Anxious to snap its two-game losing skid, TCU finished out its 1996 non-conference schedule in New Orleans against Tulane. Kickoff is 5:30pm in the Louisiana Superdome. The contest will be televised on the fx Network.
Tulane, in its fifth season under Buddy Teevens, began the year impressively, upending Cincinnati 34-14, on the road. However, the Green Wave stumbled in its outings with Rice (21-14) and at Memphis (17-10) before enjoying an open-date last Saturday.
SOME BASIC NUMBERS & FACTS ABOUT TCU FOOTBALL '96
Besides celebrating the program's centennial year of football and its
entry into the WAC, other numbers and historical facts worth noting about
Horned Frog Football in 1996:
TCU vs. Tulane
Several have been high-scoring affairs, but the last TCU-Tulane grid matchup - played last year in Ft. Worth - wasn't. It was 16-11. In fact, in a game that produced only two touchdowns and 524 yards of total offense, it took a trio of short field goals by TCU's all-American Michael Reeder to overcome an 11-7 Tulane advantage. The win pushed TCU's edge in this rivalry between the two private institutions to 5-1.Horned Frog - Green Wave Series
1995 TCU 16, Tulane 11 at Ft Worth
1994 TCU 30, Tulane 28 at New Orleans
1986 TCU 48, Tulane 31 at New Orleans
1985 TCU 30, Tulane 13 at Ft Worth
1979 TCU 33, Tulane 19 at Ft Worth
1978 TCU 13, Tulane 7 at New Orleans
PAT SULLIVAN SAYS -
"Give New Mexico the credit. They are a fine football team and they
played an excellent game against us. We didn't play quite as well ...
not as inspired ... as we should have, however. We came out a little
flat for some reason, and we are not quite good enough yet, quite frankly,
to overcome 14-0, 21-0 deficits. I couldn't fault our effort, overall,
though. We had a lot of people competing hard, and a few who maybe didn't
play so hard."
"Obviously, we have a lot work to do before we go to New Orleans. Tulane
is a solid football team. In fact, in many ways they are very similar
to the two teams (Kansas and New Mexico) we just played; both on offense
and their agressive defensive style."
TCU INJURY SITUATION - In addition to those definitely out for the Tulane game - starting tight end Travis Wilson (fracture of the left thumb) and backup wide receiver Tavarus Moore (pulled hamstring) - several other Horned Frogs nursing a variety of ailments figure to be classified as "wait and see" performers this week. The list includes: FB Koi Woods (aggravated knee), deep snapper Ashby Porter (tender hamstring), LB Jason Illian (sprained ankle), LB Jay Davern (sprained ankle), and nose tackle Bernard Oldham (tender ankle).
Jason Tucker providing longball for the Frogs
Three games into the 1996 season, TCU offensive minds have determined
that when they need to dial long distance, they dial Jason Tucker's
number - eight-zero. After his 6 catch, 153 yard outing at New
Mexico, the talented junior is averaging 102.7 receiving yards
per game and a spiffy 22 yards per reception. Tucker leads TCU with
his 14 catches for 308 yards. Along the way, Tucker has fashioned
catches covering 54, 52, 42, 37, 30, and 29 yards. He has raised
his career reception numbers at Frogland to 53 receptions for 803
yards.
CAREER STARTING STREAKS -
Versus Kansas fullback Koi Woods
made his 26th straight starting appearance as a Horned Frog and
John Washington logged his 25th straight start (Geoff Stephens
enjoyed his 19th).
Frog Punter Likes Mountain Air
"Now, I see what a difference it makes," TCU freshman punter Royce Huffman
remarked after his impressive punting show - at lofty altitude - in New
Mexico. Versus the Lobos, Huffman averaged 47.4 yards on his
7, shoeless kicks, including three boomers of over 50 yards. On the
season, Huffman, a 1996 freshman baseball all-American, has averaged
44.0 yards with his 20 efforts.
Making it Happen on Defense -
TCU has managed only one pass interception in '96 (by end Matt Harper
off of a deflection) so takeaways have been coming the hard way - forced
fumbles. Versus New Mexico, a trio of Lobo ballcarriers were jarred
loose from the pigskin after emphatic jolts by Horned Frog defenders -
Cedric Allen, Reggie Hunt and Marcus Anderson. Hunt's fierce blast near
the TCU goal-line enabled Allen to recover one of the fumbles, and
rub out a New Mexico scoring opportunites.
New Frog Receiver
Lined up at the far right, or left, end of the line of scrimmage as
an eligible Horned Frog receiver for a handful of downs last Saturday was
a #13 - Fred Taylor. More specifically, Taylor is listed as TCU's current
backup quarterback. What about the wide receiver role? "I don't mind
filling in at wide receiver on occasion if it will help the football
team," said the transfer from Hinds (Miss) Community College.
The Frogs wide receiving corps has been hard hit by injuries in '96,
thus Taylor's volunteer efforts there.
MOST OF HERALDED HORNED FROG YEARLING CLASS STILL 'SOAKING' -
While TCU coach Pat Sullivan has repeatedly referred to his 1996 recruiting
class as his "best and most talented, thanks to solid depth throughout
much of the Horned Frogs lineups, most of that group of Frog newcomers
are experiencing the proverbial football axiom of "continuing to soak and
mature." Whereas most seasons double figure numbers of first-year fresh
have logged action, only three of TCU's first-year fresh - wide receiver
Patrick Batteaux (Sugar Land Elkins), free safety Reggie Hunt
(Denison), cornerback Russell Gary (La Marque), and cornerback Terrance Cook (Everman)- have logged
action through the first two weeks of the 1996 season.
WEEKLY TELEVISION FOOTBALL SHOW FOR TCU -
The 1996 TCU Football Television Show, featuring Horned Frog head coach
Pat Sullivan, will debut Wednesday, September 11. The program, available
throughout the Southwest on the Prime Sports Productions (locally channel
1), airs on Wednesday afternoons at 5:00 p.m. Central Time.
THIRTEEN STATIONS TO JOIN FLAGSHIP KCLE ON THE HORNED FROG NETWORK
Thirteen stations will join flagship station KCLE (1120 am) of Cleburne on
the Horned Frog Football Network this fall:
KVLF (1240 am) of Alpine
KPUR (1440 am) of Amarillo
KFON (1490 am) of Austin
KCLE ( 92.1 fm) of Cleburne
KDFX (1190 am) of Dallas
KAHZ (1360 am) of Fort Worth
KTCU (88.7 fm) of Fort Worth
KTXQ (950 am) of Lubbock
KRIL (1410 am) of Odessa
KBOP (103.7 fm) of Pleasonton/San Antonio
KBOP (1380 am) of Pleasonton/San Antonio
KTBB (600 am) of Tyler
KBBW (1010 am) of Waco