1. Page-turner

The 2015 season may be causing a few grey hairs, but the continuing drama makes the highs so much sweeter. After a first quarter in which Iowa State gashed TCU’s defense up the middle and Cyclone quarterback Sam Richardson launched a brief All-America campaign with his arm, the young Frog defense switched to championship mode. Though the start was rough, the guys tightened up and got the job done, just like in the previous weeks. The 2015 team is now in the midst of an unprecedented 15-game win streak, a feat never before achieved in 119 years of Horned Frog football. The epic they are currently writing is full of suspense, intrigue and heroics. We can’t wait to see how it’ll end.

2. Too-Cold-Bee

Welcome back from injury, Mr. Listenbee. My how the Horned Frog Nation missed you. So nice to see your jersey stained with grass and boasting of your usual effort. With Josh Doctson breaking school records seemingly every week and KaVontae Turpin causing a twinkle in thousands of football-loving eyes, a few fans may have forgotten that the fastest player in college football wears No. 7 for TCU. Homestretch opponents know all about him, though, and now they know their cornerbacks will have to play man coverage to have any hope of containing Listenbee’s speed and Doctson’s big air. Good luck with that, defensive backfields of the Big 12.

3. Next Man Up? Got it Down.

The Horned Frogs lead the country in the number of true and redshirt freshmen called on to play this year. Having witnessed a plague of injuries all season, every student-athlete on TCU’s sideline should be ready to do battle at a moment’s notice. Not only should he be able to compete, but he also might be called on to switch positions. After referees ejected safety Denzel Johnson for diving low to stop an Iowa State wide receiver, linebacker Ty Summers came in to spell Montrel Wilson, who slid over to fill the gap left by Johnson’s absence. In its umpteenth rearrangement of the season, the Frog D congealed and pitched a shutout from that point forward.

4. Genius PR

Sure, Trevone Boykin and Josh Doctson are capable of winning a slew of post-season honors based on pure athletic talent, but if they weren’t, their public relations skills might do the trick. People around the nation saw the star quarterback’s compassionate side through pictures and videos of his interacting with young Iowa State fans. Doctson netted hundreds of instant retweets for a post-game picture of a hug with his mother. In the world of high-stakes college football, the emphasis on showing that they are genuinely nice people is laudable.

5. Prioritizing the safety of student-athletes

Yeah, yeah, our Frogs are 7-0 and in full control of their destiny going into the season’s first bye week. We feel great about the potential today, but in the first quarter in Ames, a dark mood temporarily descended over TCU fandom. Shortly after Josh Doctson left the field with a hip injury, KaVontae Turpin did not move as athletic trainers attended to his prostrate body for several minutes. Watching him sit up on his own and jog to the locker room has to be one of the best sights of the season. We can be thankful that Doctson came back in the game, and according to Coach Patterson, Turp’s undisclosed injury will not claim the rest of his season. We can also be thankful that as gracious Horned Frogs, ahem, we do not cheer when an opposing player is injured.

Five stats that stood out

1. The Iowa State matchup might have been quarterback Trevone Boykin’s most Heisman-esque game so far. With more Frogs falling to injury, Deuce Boogie got new weapons involved and was near flawless: 27-of-32 passing for 436 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. That made for his fifth-consecutive effort of more than 300 yards and third time over 400. He’s thrown for four or more scores five times in seven games. He’s found the end zone through the air for 22 straight games, which broke Andy Dalton’s record of 21 straight in 2010. His .844 completion percentage in the game was fourth-best in TCU history and Boykin’s best all time. All of this excludes the team-high 74 yards rushing on 13 carries, plus a rushing score. In total, he accounted for 510 yards of offense and five touchdowns. Maybe most amazing, Boykin made it look so easy.

2. Meanwhile, wide receiver Josh Doctson is obliterating the record book for receiving in single season. With 10 more grabs and 190 yards, Doctson has 1,067 for the year (in seven games), breaking his own record of 1,018 set last year. His two touchdown catches upped his total to 12 on the year, breaking his own mark of 11 last year. It was his fifth-straight 100-yard game. Next to fall: Josh Boyce’s 66 catches in a season. Doctson already has 60.

3. This game also was marked by the contributions of the supporting cast. Wide receiver Kolby Listenbee returned from injury to post six catches for 101 yards and a touchdown, just the second time he’d gone over the century mark this year. Receiver Desmon White snagged four passes for 78 yards, including a career-long 48-yarder to get the Frogs near the red zone during the first possession of the second half. Tight end Charlie Reid caught a TD pass in the second quarter to tie the game. It was only his second career score. Running back Kyle Hicks had 53 yards rushing and a touchdown on seven carries.

4. With a 9-for-13 effort in Ames, TCU now leads the nation in third-down conversion percentage. The Frogs are 53 of 96 (.552) in moving the chains on the critical down.

5. What does it all mean? TCU set a school record for its 15^th consecutive victory. No team before now had accomplished that. No all-time great sustained success for that long. Previously, Davey O’Brien’s 1937-38 bunch and Andy Dalton’s 2008-09 group held the mark at 14 games over two seasons. Now, Boykin’s team is the standard. It’s also the 11^th straight win in Big 12 play, with six of those coming on the road.

Five tweets that told the tale

QB #Heisman season comparison update through 7 weeks. #TCU #boykinforheisman pic.twitter.com/tniSwe7FlS

— Trey Fallon (@TreyFallon) October 18, 2015

Trevone Boykin of @TCUFootball: third game this season with at least 500 total yards and 4 TD, tied for most in a season in last 10 years.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 18, 2015

VIDEO: Trevone Boykin Is Winning Over Opposing Fans On His Heisman Tour @OGcURIOUSDEUCE http://t.co/acmVa6ekxT #TCU pic.twitter.com/ziSM6wlXxs

— Jared Christopher (@JaredLChris) October 18, 2015

Boykin: ‘Up to this point, nothing has been easy, nothing has been handed to us. We’ve gotten people’s best swing.’

— Carlos A. Mendez (@calexmendez) October 18, 2015

Congrats to Jaden Oberkrom on hitting his TCU record 66th career field goal pic.twitter.com/UKmwlwdyYS

— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) October 18, 2015