TCU moves to 11-0, remains in BCS hunt
November 22, 2009
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP)—Andy Dalton made a bet over the summer with his TCUteammates that he was hoping to lose. Win 10 straight and the junior quarterbackvowed to shave his flame-red hair.
The Horned Frogs did and Dalton honored the pact, showing up last week witha pseudo Mohawk and “TCU” etched into the side. But all future bets regardingDalton’s locks are off.
That’s probably wise given the way No. 4 TCU is playing. The Horned Frogsare off to their best start in 71 years after routing Wyoming 45-10 on Saturday.
The win keeps TCU (11-0, 7-0) in the thick of BCS contention and clinches atleast a share of the Mountain West Conference crown. TCU last went 11-0 in 1938,capped off by a win over Carnegie Tech in the national championship game.
All that stands in the way of the Frogs and a perfect regular season is awin over struggling New Mexico next week.
As for getting caught looking too far ahead—dreaming of a possiblebig-money BCS bowl game—defensive lineman Jerry Hughes said that’s notpossible.
“This team has done a great job blocking out all distractions,” he said.“We’re all focused on winning the next game. … We’ve just got to take care ofbusiness now. When you start looking too far into the future, things start toget away from you.”
That almost was the case Saturday—at least early.
TCU found itself tied at 10 after Wyoming’s Chris Prosinski scooped up afumble and raced 98 yards for a score midway through the second quarter. But thetie lasted all of 16 seconds as Greg McCoy returned the ensuing kickoff 81 yardsfor a score.
Then, minutes later, Dalton found a hole in the Cowboys zone and hit JeremyKerley in stride, the receiver taking it from there as he sprinted 45 yards fora score and a 24-10 lead.
In a flash, the Frogs turned a potential scare into some breathing room.
This wasn’t the most polished victory TCU has turned in this season, theteam turning the ball over four times. But the Frogs broke open a tight game byscoring 35 unanswered points, and have now outscored opponents 278-63 over thelast six contests.
“It looks like we lucked out again,” said TCU coach Gary Patterson, tonguefirmly in cheek. “We turned the ball over, but we did what we needed to dotoday. It could have been worse.”
Patterson reminded his team all week to not let all the BCS scuttle distractthem from the task at hand. Except for a sluggish start, the Frogs didn’t.
“Today was getting ourselves ready,” Patterson said. “This group has donea great job of taking the next ball game. That’s why we are at where we’re atright now.”
Wyoming (5-6, 3-4) had just 178 yards of total offense and five first downsagainst a stingy TCU defense.
Austyn Carta-Samuels finished 4 of 10 for 83 yards and threw aninterception. He eventually gave way to Robert Benjamin, who couldn’t move thesputtering offense, either.
“There’s no question that TCU deserves that No. 4 ranking,” said Wyomingcoach Dave Christensen, whose team remains a win from becoming bowl eligible.“They are an excellent football team and we knew all along that they have noweaknesses and are very strong in all areas. … It was a tough game.”
Matthew Tucker rushed for a career-high 134 yards and two touchdowns, whileJoseph Turner also scored twice.
Turner was dinged up early in the game when two Wyoming players fell on him,but returned after halftime.
“I had to sit out a little bit and make sure I wasn’t too dizzy,” Turneradmitted. “It was real hard to sit out.”
Dalton had a solid day, leading an offense that gained more than 500 yards.He was 10 of 19 for 168 yards through the air, his only real blemish aninterception deep in Wyoming territory in the first quarter.
He was even more effective with his feet. Wyoming left the middle of thefield wide open, allowing Dalton to run quite a few quarterback keepers andfinish with 88 yards.
Dalton then got to sit back and watch the action in the fourth quarter.
The quietly confident Dalton carved his name deeper into the TCU historybooks. His 28 wins are one shy of matching the school record that Slingin’ SammyBaugh set from 1934-36.
“It’s pretty cool to be considered with a guy like that. He did anunbelievable job with this program,” Dalton said.
As for the BCS talk, Dalton said he’s tuning it out.
“It’s all speculation who will go and then who should go,” Dalton said.“Each team thinks they should have the shot. We can only focus on the game.”