The Matchup -
The WAC matchup pits the Horned Frogs (2-4) overall and
1-2 in conference play, against one of the league's hottest teams - the
Cougars are 7-1 and 3-0. The Frogs are coming off of a 21-7 loss at Utah,
while BYU spanked another WAC upstart Tulsa, 55-30, on the road last
Saturday.
TCU Immortals to Participate in Book Signing on Saturday
Sam Baugh. Bob Lilly. Jim Swink. Lindy Berry. Kenneth Davis. And
author Dan Jenkins. All those former Frog greats will partipate in a
book-signing session from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm Saturday in Daniel Meyer.
The ex-TCU greats, helping to celebrate the University's 100 years of
intercollegiate football, will be on hand to autograph copies of
the recently-published
Greatest Moments in TCU Football History edition.
LAST MEETING IN FORT WORTH
The first memory evoked of the last, and only, TCU-BYU football meeting (1987) in Fort Worth? Those annoying crickets. In fact, had sportswriting legend Grantland Rice been there he probably would have began his story something like: Painted against the stadium lights they came by the thousands: noisy and bothersome. Crickets.
Whether those swarming insects had any impact on the outcome is doubtful, but their presence certainly is well remembered. So overwhelming was their number that they had almost completely covered the playing field by the fourth quarter. Later, stadium cleanup crews removed well over 100, 55-gallon bags of dead crickets.
As for the game. a smothering TCU defense wrecked BYU's passing game, while a superior running attack gave the Frogs' ample scoring opportunities. The result was TCU 33, BYU 15.
Defensively the Homed Frogs came away with three interceptions, four quarterback sacks, and a pair of fumble recoveries resulting from tackles after pass receptions. Offensively, it was the three-pronged running of Tony Jeffery (207 yards), David Rascoe (106) and Tony Darthard (99).
BYU returned the favor the following year in Provo -- 31-18.
THE HEAD COACHES
TCU's Pat Sullivan, a former Heisman Trophy Winner, is in his fifth campaign as TCU's head coach. Sullivan enters the BYU contest with a career coaching mark of 21-29-1.
BYU's Lavell Edwards is in his silver anniversary season as the Congars' head coach. He enters the TCU game with a glossy career coaching record of 221 wins, 81 losses and three ties.
PAT SULLIVAN SAYS - (About the loss at Utah) "I felt like we did everything we could but win the ballgame. I was proud of our team's performance. We just didn't take advantage of the opportunities when they were presented to us. Plus, Utah is a quality football team and they made the big plays like they have been doing all season.
(About the Horned Frogs) "As a team, we need to reach down and keep on keeping on, and, obviously, we have to be able to start knocking it into the endzone once we get into the red zone.
(About BYU) "This probably is one of Lavel's better, more talented ballclubs. They pretty much showed that right off the bat in what they did to Texas A&M. They have a lot of weapons, and at BYU that generally starts with the quarterback."
EARLY-WEEK LOOK AT TCU INJURIES -
Defensive end Chance McCarty, with his
left shoulder contusion, is projected as the "most doubtful" performer
among the injured Horned Frogs prior to Saturday's game with Brigham Young.
Penciled in as "probable" performers on a limited basis are defensive
tackle Michael Janak (sprained knee) and wide receiver Tavarus Moore
(strained hamstring).
HORNED FROGS LAST OUTING -
Golden opportunities unfulfilled could well have served as TCU's theme in
its WAC battle with nationally-ranked Utah in Salt Lake City last Saturday.
The Horned Frogs claimed takeaways four times from the Utes via
turnovers - three fumble recoveries and a pass interception - at the
Utah 29, the 22, midfield and the 24. Prime locations. However, the Frogs
were able to convert those four possession into but seven points in losing,
21-7. The second of those drives was hindered by a pair of costly
procedure penalties. The third was detoured by a second-down quarterback
sack, and the fourth one was victimized by a holding penalty. Interestingly,
the Frogs controlled the football for 41
minutes and 36 seconds and managed 20 first downs.
Defensively the injury-riddled Frogs held the high-powered Utes to only 197 yards on all but three plays, but those three Utah downs were killers -- scoring runs of 70 and 52 yards, and a passing score of 41 yards.
FORGETTABLE OUTING FOR TCU's ALL- AMERICAN KICKER
TCU's kicker, Michael Reeder, most
likely pinched himself shortly after waking up Sunday a.m. Just in case it
was nothing more than a bad dream. Sorry! For Reeder, his
personally-acclaimed "most miserable day as a collegian" was quite real.
Reeder slipped while trying his first field-goal, a 40-yard attempt, vs. Utah and the flattened boot was blocked. Then came his attempts of 44 yards (wide right) and 52 (short). His first O-for-3 day as a college kicker. "I feel bad for letting down the team, but there is no excuses. There are no excuses for missing field goals."
Reeder should know, he has not missed very many in his 2 1/2 year career. The previous week, versus UTEP, TCU's junior followed a 50-yard miss (wide right) with a school-record 57-yarder, then tacked on three-point efforts 51 and 44 yards, becoming the first Horned Frog kicker ever to have two 50-yard plus successes in the same contest. Earlier in '96, Reeder had enjoyed the previous longest field-goal success of his career - a 52-yarder - against Kansas. All of the Sulphur, Louisiana product's field-goal successes in '96 - 57, 52, 51, 44, 42 and 41 yards -- have been longer than 40 yards. Reeder has pushed his career PAT skein to 60 straight (60 of 60). The 1995 Lou Groza National Place Kicker Award recipient now has been true on 30 of his last 37 field goal attempts.
TRIO OF FROGS STEP TO THE 'FRONT'...
the defensive front that is.
Jolted by the injuries of end Chance McCarty (shoulder), tackle Michael
Janak (knee) and Bernard Oldham (ankle), plus the suspension of end Daryl
Johnson, TCU defensive coaches were forced to piece together a patchwork
unit for the Utah game. It included regular Matt Harper at one end,
backup Billy Thompson at the other, along with redshirt freshman
J.W. Wilson at tackle, and sophomore Marcus Anderson at the nose spot.
"Except for maybe for the two long runs (TDs), we couldn't have more from that group. They played their hearts out." said TCU head coach Pat Sullivan.
DEE-FENSE! -
Only the scoring runs of 70 and 52 yards,
and 41-yard touchdown pass play prevented the Horned Frogs from
celebrating a second straight week of defensive excellence. Included in
the Frogs' performance against the high-powered Ute offense was a
season's-best, four-takeaway day ... three fumble recoveries and a pass
interceptions. They also held Utah to its fewest first downs (13) and
passing yards (155) of the season.
The previous week, TCU's defenders had enjoyed a handful of milestones, also. The seven first downs they allowed UTEP was the fewest yielded to a foe since UTA(aiso seven) in 1971. The 135 yards of total offense they yielded to the Miners represented the lowest total for a TCU opponent since Baylor was held to 106 yards in 1967.
The 85 yards rushing by UTEP stands as the lowest running output by a Frog foe since the four-yard day by Houston in 1993, and the 52 yards passing was the lowest day for an opponent since Rice threw for only 35 yards in 1994.
MITCHELL & BOYD GIVE FROGS A NICE TANDEM -
TCU's offensive staffers
were all smiles following the tailbacking performances of sophomore
Basil Mitchell and senior Sterling Boyd last Saturday.
Boyd rushed for a career high 97 yards on 19 carries, while Mitchell,
the Frogs' leading rusher on the season added 78 more on 22 carries.
The pair also accounted for another 62 yards of offense with their
combined nine pass receptions vs. Utah. The 185-pound Mitchell
also leads the Frogs with his 20 catches on the season.
TUCKER RECORDS BEST-YET EFFORT
With his 94.5 percent blocking grades and 11 knockdown blocks versus
Utah, TCU center Ryan Tucker enjoyed his best all-around day as a Frog.
Now, the 290-pound Tucker is averaging seven knockdown blocks per game
and a 92.2 percent blocking-grade average through five games has left
TCU center Ryan Tucker in elite company. In fact, Tucker, has graded 90
percent on better on his blocking grades in all six the Horned Frogs'
outings of '96. A year ago, Tucker authored blocking grades of 90 percent
or better in all but one game en route to his 91.2 average.
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