The Pregame Huddle: Week 6

DALLAS - Last season, Trevone Boykin never attempted more than 36 passes in a game. Through three games in 2014, he's thrown at least 36 passes in every game.

Boykin's eyes lit up when I asked him about the new offense he's been charged with running. In doing so, he revealed the worst-kept secret in football: Quarterbacks love to throw the ball.

"It's a lot more fun throwing the ball around and not running and taking as many shots," Boykin said.

The Frogs' new offense under new coordinators/spread gurus Doug Meacham and Sonny Cumbie is on hyperspeed. TCU averaged just 68.5 plays a game in 2013. This year, that number is up to 83.3.

Boykin ran the ball at least 12 times in each start last season. So far this year, he's run the ball 12 times in a game just once.

Boykin knew more plays and more passes were coming, but many (myself included) thought Matt Joeckel's arrival from Texas A&M would signal the end of Boykin's time as the Frogs' starting quarterback. Boykin won the job in fall camp, and Joeckel's presence has further helped his development. Joeckel ran a similar offense in College Station.

"When the offense works for him besides when he takes off and uses his legs, good things happen for us and good things happen for him," coach Gary Patterson said.

Through three games, Boykin already has eight touchdown passes. He had just three in his five starts a year ago, and threw seven interceptions in that stretch.

He has just one interception in 123 attempts so far this season. His seven picks came on 176 attempts last season.

"We have a million and one things to think about on our side of the ball, especially at my position," Boykin said. "Going through (the offense) in the summer and spring, it made it like second nature."

Like many other spread offenses, Meacham and Cumbie installed the playbook-free system via film sessions with players. Boykin called it "easy" to learn.

"A lot of kids now a days are visual learners, so you can tell them one thing and they'll do another, but if they actually see it, they'll know what to do," Boykin said. "We were locked in and ready to learn this offense because we knew we had something special."

So far, he's been right.  

His success has pushed TCU into the top 25 after a 4-8 season a year ago and Saturday, the toughest stretch of the Frogs' season begins. No. 4 Oklahoma comes to Fort Worth before TCU heads to No. 7 Baylor and hosts No. 21 Oklahoma State in three consecutive weeks. An upset in any of those three games will push the Frogs' equal with last year's win total. Boykin's true comfort level in the offense will be tested against three defenses and defensive lines capable of scrambling an otherwise clear though process.

"I've tried to not put a lot of pressure on him, a lot of high expectations on him. Biggest thing is to run the offense and don't throw it to (the other team)," Patterson said. "Just has to be smart with the football. It doesn't always have to be a great play. Sometimes, good plays turn into great plays. That's what he has to understand."

Boykin likes to say this offense requires him to imagine, to close his eyes and imagine defenses reacting and dropping into various coverages and blitzes coming from any different direction. It requires him to imagine the same looks he sees from defenses in practice and imagine his receivers running their routes and his eyes going through their progressions. Imagine long enough, and the imaginary reps make real-life reps faster.

Thanks to Boykin's play this season, it's not hard to imagine TCU upsetting the Sooners on Saturday.

BAYLOR'S UNSUNG HEROES

Before every season begins, Bryce Petty takes his offensive line out to dinner. Two years ago, even though Nick Florence was the team's starting quarterback, Petty paid for 1,500+ pounds of man to get their fill of Tex-Mex at Chuy's. Last season, it was Olive Garden. This year, with a possible Heisman campaign looming, Petty stepped up his game with a trip for steaks to Texas Roadhouse.

You might not have seen how important Baylor's offensive line has been to its success, but Petty gets a front-row seat. Now, with his line clamoring for a dessert trip and some more of Petty's mom's Cajun-style cooking, Petty's working on fielding the midseason requests.

It'll be a good investment.

Despite playing without Petty for a game and a half, the Bears are averaging 641 yards a game on offense. That's 45 more than any other FBS offense and its 56.8 points per game are 5.6 more than any other FBS team.

Through five weeks, though, Baylor's one of just two teams (New Mexico State) that hasn't given up a sack.

"Pass (protection) has been unbelievable. I haven't gotten touched," Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty told Fox Sports Southwest this week. "They've been great week in and week out. We go as they go."

So far, it's gone pretty good for both parties. The Bears haven't been challenged by an opponent yet, but Saturday's trip to Texas will be the toughest test yet for the 4-0 Bears.

This year's offensive line lost guard Cyril Richardson to the NFL but regained Troy Baker and Spencer Drango. Baker missed all of 2013 with a knee injury and Drango missed the final four games with a back injury. Baylor went 2-2 in those games and narrowly escaped an upset at 4-8 TCU.

"They're starting to play a little more cohesively as a group. I like their attitude,"  coach Art Briles said. "We feel like that part of our football team, on both sides of the ball (offensive and defensive lines), that needs to be a strength."

For now, sharpening that strength means refining a running game that's averaged only 5.1 yards a carry, fourth-most in the Big 12.

"That's something that hasn't been to their standards the past couple weeks," Petty said. "I was happy to see we rushed for six touchdowns and that was good for those guys' confidence."

If Petty and the Bears repeat as Big 12 champs and earn the Bears' quarterback a trip to New York for the Heisman ceremony, it might be time for a road trip to Dallas and a trip to Fogo de Chao.

GOOD REVIEWS FOR NEW TECH DC SMITH

Texas Tech gave up 45 points in a loss to Oklahoma State last Thursday, but coach Kliff Kingsbury came away pleased with the first effort from new defensive coordinator Mike Smith.

"He put our players in position to make plays. We didn't always make them and then their guys did, which is a credit to them, but I thought he brought a good energy and our players were ready and enthusiastic," Kingsbury said. "They gave us the ball back a bunch of times in the first half."

Only one of Oklahoma State's long pass plays came with a receiver running free, well beyond a defender. On the other five, defensive backs either couldn't find the ball, were narrowly outrun or got outplayed with a spectacular catch by Oklahoma State's talented receiving corps.

"Sometimes we could have come down with the ball, but we didn't. I'm still proud of my corners because they were in good position," linebacker Sam Eguavoen told Fox Sports Southwest this week. "As a whole, defensively, I feel like we got 10 times better. Penalties killed us and that's something we'll try to tone down this week."

Off the field, players have appreciated Smith's calm personality and approachable demeanor, a departure from Wallerstedt's often fiery persona.

"He never stresses over anything. We just play like there's nothing to lose," Eguavoen said. "That's just how he's been since I've known him. He's a cool, nice guy. I think we've handled it pretty well. Everybody has good vibes, the coaching staff is relaxed no matter what. It's been good vibes throughout the locker room."

TEXAS IS STILL BEING TEXAS

Baylor's mostly playing coy this week in regards to Texas linebacker Steve Edmond's "trash" talk this spring, but by now, it's getting hard to keep up with the Longhorns' Baylor denigration.

"I mean, they're still Baylor," senior receiver John Harris told reporters Monday. "I mean, just because they started playing better in this era, that's good for them. We are who we are — we're still Texas. ... Baylor has never changed. They are who they are."

Hey, I get it. Texas is still the state's flagship university and its proudest program. I just don't get what Harris is trying to do here. You know Texas' players saw the public reprimand and apology Steve Edmond got, not to mention the punishments Charlie Strong surely handed down internally for running his mouth.

I like trash talk as much as the next guy, but trying to rip an entire program that's in much better shape than yours is just a horrible idea. The most likely outcome is you look completely out of touch and get embarrassed. Even if Texas springs this upset this week, the chances of the Longhorns finishing with a better record than Baylor are minute.

Texas is Texas, but you can bet they're not "Texas" right now. The same's true of Baylor. That's why Texas is the biggest home underdog (16 points) its been in Big 12 history this week. Baylor's won three out of four in the series and is the reigning Big 12 champion.

Texas has finished higher than Baylor in the Big 12 standings just once since the Longhorns played for the national title at the end of the 2009 season.

Texas will surpass Baylor as a program again at some point in the next 100 years, but it ain't happening in the next week. Some thoughts are better left unshared.

KINGSBURY UNFAIRLY DEMONIZED

Speaking of thoughts better left unshared, I'm sure Bob Stoops is loving Baker Mayfield's father calling Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury a "scoundrel."

"The driver and the scoundrel behind all this is Kliff," James Mayfield told The Oklahoman on Monday. "He is so focused or hellbent on punishing Baker."

"All this" is preventing Mayfield from transferring to Oklahoma, receiving a scholarship and playing immediately.

The NCAA ruled against Mayfield's appeal on Monday, echoing an earlier decision by the Big 12. Kingsbury did not release Mayfield to Oklahoma, preventing him from being able to receive a scholarship and costing him a year of eligibility, per Big 12 rules. Kingsbury's only public explanation for why has been "team policy," which is laughable considering who authors "team policy."

I hate it for Mayfield, who was a walk-on a year ago and when Texas Tech finally relented and allowed Oklahoma to offer him a scholarship, the Sooners didn't have any left to give. Convenient.

If Texas Tech didn't deem Mayfield worthy of a scholarship, it shouldn't have any say on where he can transfer and when he can play.

Still, the Kingsbury demonization by Mayfield's father and others is over the top. Is Kingsbury doing the right thing here? No, but plenty of other coaches would do the exact same in his shoes. To claim otherwise is naive at best and disingenuous at worst. No coach wants to willingly sign over the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year to another program in the conference.

The absurd part of all this is that NCAA rules grant schools any say over walk-ons. Scholarship players are one thing: They sign an agreement with the school and the school invests in them. Walk-ons, however, pay to help their respective universities make money.

Kingsbury's decision to block Mayfield doesn't have anything to do with vengeance. It's about not wanting a possible starting quarterback leave your program and help another program in the conference beat you. It's a business decision, not a personal one.

Mayfield deserves to have a scholarship if OU wants to give him one and since he paid his own way last season, he deserved to be eligible in 2014. Chalk it up to another in a long list of examples of the NCAA's unfairness.

Just don't suggest that Kingsbury is any different than many of his college coaching peers.

GUNDY LOVES GARMAN'S DEEP BALL

Daxx Garman only needed 17 completions to rack up 370 passing yards in Thursday's 45-35 win over Texas Tech and completed six passes longer than 30 yards, the most of any FBS quarterback in a conference game this year.

Despite playing fewer than three full games, Garman's 12 completions longer than 30 yards are just two fewer than the national leader, Texas A&M's Kenny Hill, who has played five games. If you think Garman's forcing it down the field, think again.

"Most of his throws down the field were good decisions, and he has an ability to throw the deep ball very accurate," Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said, "so it's important for us to take advantage of what his strengths are at this time."

Garman's got a fantastic receiving corps to find down the field with Marcell Ateman, Jhajuan Seales, Brandon Sheperd and Tyreek Hill, who have all shown an ability to make plays in 1-on-1 coverage (or double coverage). Don't look for Garman's tendency to chuck it change.

"I think the players, the fans, people that watch college football like to see an exciting style of offense. People like to see the ball thrown down the field and we've always tried to be exciting here," Gundy said. "We want to win games and be successful on offense, but if we have availability to throw the ball down the field, we're going to take advantage of it and let it go."  

WHAT BOWEN HAS THAT WEIS AND GILL DIDN'T

In my interactions with Turner Gill and Charlie Weis, I never doubted their love for coaching football.

I also never got a sense that either possessed much depth in their love for the University of Kansas.

Both Gill and Weis were more accomplished than interim coach Clint Bowen and as Kansas coaches. Both Gill and Weis accomplished exactly nothing.

The Jayhawks cannot possibly get worse, and the next eight games will be fascinating to watch.

"Anyone that would consider this a stepping stone job is an idiot," Bowen told reporters today. "This is a destination job. I've heard people say that before and I always defend it. Anyone that knows anything about Kansas, talking to coaches in this business, people understand that this is a sleeping giant of a program."

The cynical among us may chuckle at the word "destination job" and "sleeping giant" thrown around regarding Kansas. You won't hear many people say things like that and you'll find even fewer coaches willing to say it. Pardon me if I think it's an advantage for Kansas to have a head coach use those terms and do so in earnest because of his love for the school.

The next eight games will be an audition for Bowen, but a guy like him just might be good for the program. As someone who played at Kansas under Glen Mason and coached there on Mark Mangino's staff, there's no doubting his roots and love for the school. That's all flowery and good, but the more important thing is he understands its advantages and disadvantages much more intimately than any coach Kansas might consider to take this job.

Would that pay off long-term? Bowen will have to win a few games to find out. Kansas needs to hire an offensive-minded coach who can develop quarterbacks, install a productive spread offense without top-tier talent and knows the Big 12.

That theoretical guy, though, would almost certainly view Kansas as a stepping stone job. Stability is sorely needed in Lawrence, and I wonder if KU might just be better off rolling the dice with Bowen. We'll find out just how big of a gamble that would be in the next eight games.

STRONG, GOODELL USING EACH OTHER

Roger Goodell was in Austin over the weekend and Sunday morning, met with Charlie Strong and other members of his staff.

Goodell's bungling of the Ray Rice scandal has prompted plenty of calls for him to resign, but to this point, those calls have gone unanswered. The NFL is rewriting its personal conduct policy, but why would Goodell need to meet with Strong?

My gut tells me Goodell doesn't really need someone to tell him, "Yeah, it's really not good to hit a woman."

Austin is home to a domestic violence hotline, but it's home to Strong as well After kicking nine players off the team in the last few months, Strong has developed a reputation as college football's biggest no-nonsense disciplinarian, though part of the dismissals are ridding his team of attitudes he doesn't want to coach.

Zero of the players who were kicked off the team were removed for a domestic violence issue, though two were dismissed after being charged with sexual assault.

"I said to him, what is happening in the NFL is we're sending you some players that have questionable character, and I said you're giving them a lot of money. "You give somebody who has bad character a lot of money, that's a situation probably you want to avoid," Strong told reporters on Monday. "We have to do a better job in college of just preparing young men and doing a better job with their character."

Goodell's entire trip to Austin smells like a man hoping to rehabilitate his public image with public gestures that don't have a lot to do with real change. Strong is a smart man with solid core values, but they're short of anything revolutionary.

Goodell is looking to associate with a guy who won't put wins above the integrity of his team, and in exchange, Strong gets to go on the recruiting trail and tell parents the NFL commissioner came to him to talk about character and developing young men.

That's a bigger win for Strong than it is for Goodell.

POWER RANKINGS

The family-driven, NBC dramedy "Parenthood" premiered its final season last Thursday. I wish you'd all watch it, because if you did, we might have more seasons to watch. I know fellow Fox Sports Southwester Matt Mosley is a fan, but if you're not, you're missing out. Like showrunner Jason Katims' other masterpiece of a show, "Friday Night Lights," Parenthood is meeting an all-too-soon death.

The best characters, in order of people I would like to hang out with for an afternoon:

1. Adam
2. Joel
3. Amber
4. Zeek
5. Crosby
6. Sarah
7. Kristina
8. Camille
9. Drew
10. Julia
11. Max
12. Jabbar
13. Jasmine
14. Victor
15. Haddie
16. Aida
17. Sydney