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For 28 minutes, lower-division FCS Portland State was hanging right with No. 20 TCU - even without its top running back on the field.
Then the Horned Frogs scored three touchdowns in a span of 1:18 just before halftime, added a 65-yard touchdown run on their first play of the second half and went on to a 55-13 victory Saturday.
''It was literally a 2 1/2- to 3-minute period where the game started to get away from us,'' Portland State coach Nigel Burton said.
Portland State (2-1), which has already matched its victory total from last season, opened the game with a 71-yard drive on 14 plays to get a 22-yard field goal by Zach Brown.
Until Josh Boyce caught a short pass on a play when the Vikings were blitzing, the game was still tied 3-3. Boyce had a wide-open lane down the middle of the field for a 66-yard touchdown with 1:55 left in the second quarter, and the Frogs (3-1) weren't done before halftime.
On the Vikings' next snap, Drew Hubel's pass was deflected by Jason Verrett and intercepted by linebacker Tank Carder, the Rose Bowl defensive MVP, who returned it for a 26-yard touchdown.
Then, after a three-and-out by Portland State, Skye Dawson had a 42-yard punt return that set up his 10-yard TD catch for a 24-3 halftime lead.
''If we take away six or eight big plays they had, obviously it would probably be a different outcome,'' quarterback Connor Kavanaugh said. ''It just shows you how close we are but yet we still have work to do. ... (This game) gives us confidence. I think people start to realize how good we are.''
Portland State came in as the FCS's best rushing team with 348 yards a game, but had only 119 yards on 44 carries against TCU. Shaquille Richard had 90 yards on 28 carries, including a 1-yarder for the Vikings' lone touchdown with 1:39 left in the game.
The Horned Frogs extended a school record with their 22nd consecutive win at home since 2007.
''We're very explosive,'' said Boyce, who saw Portland State preparing to blitz and both safeties coming to the line right before the quick screen.
''We got a little greedy and were going to see if we could get after the quarterback,'' Burton said. ''A great team will make you pay and then we got a blitzkrieg there in a matter of three, four plays. That's what great teams so, they'll jump on you. That's what we talked about afterward, if you want to be a great team, we have to learn to do that to other people.''
James took a handoff to the right to start the second half and was quickly grabbed by a couple of defenders. They pulled him toward the ground, but James rolled over on top of a defender and one of his own teammates instead. James then spun away and ran to the end zone, a touchdown that officials quickly confirmed after looking at the replay.
James, who finished with 136 yards on 10 carries, added an 82-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter - the second week in a row the Frogs have returned one for a score.
TCU had scored 41 consecutive points before Brown's second field goal, a 42-yarder, with 12:40 left in the game.
Frogs quarterback Casey Pachall, who was 14-of-20 passing for 214 yards with three TDs and an interception, got a fortunate bounce late in the third quarter when his pass was deflected by linebacker Shane Melbo and should have probably been intercepted. Instead, the ball ended up in the hands of Dawson, the former Mountain West Conference champion sprinter who caught the ball near midfield and turned it into a 73-yard TD.
''We came out very strong. We ended up kind of hurting ourselves just kicking a field goal, but it was good to get out early like that,'' Kavanaugh said. ''Then the defense came out and went three and out. It just shows you how strong we are. Unfortunately, we needed to do that for the full 60 minutes. I definitely think we came out and shocked them.''
