Yahoo - No. 2 TCU: Can Trevone Boykin and the Horned Frogs live up to the hype? (Dr.

[Jenni Carlson]

Dr. Saturday will unveil its preseason Top 25 team-by-team during the next 25 days. This list is based on returning starters, schedule and prospects. However, we all know that once the games begin, things can change very quickly. Still, we thought we’d give our best guess heading into the 2015 season. No. 2 TCU 2014 record: *12-1, 8-1 in the Big 12 Returning starters:* 10 offense, 5 defense [ Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football: Sign up and join a league today! ] 2015 Outlook:* Following a 12-1 2014 campaign that culminated with a thorough 42-3 beatdown of Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl, the hype for TCU is as high as it’s ever been. And rightfully so. The Horned Frogs return the majority of last season’s Big 12 co-champions on offense, led by quarterback Trevone Boykin – a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite. Boykin is a dynamic talent. He spent time as a wide receiver and running back before officially grabbing hold of the starting quarterback role last season. And all he did as a junior was throw for 3,901 yards and 33 touchdowns while running for 707 yards and eight more scores. Now Boykin is back for his senior season to run the show for what may be Gary Patterson’s most talented squad in his 15 years at the helm. Nearly everyone on offense is back, including speedy running back Aaron Green (7.1 yards/carry) and a deep group of receivers led by seniors Josh Doctson (65 catches, 1,018 yards, 11 TDs) and Koby Listenbee (41 catches, 753 yards, 4 TDs). On top of that, four linemen with a combined 74 starts return up front – so an offense that averaged 46.5 points per game should pick up right where it left off in 2014. The defense, on the other hand, could be a different story. The Horned Frogs’ top three linebackers – Paul Dawson, Marcus Mallet and Jonathan Anderson – are all gone. As are Chris Hackett, Kevin White and Sam Carter in the secondary and tackle Chucky Hunter. That is a whole lot of lost production (398 tackles, 53.5 TFL, and 18 INT combined) on a defense that also lost its long-time defensive coordinator, Dick Bumpas to retirement. Derrick Kindred is back at safety and so are three starting defensive linemen, so new co-defensive coordinators Chad Glasgow (safeties coach) and DeMontie Cross (linebackers coach) have some returning firepower to work with. But with all that turnover, TCU will rely on simply outscoring teams in order to string together wins and compensate for a defense that could show signs of inconsistency. With a ranking as high as No. 2, it’s pretty clear that we think the Horned Frogs are up to the task, especially against a Big 12 schedule that is not exactly daunting.*A season opener at Minnesota should present a decent test, but the Horned Frogs look like significant favorites in almost every game (though traveling to Kansas State shouldn’t be overlooked) until two late November road games at Oklahoma and at Baylor. The Sooners (No. 19 in our Top 25) at Memorial Stadium are always a tough test, especially with a much-anticipated rematch with Baylor (No. 5 in our Top 25) looming.*Baylor was TCU’s lone loss in 2014 and the Nov. 27 rematch could decide the Big 12 and the College Football Playoff fate of both teams. Player to watch: Aaron Green, RB B.J. Catalon was TCU's primary back early on in the 2014 season, but Green moved into the top spot after a Catalon injury and proved to be a better option for the Horned Frogs. He averaged 7.1 yards per carry and finished the year with 922 yards and nine touchdowns, most of which came in season's final group of games.* Green rushed for more than 100 yards in four of the team's final six games, including a 175-yard outburst against Kansas State. Now he's ready to be unleashed as the team's every-down back to form a feared backfield duo with Boykin.* Green also proved his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield in 2014. He caught just four passes in 2013, but that total jumped to 19 catches for 166 yards and two scores last season, including a 31-yarder in the first minute of the Peach Bowl. Breakout player: Ranthony Texada, CB Gary Patterson took a risk by immediately placing Texada into the starting lineup in 2014 after redshirting his first season on campus, but the risk paid off. Texada had a solid year while starting all 13 games as the Horned Frogs' No. 2 corner opposite Kevin White. He didn't register an interception until the final week of the regular season, but had 31 tackles and was second on the team with seven pass break-ups. Now White is gone, and the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Texada will be tasked with covering the top wideouts in the Big 12 on a weekly basis.* Texada is still young, but he'll need to play like an upperclassmen in 2015 Miss one of our Top 25? No. 3 Alabama, * No. 4 USC, No. 5 Baylor,* No. 6 Auburn, * No. 7 Michigan State, * No. 8 Florida State, * No. 9 Clemson ,* No. 10 Oregon, * No. 11 Georgia, * No. 12 Notre Dame, * No. 13 UCLA, * No. 14 LSU ,* No. 15 Georgia Tech ,* No. 16 Arkansas ,* No. 17 Ole Miss ,* No. 18 Arizona State ,* No. 19 Oklahoma ,* No. 20 Arizona ,* No. 21 Tennessee ,* No. 22 Missouri ,* No. 23 Stanford ,* No. 24 Boise State ,* No. 25 Wisconsin . For more TCU news, visit PurpleMenace.com . - - - - - - - Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter! Follow @SamDCooper

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