September 3, 2016 Week 1 · Regular Season Belt defended

TCU defends the belt, 59–41, at home over South Dakota State.

Home · Defending Holder

TCUAP No. 13 59

Away · Challenger

South Dakota State 41

AP poll, week 1: South Dakota State unranked at TCU No. 13 · No. 1 that week: Georgia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

TCU came in 281 days into reign #294, which began with a win over Baylor, with one defense already behind it; this was its second defense. It was the last defense: Arkansas took the belt in the very next belt game, on September 10, 2016.

For South Dakota State this was its 2nd shot at the belt; it had never held the belt. It still hasn’t: 2 attempts in all, every one of them a loss or a tie.

This is the only time South Dakota State and TCU have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

TCU's high-powered offense proved too much for South Dakota State in this belt-defending performance, as the Horned Frogs' Kenny Hill orchestrated a relentless aerial attack that generated 439 passing yards. South Dakota State kept pace early, with Isaac Wallace's stunning 87-yard TD run in the second quarter and Taryn Christion's dual-threat attack keeping the Jackrabbits within striking distance through three quarters. However, TCU's superior third-down conversion rate (11-15 vs 6-14) and explosive plays like Jaelan Austin's 60-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter ultimately proved decisive. Despite South Dakota State's valiant effort and late touchdown passes from Christion to Jake Wieneke, TCU's 28-minute time of possession and consistent offensive execution secured the belt with the 59-41 victory.

Isaac Wallace's 87-yard touchdown run in Q2 put South Dakota State up 14-10 and showed the Jackrabbits could challenge TCU's defense
KaVontae Turpin's 81-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in Q2 swung momentum back to TCU and helped the Frogs pull ahead before halftime
Jaelan Austin's 60-yard TD reception in Q3 gave TCU crucial breathing room and exemplified the Frogs' explosive passing game
Two Kenny Hill interceptions to South Dakota State defenses in Q2 kept the Jackrabbits competitive despite TCU's overall offensive dominance

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.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

TCUSouth Dakota State

Total yards662461

Rushing yards223128

Passing yards439333

First downs3523

3rd down conv.11/156/14

Turnovers21

Penalties–yards12–1255–31

Time of possession28:2131:39

Full 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.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 9:16	TCU	+22 yd	Kenny Hill pass complete to Isaiah Graham for 22 yds to the SDkSt 18 for a 1ST down
Q1 8:25	TCU	+15 yd	Kyle Hicks run for 15 yds for a TD, (Ryan Graf KICK)
Q1 6:45	South Dakota State	+23 yd	Taryn Christion pass complete to Jake Wieneke for 23 yds to the TCU 48 for a 1ST down
Q1 1:10	South Dakota State	+25 yd	Chase Vinatieri 25 yd FG GOOD
Q1 2:58	South Dakota State	+28 yd	Taryn Christion pass complete to Dallas Goedert for 28 yds to the TCU 8 for a 1ST down
Q2 13:38	TCU	+0 yd	Kenny Hill pass intercepted Makiah Slade return for no gain to the SDkSt 1
Q1 0:55	TCU	+33 yd	KaVontae Turpin run for 33 yds to the SDkSt 37 for a 1ST down
Q1 0:00	TCU	+21 yd	Kenny Hill pass complete to John Diarse for 21 yds to the SDkSt 4 for a 1ST down
Q2 11:34	South Dakota State	+87 yd	Isaac Wallace run for 87 yds for a TD, (Chase Vinatieri KICK)
Q2 11:24	TCU	-11 yd	Kenny Hill pass intercepted Jordan Brown return for 11 yds to the TCU 27
Q2 9:55	South Dakota State	+12 yd	Taryn Christion run for 12 yds for a TD, (Chase Vinatieri KICK)
Q2 3:19	South Dakota State	+81 yd	Brady Hale punt for 53 yds , KaVontae Turpin returns for 81 yds for a TD, (Ryan Graf KICK)
Q2 2:30	South Dakota State	-16 yd	Taryn Christion run for a loss of 16 yards to the SDkSt 13 Taryn Christion fumbled, forced by Aaron Curry, recovered by TCU Montrel Wilson
Q2 1:37	TCU	+4 yd	Kenny Hill run for 4 yds for a TD, (Ryan Graf KICK)
Q2 1:37	TCU	+27 yd	Cole Bunce kickoff for 55 yds , Brady Mengarelli return for 27 yds to the SDkSt 37
Q2 0:49	South Dakota State	+31 yd	Taryn Christion pass complete to Jake Wieneke for 31 yds for a TD, (Chase Vinatieri KICK)
Q2 0:02	TCU	+32 yd	Ryan Graf 32 yd FG GOOD
Q2 0:39	TCU	+23 yd	Kenny Hill pass complete to Taj Williams for 23 yds to the SDkSt 43 for a 1ST down
Q3 13:20	TCU	+60 yd	Kenny Hill pass complete to Jaelan Austin for 60 yds for a TD, (Ryan Graf KICK)
Q3 9:26	South Dakota State	+16 yd	Taryn Christion pass complete to Dallas Goedert for 16 yds for a TD, (Chase Vinatieri KICK)
Q3 13:13	South Dakota State	+35 yd	Taryn Christion pass complete to Dallas Goedert for 35 yds to the TCU 40 for a 1ST down
Q3 9:18	TCU	+21 yd	Kenny Hill pass complete to Emanuel Porter for 21 yds to the TCU 49 for a 1ST down
Q3 6:40	TCU	+3 yd	Kyle Hicks run for 3 yds for a TD, (Ryan Graf KICK)
Q3 5:28	South Dakota State	-5 yd	Taryn Christion run for a loss of 5 yards to the SDkSt 24 Taryn Christion fumbled, recovered by SDkSt Taryn Christion
Q3 3:53	TCU	+20 yd	Kenny Hill pass complete to Taj Williams for 20 yds to the TCU 49 for a 1ST down
Q3 2:54	TCU	+6 yd	Kenny Hill run for 6 yds for a TD, (Ryan Graf KICK)
Q3 2:54	TCU	+20 yd	Cole Bunce kickoff for 64 yds , Brady Mengarelli return for 20 yds to the SDkSt 21
Q3 0:04	South Dakota State	+34 yd	Taryn Christion pass complete to Jake Wieneke for 34 yds for a TD, (Chase Vinatieri KICK)
Q4 14:26	TCU	+44 yd	Adam Nunez punt for 44 yds , Marquise Lewis returns for a loss of 1 yard to the SDkSt 39
Q3 0:04	South Dakota State	+26 yd	Sam Koob kickoff for 65 yds , Deante Gray return for 26 yds to the TCU 26
Q4 11:57	South Dakota State	+37 yd	Chase Vinatieri 37 yd FG GOOD
Q4 14:17	South Dakota State	+52 yd	Taryn Christion pass complete to Jake Wieneke for 52 yds to the TCU 9 for a 1ST down
Q4 11:57	South Dakota State	+24 yd	Sam Koob kickoff for 64 yds , Kyle Hicks return for 24 yds to the TCU 25 TCU Penalty, Illegal Block (Travin Howard) to the TCU 15
Q4 8:36	TCU	+46 yd	Kenny Hill pass complete to Taj Williams for 46 yds for a TD, (Ryan Graf KICK)
Q4 10:26	TCU	-25 yd	Hicks, Kyle rush for 11 yards to the SODAKOTAST49, PENALTY TCU holding (Collins, Aviante) 25 yards to the TCU15, NO PLAY.
Q4 4:07	TCU	+8 yd	Kenny Hill run for 8 yds for a TD, (Ryan Graf KICK)
Q4 2:02	TCU	+21 yd	Sewo Olonilua run for 21 yds to the SDkSt 17 for a 1ST down

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).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

TCU

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Kenny Hill	33/49	439	9.0	2	2	86.4
Team	0/1	0	0.0	0	0	0.0

South Dakota State

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Taryn Christion	19/30	333	11.1	3	0	0.0
Zach Lujan	0/1	0	0.0	0	0	0.0

Rushing

TCU

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Kyle Hicks	15	59	3.9	2	15
Kenny Hill	7	45	6.4	3	13
KaVontae Turpin	1	33	33.0	0	33
Darius Anderson	4	26	6.5	0	10
Derrick Green	5	25	5.0	0	15
Sewo Olonilua	2	23	11.5	0	21
Deante Gray	1	8	8.0	0	8
Trevorris Johnson	2	4	2.0	0	3

South Dakota State

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Isaac Wallace	7	112	16.0	1	87
Brady Mengarelli	10	47	4.7	0	18
Team	1	-1	-1.0	0	0
Taryn Christion	16	-30	-1.9	1	12

Receiving

TCU

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Taj Williams	11	158	14.4	1	46
Jaelan Austin	2	64	32.0	1	60
KaVontae Turpin	7	62	8.9	0	18
Kyle Hicks	4	37	9.3	0	15
John Diarse	2	36	18.0	0	21
Emanuel Porter	2	24	12.0	0	21
Desmon White	2	24	12.0	0	16
Isaiah Graham	1	22	22.0	0	22
Ty Slanina	2	12	6.0	0	6

South Dakota State

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Jake Wieneke	8	196	24.5	2	52
Dallas Goedert	5	96	19.2	1	35
Connor Landberg	2	15	7.5	0	9
Isaac Wallace	1	12	12.0	0	12
Adam Anderson	1	7	7.0	0	7
Brady Mengarelli	2	7	3.5	0	4

Show more stats (7 more categories)

Defense

TCU

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HUR	TD
Travin Howard	10	4	0	0	0	0	0
Ranthony Texada	6	5	0	0	0	0	0
Montrel Wilson	6	3	0	0	0	0	0
Jeff Gladney	6	3	0	0	0	0	0
Niko Small	5	4	0	0	0	0	0
Aaron Curry	5	3	1.5	2.5	0	0	0
James McFarland	5	2	1	1	0	0	0
Denzel Johnson	5	2	0.5	1.5	1	0	0
Nick Orr	5	0	0	0	1	0	0
Chris Bradley	4	2	1	1	0	0	0
Michael Downing Jr.	3	3	0	0	0	0	0
Deante Gray	3	2	0	0	0	0	0
Joseph Broadnax Jr.	3	1	0	0	0	0	0
Ty Slanina	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Sammy Douglas	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Arico Evans	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
John Diarse	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
L.J. Collier	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Josh Carraway	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
KaVontae Turpin	0	0	0	0	0	0	1

South Dakota State

Player	TOT	SOLO	TFL	PD	QB HUR
Anthony Washington	11	8	0	0	0
Jesse Bobbit	8	6	0	0	0
Nick Farina	8	5	0	0	0
Christian Rozeboom	8	3	0	0	0
Makiah Slade	6	3	0	0	0
Jared Blum	5	3	0	0	2
Cody Hazelett	4	4	0	0	0
Kellen Soulek	4	3	1	0	0
Dalton Cox	4	2	0	0	0
Christian Banasiak	3	3	0	0	0
Zy Mosley	3	3	0	2	0
Austin Smenda	3	2	0	0	0
Chris Balster	3	1	0	0	0
Alex Romenesko	3	1	0	0	0
Larenzo Williams	2	1	0	0	0
Connor Landberg	1	1	0	0	0
Dallas Brown	1	0	0	1	0
Cole Langer	1	0	0	0	0
Jake Harms	1	0	0	0	0
Blake Whitsell	1	0	0	0	0
Mikey Daniel	1	0	0	0	0
Matt Fry	0	0	0	0	1
Ryan Earith	0	0	0	1	0

Fumbles

TCU

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Montrel Wilson	0	0	1

South Dakota State

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Taryn Christion	2	1	0

Interceptions

TCU

No recorded stats in this category.

South Dakota State

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Jordan Brown	1	11	0
Makiah Slade	1	0	0

Kick Returns

TCU

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
Deante Gray	2	34	17.0	26
Kyle Hicks	1	24	24.0	24
Cole Hunt	1	6	6.0	6

South Dakota State

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Brady Mengarelli	4	81	20.3	27	0
Jordan Brown	2	25	12.5	19	0

Kicking

TCU

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Ryan Graf	1/1	100.0	32	8/8	11

South Dakota State

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Chase Vinatieri	2/2	100.0	37	5/5	11

Punt Returns

TCU

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
KaVontae Turpin	2	82	41.0	81	1
Desmon White	1	10	10.0	10	0

South Dakota State

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Marquise Lewis	2	7	3.5	8	0

Punting

TCU

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Adam Nunez	3	126	42.0	0	0	44

South Dakota State

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Brady Hale	6	271	45.2	0	0	53

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 400869624) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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