it on November 7, 2015, 371 days after the reign began.
For Minnesota this was its 12th shot at the belt; it had held the belt once before.
This is the only time Minnesota and TCU have met with the belt on the line.
Recap
TCU's defense and special teams dominated early as the Horned Frogs built a 17-3 lead by halftime, with Trevone Boykin connecting with Josh Doctson for a touchdown in the first quarter and Jaden Oberkrom providing reliable kicking. Minnesota kept it close through the third quarter with a Rodney Smith rushing touchdown, but couldn't overcome TCU's balanced attack led by Boykin, who added a rushing touchdown and consistently moved the offense down the field. The Gophers' late rally, capped by a Mitch Leidner-to-KJ Maye touchdown pass with 1:32 remaining, fell just short as TCU held on to preserve the belt.
- Boykin to Doctson TD (Q1 5:46) - TCU's early offensive strike set the tone and helped build the decisive lead
- Boykin rushing TD (Q3 12:03) - Extended TCU's advantage to 20-3 and proved the Frogs could move the ball on the ground
- Rodney Smith rushing TD (Q3 3:44) - Minnesota's response kept them in contention but came too late
- Oberkrom 33-yd FG (Q4 7:33) - TCU's final score that proved to be the game-winner against Minnesota's late push
Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.
Team stats
CFBD box scoreFull team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.
Key plays
CFBD play-by-play| When | Team | Yards | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 6:58 | TCU | +53 yd | Jaden Oberkrom 53 yd FG GOOD |
| Q1 5:46 | TCU | +11 yd | Trevone Boykin pass complete to Josh Doctson for 11 yds for a TD, (Jaden Oberkrom KICK) |
| Q1 5:46 | TCU | +20 yd | Jaden Oberkrom kickoff for 65 yds , Jalen Myrick return for 20 yds to the Minn 20 |
| Q1 1:10 | Minnesota | +36 yd | Peter Mortell punt for 31 yds, fair catch by KaVontae Turpin at the Minn 44 TCU Penalty, Delay of Game (KaVontae Turpin) to the Minn 49 |
| Q2 13:05 | TCU | -1 yd | Aaron Green run for 1 yard to the Minn 11 Aaron Green fumbled, forced by Eric Murray, recovered by Minn Antonio Johnson at Minn 13 |
| Q2 8:28 | Minnesota | +6 yd | Rodrick Williams Jr run for 6 yds Rodrick Williams Jr fumbled, forced by Derrick Kindred, recovered by TCU Nick Orr in endzone for touchback |
| Q2 9:35 | Minnesota | +36 yd | Mitch Leidner pass complete to KJ Maye for 36 yds to the TCU 24 for a 1ST down |
| Q2 5:22 | Minnesota | +42 yd | Ryan Santoso 42 yd FG GOOD |
| Q2 0:23 | TCU | +29 yd | Jaden Oberkrom 29 yd FG MISSED |
| Q3 15:00 | Minnesota | +24 yd | Ryan Santoso kickoff for 65 yds , Kolby Listenbee return for 24 yds to the TCU 24 |
| Q3 14:05 | TCU | +26 yd | Trevone Boykin pass complete to Desmon White for 26 yds to the Minn 38 for a 1ST down |
| Q3 12:03 | TCU | +19 yd | Trevone Boykin run for 19 yds for a TD, (Jaden Oberkrom KICK) |
| Q3 8:56 | TCU | -5 yd | Trevone Boykin pass intercepted Eric Murray return for 5 yds to the Minn 23 |
| Q3 7:45 | Minnesota | +30 yd | Mitch Leidner pass complete to Drew Wolitarsky for 30 yds to the TCU 42 for a 1ST down |
| Q3 3:44 | Minnesota | +1 yd | Rodney Smith run for 1 yd for a TD, (Ryan Santoso KICK) |
| Q3 2:59 | TCU | +26 yd | Trevone Boykin pass complete to Emanuel Porter for 26 yds to the TCU 44 for a 1ST down |
| Q3 0:36 | TCU | +45 yd | Jaden Oberkrom 45 yd FG GOOD |
| Q4 13:30 | TCU | +22 yd | Trevone Boykin pass complete to Desmon White for 22 yds to the Minn 47 for a 1ST down |
| Q4 9:59 | Minnesota | -4 yd | Mitch Leidner sacked by Terrell Lathan for a loss of 4 yards to the Minn 1 Mitch Leidner fumbled, forced by Terrell Lathan, recovered by Minn Brian Bobek , return for 0 yards |
| Q4 7:33 | TCU | +33 yd | Jaden Oberkrom 33 yd FG GOOD |
| Q4 1:32 | Minnesota | +22 yd | Mitch Leidner pass complete to KJ Maye for 22 yds for a TD, (Ryan Santoso KICK) |
Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).
Player stats
CFBD player statsPassing
Minnesota
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitch Leidner | 19/35 | 197 | 5.6 | 1 | 0 | 17.8 |
TCU
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trevone Boykin | 26/42 | 246 | 5.9 | 1 | 1 | 70.1 |
Rushing
Minnesota
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rodney Smith | 16 | 88 | 5.5 | 1 | 15 |
| Rodrick Williams Jr | 9 | 32 | 3.6 | 0 | 8 |
| Mitch Leidner | 12 | 23 | 1.9 | 0 | 6 |
| Chris Streveler | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 |
TCU
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trevone Boykin | 18 | 92 | 5.1 | 1 | 19 |
| Aaron Green | 19 | 88 | 4.6 | 0 | 15 |
| KaVontae Turpin | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 0 | 16 |
| Trevorris Johnson | 3 | 4 | 1.3 | 0 | 4 |
| Shaun Nixon | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 4 |
Receiving
Minnesota
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K.J. Maye | 4 | 73 | 18.3 | 1 | 36 |
| Drew Wolitarsky | 3 | 47 | 15.7 | 0 | 30 |
| Eric Carter | 4 | 25 | 6.3 | 0 | 16 |
| Brandon Lingen | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 0 | 16 |
| Rodrick Williams Jr | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 0 | 7 |
| Rashad Still | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 0 | 10 |
| Nate Wozniak | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 |
| Rodney Smith | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 |
TCU
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Doctson | 8 | 74 | 9.3 | 1 | 14 |
| Desmon White | 5 | 61 | 12.2 | 0 | 26 |
| Shaun Nixon | 5 | 43 | 8.6 | 0 | 14 |
| Emanuel Porter | 2 | 36 | 18.0 | 0 | 26 |
| Ja'Juan Story | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 0 | 9 |
| Kolby Listenbee | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 |
| Ty Slanina | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | 8 |
| KaVontae Turpin | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 3 |
Show more stats (5 more categories)
Interceptions
Minnesota
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Murray | 1 | 5 | 0 |
TCU
No recorded stats in this category.
Kick Returns
Minnesota
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jalen Myrick | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 20 | 0 |
TCU
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kolby Listenbee | 3 | 57 | 19.0 | 24 | 0 |
Kicking
Minnesota
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Santoso | 1/1 | 100.0 | 42 | 2/2 | 5 |
TCU
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaden Oberkrom | 3/4 | 75.0 | 53 | 2/2 | 11 |
Punt Returns
Minnesota
No recorded stats in this category.
TCU
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KaVontae Turpin | 3 | 13 | 4.3 | 8 | 0 |
Punting
Minnesota
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Mortell | 7 | 318 | 45.4 | 0 | 0 | 58 |
TCU
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethan Perry | 6 | 234 | 39.0 | 0 | 0 | 49 |
Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 400763398) · This game in the downloadable dataset