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 UNLV contest with a career coaching mark of 21-30-1.
UNLV's Jeff Horton is in his 3rd season as the Rebels' head coach. Horton enters the TCU game with a career coaching record of 16 wins and 27 losses, and a UNLV mark of 9 and 23.
PAT SULLIVAN SAYS - (About the Horned Frogs) "We keep fighting and scratching, but we also keep making too many mistakes. The BYU game was very frustrating. We turned the ball over a couple of times early and we just can't do that against good ballclubs."
(About BYU Game) "I was most disappointed in the way we played the first half..we gave them the ball too many times with good field position. We did play much better in the second half, but again, we can't continue to let ourselves get behind like we did on Saturday."
EARLY-WEEK LOOK AT TCU INJURIES -
Backup fullback Chad Renfro, who underwent surgery for his fractured
right wrist, has been ruled lost for the remainder of the season.
Otherwise
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 UNLV.
Penciled in as "probable" performers on a limited basis are defensive
tackle Michael Janak (sprained knee) and tight end Travis Wilson
(sprained ankle).
Offense -
Jason Tucker and John Washington were able to spend some quality time
on the field together, and the results were encouraging. Washington had
5 catches for 52 yards, and Tucker had 3 receptions for 98 yards, including
a 35 yard touchdown grab. "With John and Jason both on the field, we were
able to do some things we hadn't been able to do. It was good to see
what kind of plays they are capable of when they are healthy. We haven't had
that in a while," said Pat Sullivan.
Tailback Basil Mitchell continues to lead the Frogs in receiving (25 receptions
for 220 yards) as well as rushing (447 yards). Against BYU, Mitchell
celebrated his third touchdown pass play of the campaign when he snaked
9 yards into the endzone after taking a short pass from Jeff Dover in the
third quarter.
Defense
Led by the efforts of senior CB Cedric Allen and junior DE Matt Harper,
TCU's defense, when the dust finally settled, had limited BYU's offensive
maching to its 3rd lowest yardage output of the season - 453 yards -
and but 18 first downs (the second lowest by the Cougars in '96).
Allen, en route to a stellar final year, aided the Frogs' cause with his
8 stops, including one for a 7 yard loss, a pass interception and a PBU.
On the year, Allen has been credited with 35 tackle involvements, seven
PBU's and leads the team with two interceptions. Harper finished the
BYU contest with 4 stops including his 4th QB sack of the season, plus
he had a pair of quarterback hurries.
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