Dec. 2
TCU 38 ... Air Force 14
TCU held Air Force to 142 yards of total offense and only
allowed 14 meaningless points in the fourth quarter after the outcome
had been decided. Jeff Ballard threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Quentil
Harmon and ran for a one-yard score as part of a balanced attack that
took advantage of four Air Force turnovers including a 20-yard Torrey
Stewart interception return for a touchdown. Lonta Hobbs ran for a
12-yard score and Aaron Brown pounded in a one-yard scoring run. The
Falcons got their points on a blocked punt for a score and a 19-yard Jim
Ollis run.
Player of the game ...
TCU QB Jeff
Ballard completed 21 of 26 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown
Stat Leaders: Air Force - Passing: Shaun Carney, 4-10, 44
yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Jim Ollis, 11-63, 1 TD, Receiving: Victor
Thompson, 2-27
TCU - Passing: Jeff Ballard, 21-26, 234 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Lonta Hobbs, 12-66, 1 TD Receiving: Aaron Brown 6-72
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Talk about being focused, the Horned Frogs put it all
together in the win over Air Force with et another great defensive
effort and a solid offensive attack that took advantage of every
opportunity. With the Falcon offense doing next to nothing, all TCU had
to do was play efficient, error-free football to get the win, and it did
that with Jeff Ballard continuing his streak of hot games. How much
would the team like to play BYU and Utah now?
Nov. 25
TCU 45 ... Colorado State 14
TCU cranked out 606 yards with 350 on the ground on the way to
an easy win. Colorado State scored first on a 22-yard Kory Sperry catch,
and then the floodgates opened as TCU scored 31 straight to close out
the first half on two Aaron Brown touchdown runs, a Jeff Ballard
seven-yard dash, and a 54-yard Brent Hecht pass play. Ballard with a
one-yard scoring run in the third and Brown with a 45-yard touchdown
dash made it a laugher. The Rams managed just 34 yards of rushing
offense.
Player of the game ...
TCU RB Aaron
Brown ran 14 times for 166 yards and three touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Colorado State - Passing: Caleb Hanie, 14-23,
138 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Billy Farris, 5-19, Receiving: Dustin Osborn,
4-61, 1 TD
TCU - Passing: Jeff Ballard, 17-25, 238 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Aaron Brown, 14-166, 3 TD Receiving:
Michael DePriest, 4-36
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The offensive line has dominated over the past few
weeks, while the running game has done whatever it's wanted to do. Aaron
Brown ripped off big run after big run against Colorado State, while
Jeff Ballard was razor-sharp for the second straight week. With 1,230
yards of total offense in the last two games, the team is getting better
as the season's going on with just Air Force to go before the bowl game.
Nov. 18
TCU 52 ... San Diego State 0
TCU obliterated San Diego State on five Jeff Ballard touchdown
passes and a four-yard scoring run with Donald Massey scoring three
times from 18, five, and 33 yards out as the offense rolled up 624
yards. The Aztecs gained just 87 yards, got six first downs and
converted just one of 13 third down chances. Shae Reagan caught a
44-yard touchdown pass and Joseph Turner ran for a 24-yard score.
Player of the game ... TCU QB Jeff Ballard completed 20 of 23
passes for 288 yards and five touchdowns and ran eight times for 30
yards and a score
Stat Leaders: San Diego State - Passing: Kevin
O'Connell, 6-16, 53 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Atiyyeh Henderson, 12-22 Receiving: Brett
Swain, 4-22
TCU - Passing: Jeff Ballard, 20-23, 288 yds, 5 TD
Rushing: Joseph Turner, 11-83, 1 TD Receiving: Donald
Massey, 6-100, 3 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
No
one’s paying attention, but TCU is on a five-game winning streak
playing as well as anyone in the Mountain West outside of Provo.
Jeff Ballard was brilliant against San Diego State while nine
different players got a shot at running the ball in the blowout. The
defense has had its moments of brilliance all season long, like
against Texas Tech and Wyoming, and it was all over the Aztecs this
week. The consistent pressure from several defenders screwed
everything up.
Nov. 11
TCU 27 ... New Mexico 21
TCU jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead with touchdown runs
from Aaron Brown and Lonta Hobbs and a 12-yard Tommy Blake fumble
return for a score, and then the defense had to hold on for dear
life. New Mexico roared back with Rodney Ferguson touchdown runs
from 45 and two yards out and an eight-yard Marcus Smith scoring
grab to pull within three, but TCU was able to push ahead with a
37-yard Chris Manfredini field goal. The Lobos had one final shot
marching to the TCU 28 in the final seconds, but Chris Nelson, in
for an injured Donovan Porterie, was picked off by Brian Bonner at
the nine to seal the Horned Frog win.
Player of the game ...
TCU S Marvin White made
ten tackles and forced two fumbles
Stat Leaders: TCU - Passing: Jeff Ballard, 6-16, 25
yds
Rushing: Lonta Hobbs, 16-93, 1 TD Receiving: Aaron
Brown, 4-17
New Mexico - Passing: Chris Nelson, 8-15, 126
yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Rodney Ferguson, 21-71, 2 TD Receiving: Marcus
Smith, 6-96, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
TCU's defense forced the turnovers in the
first half to get out to a big lead against New Mexico, but the
offensive woes in the second half have to be a huge concern going
into the finishing kick. Jeff Ballard, coming off of one of his more
efficient passing days of the year in the win over UNLV, was awful
against the Lobos getting nothing deep and failing to consistently
move the chains. While the ground game was effective with Lonta
Hobbs and Aaron Brown each running for well over five yards a carry,
it wasn't enough to control the clock once the Lobos started to move
the ball. The pass rush was tremendous and the D came through late,
but it struggled in the second half.
Nov. 4
TCU 25 ... UNLV 10
TCU's Peter LoCoco connected on all four of his field goal
attempts hitting from 42, 33, 40 and 29 yards out, while Jeff
Ballard led the team in rushing as well as passing hitting Michael
DePriest for a 34-yard touchdown run and setting up an 11-yard Aaron
Brown touchdown. UNLV was only able to managed a 52-yard Sergio
Aguayo field goal before finally getting into the end zone midway
through the fourth quarter on a five-yard David Peeples run.
Player of the game ...
TCU QB Jeff Ballard
completed 15 of 28 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown and ran 14 times
for 84 yards
Stat Leaders: TCU - Passing: Jeff Ballard, 15-28,
195 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Jeff Ballard, 14-84 Receiving: Quentil
Harmon, 4-49
UNLV - Passing: Rocky Hinds, 10-27, 128 yds, 1
INT
Rushing: David Peeples, 10-68, 1 TD Receiving:
Casey Flair, 4-51
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
TCU's defense had few problems stuffing
anything UNLV's anemic offense wanted to do allowing only 246 yards and one
of ten third down conversions. While the offense moved the ball well
thanks to a terrific day from Jeff Ballard, not enough drives ended
in touchdowns. Fortunately, Peter LoCoco was nearly perfect. On a
three-game winning streak and with bowl eligibility in hand, now the
team can focus on shooting for the number two spot behind BYU. With
the defense playing as well as it is, beating New Mexico, San Diego
State, Colorado State and Air Force shouldn't be a problem.
Oct. 28
TCU 26 ... Wyoming 3
TCU got out to a 19-0 lead going into the fourth quarter on
short touchdown runs from Lonta Hobbs and Marcus Brock and two Peter
LaCoco field goals, and Hobbs put things away with a one-yard run late.
The Wyoming offense was shut down gaining just 165 yards and only
managing a fourth quarter field goal. The Horned Frogs outrushed the
Cowboys 188 yards to 28.
Player of the game ...
TCU QB Jeff Ballard
completed 11 of 18 passes for 244 yards with two interceptions
Stat Leaders: TCU - Passing: Jeff Ballard, 11-18,
244 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Lonta Hobbs, 13-67, 2 TD Receiving: Quentil
Harmon, 3-105
Wyoming - Passing: Karsten Sween, 15-28, 137 yds, 1
INT
Rushing: Joe Harris, 6-40 Receiving: Tyler Holden, 3-67
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
It might not be fun to watch for most fans,
but when TCU's defense is humming, like it was in the win over Wyoming,
it can be a thing of beauty. The Horned Frogs wouldn't let the Cowboy
running game breathe, while Jeff Ballard and the offense came up with an
efficient, effective game to get back on track after losing the first
two Mountain West games. The conference title is out of reach, but
there's no reason to shoot for anything less than 10-2 as long as the D
plays like it did this week.
Oct. 21
TCU 31 ... Army 17
Lonta Hobbs and Marcus Hobbs ran for two short scores and Nick
Sanders picked off an interception for a touchdown as TCU got out to a 31-3
halftime lead, and finished with five takeaways, and then Army switched
quarterbacks and made things interesting. With David Pevoto having problems
leading the offense failing to complete a pass in five attempts, Carson Williams
came in and helped lead the Black Knights to two scores with Corey Anderson
running for a 50-yard touchdown and Tony Moore running for a one-yard touchdown.
TCU was shut out in the second half.
Player of the game ... TCU QB Jeff Ballard completed 13
of 23 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown with an interception and ran nine
times for 67 yards.
Stat Leaders: TCU - Passing: Jeff
Ballard, 13-23, 169 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: 20-72, 1 TD Receiving:
Quentil Hamilton, 4-53
Army - Passing: Carson Williams, 12-18,
110 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Corey Anderson, 1-50, 1 TD. Receiving:
Walter Hill, 3-52
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It
would've been nice if TCU had been able to keep its foot on the gas for a full
60 minutes against Army, but it got all it needed in the first half to coast to
the win. After the loss to Utah, and with two weeks off, the defense came out
smoking forcing big turnovers and clamping down on the Black Knight passing
game. Now the offense has to be sharper and balanced against a hot Wyoming to
avoid dropping off the map in the Mountain West bowl pecking order. Having Jeff
Ballard back at quarterback will help.
Oct. 5
Utah 20 ... TCU 7
Utah got two touchdown passes from Brett Ratliff to Brett
Casteel and the defense forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter to
go 2-0 in Mountain West play. TCU got a one-yard Lonta Hobbs touchdown
run in the second quarter, but failed to connect on a few chances in the
second half and got many of its 310 yards on a garbage time final drive.
Louie Sakoda hit field goals from 29 and 32 yards out for the Utes.
Player of the game ... Utah QB Brett Ratliff completed
22 of 35 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns with an interception
and ran eight times for 64 yards.
Stat Leaders: TCU - Passing: Marcus
Jackson, 11-19, 158 yds
Rushing: Lonta Hobbs, 21-63, 1 TD Receiving:
Shae Reagan, 2-48
Utah - Passing: Brett Ratliff, 22-35, 223
yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brett Ratliff, 8-64. Receiving: Brett
Casteel, 5-68, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The
offense still can't get on track. Part of the problem has been injury
with QB Jeff Ballard having problems with his banged up shoulder, and
part of the issue has been missed opportunities. Against Utah, the
Horned Frogs have several chances to turn things around, including a
misfire on a wide-open, certain touchdown in the fourth quarter, and the
defense couldn't pick up the slack. The second straight Mountain West
title is now out of the question, so the team has to focus on getting
back on track and playing sharper. While having over two weeks off
before playing Army might hurt any continuity, it'll help get Ballard
and RB Lonta Hobbs back and healthy.
Sept. 28
BYU 31 ... TCU 17
BYU jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never fell behind with three
John Beck touchdown passes and a one-handed four-yard scoring grab from
Jonny Harline to put things well out of reach midway through the fourth
quarter. TCU didn't get into the end zone until the third quarter
capping off an 80-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown catch from Brent
Hecht to get within seven, but the Cougars owned the first half of the
fourth with two of Beck's touchdown throws. The loss stopped TCU's
13-game winning streak, which was the longest in the nation.
Player of the game ...
BYU QB John Beck
completed 23 of 37 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns.
Stat Leaders: TCU - Passing: Jeff Ballard, 26-40, 296, 1
TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jeff Ballard, 12-63 Receiving: Donald Massey, 8-85
BYU - Passing: John Beck, 23-37, 321 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Curtis Brown, 16-56 Receiving:
Curtis Brown, 5-58
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... TCU has to quickly get over the loss to BYU and gear up
for the trip to Utah next week or the Mountain West title hopes will be
over. This was a setback, but there's still hope. The offense was
fantastic at moving the ball with balance, even though it couldn't close
out with enough early scoring drives, and the defense did a great job
against the BYU running game. The bend-but-don't-break secondary broke a
little too often, especially in the fourth quarter when it needed to
come up with a big stop, and there wasn't enough of a pass rush to force
Cougar QB John Beck into any major mistakes.
Sept. 16
TCU 12 ... Texas Tech 3
It wasn't a thing of beauty as Texas
Tech was held without a touchdown for the first time since 2000. Chris
Manfredini kicked four field goals, one in each quarter for all the
points TCU would need against a Red Raider offense that put up 242 yards
and only managed a 22-yard Alex Trlica field goal in the first quarter.
TCU outrushed Tech 180 yards to 34 and successful on three fourth down
stops.
Player of the game ... TCU DB Marvin White made eight
tackles and broke up three passes
Stat Leaders: TCU - Passing: Jeff
Ballard, 13-23, 101 yds
Rushing: Aaron Brown, 18-72. Receiving:
Quentil Harmon, 5-26
Texas Tech - Passing:
Graham Harrell, 23-47, 204 yds
Rushing: Shannon Woods, 10-52 Receiving:
Joel Filani, 8-55
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The 12-3
win over Texas Tech wasn't exactly the team's finest performance, but
considering it was destroyed 70-35 when they met two years ago, it'll be
happy with the win. The coaching staff won't like the four field goals
in four red zone chances and the failure to fully capitalize on several
opportunities. The 12 penalties for 105 yards was a big problem. TCU
made the Texas Tech offense sputter, but it likely won't have anywhere
near the same luck against BYU and Utah over the next few weeks. If
there are penalties and field goals instead of scores, TCU's dream
season will quickly come to a crashing halt.
Sept. 9
TCU 46 ... UC Davis 13
TCU didn't have any problems knocking off UC Davis with 23
straight points in the first half before a Jon Grant three-yard
touchdown made it 23-10 late in the first half. The Horned Frogs were
never really threatened thanks to Aaron Brown, who ran for two
touchdowns, and Jeff Ballard, who ran for a score and threw for two.
Chris Smith capped off the scoring with a 14-yard touchdown run.
Player of the game ... TCU QB Jeff Ballard completed 18
of 23 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns and ran seven times for 26
yards and a score
Stat Leaders: TCU - Passing: Jeff
Ballard, 18-23, 190 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Aaron Brown, 13-73, 2 TD Receiving:
Quentil Harmon, 6-60, 1 TD
UC Davis - Passing: Jon Grant, 13-25, 211
yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Alex Garfio, 12-33. Receiving: Chris
Carter, 6-109
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... There was
never any real concern about losing to UC Davis, but it was good to see
the offense turn it up a few notches with 271 rushing yards and a nearly
flawless performance from QB Jeff Ballard. The D did its job holding UCD
to 26 yards on the ground, but it didn't get into the backfield nearly
enough. There were also too
many penalties with ten for 82 yard. There can't be any mistakes if TCU
wants to pull off the upset against Texas Tech next week.
Sept. 2
TCU 17 ... Baylor 7
TCU overcame a 7-0 deficit and the loss of starting
quarterback Jeff Ballard to score 17 unanswered points in the second
half as Marcus Jackson connected with Aaron Brown on a 84-yard touchdown
and Quinton Cunigan on a three-yard scoring strike. Baylor scored on a
21-yard touchdown pass to Mikail Baker, but had problems maintaining
possession in the second half and turned the ball over twice in TCU
territory killing good scoring chances.
Player of the game ... TCU QB Marcus Jackson completed
11 of 13 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: TCU - Passing: Marcus
Jackson, 11-13, 148 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Aaron Brown, 15-49. Receiving:
Quentil Harmon, 5-96
Baylor - Passing: Shawn Bell, 31-47, 286
yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Paul Mosley, 10-34. Receiving: Terrance
Parks, 7-65
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It'll be
interesting to see how TCU goes on if starting QB Jeff Ballard is out
for any length of time and if running backs Robert Merrill and Lonta
Hobbs aren't healthy for Texas Tech in two weeks. The pass defense did a
great job of keeping the new Baylor offense under wraps, and like he did
throughout last year, Tommy Blake came up with a huge play to snuff out
a drive. This was a landmine of a game that TCU has to be happy it got
out of alive. Now it can play Marcus Jackson at quarterback, along with
the rest of the backups, for a week against UC Davis.
2006 TCU Preview
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Further Analysis
How do you follow up that for a first year in a new league?
TCU was supposed to be competitive after moving over to the
Mountain West, but it was better than anyone could've expected going
unbeaten in league play and opening the season with a stunning win
over Oklahoma. Now the key will be to not let down like in 2004.
The Horned Frogs followed up an 11-2 2003 season with a 5-6 clunker
with no defense whatsoever, but that shouldn't be a problem this
season with Tommy Blake and Chase Ortiz forming a frightening pass
rushing pair, a young linebacking corps that flies to the ball and
hits like a ton of bricks, and an overall defensive attitude of big
play making after coming up with a whopping 40 takeaways last year.
TCU is a high-risk, high reward team that commits a ton of penalties,
takes a ton of defensive chances, and makes lots of big plays and gets
burned by lots of big plays. In the end, the system has worked for Gary
Patterson, who has an impressive 43-18 record along with three seasons
with double-digit wins. To take the next step and get to the BCS, which
it would've been in had the rules for the 2006 season been in place last
year, all the breaks have to go the right way again.
You make your own good fortune, but TCU also came up on the positive
side of two, big overtime Mountain West wins early on over Utah and TCU
that set the tone for the rest of the season. There were the close wins
over Oklahoma, San Diego State and Iowa State, but those came from good,
hard-nosed defense and timely offense.
It's not like the team is without holes needing to replace four starters
on the offensive line and with inexperience at the tackles and corners,
but the pieces are in place for another run at the Mountain West title.
Patterson has put together a good program that no one wants to face at
this point and everyone will have to go through to get the conference
championship.
The
Schedule: If TCU thinks its nearly as good as it was last year, ten
wins shouldn't be a problem with this slate. It's not bad outside of a
home date with Texas Tech and a Mountain West showdown at Utah. BYU has
to come to Fort Worth and TCU gets two of the final three games at home,
but there's a second half stretch with four road trips in six weeks.
Best
Offensive Player: Senior OT Herbert Taylor. Starter of 36 straight
games and arguably the best lineman in the Mountain West, Taylor will
have to be even better with four new starters up front. Consider it a
shock if he allows a sack this year.
Best
Defensive Player:
Junior DE Tommy Blake. There isn't a better pass rusher in the
conference. With Chase Ortiz on the other side taking off some of the
heat, expect even more production this year and a run for All-America
honors.
Key player
to a successful season:
Senior CBs
Vernon Russell and Mike Salvage. The pass defense was great
against short to midrange passing attacks but gave up a few too many big
plays. Russell, a transfer from LSU, and Salvage have plenty of
experience from the JUCO ranks and now have to shine as the new
starters.
The season
will be a success if ... TCU repeats as Mountain West champions. With all the returning
talent and all the success of last year there's no reason to shoot any
lower. A spot in the BCS is an attainable goal with an early win over
Texas Tech.
Key game:
October 5th at Utah. Running the Mountain West table is possible if
the Horned Frogs can get over the brutal road tip to Salt Lake City. TCU
won a 23-20 overtime classic last year to launch its big season, and now
Utah will be looking to do the same. It's not an overstatement to think
this might be the Mountain West title game.
2005 Fun
Stats:
- First quarter scoring: TCU 123 - Opponents 44
- Penalties: 104 for 955 yards - Opponents 73 for 615 yards
- Rushing touchdowns: TCU 32 - Opponents 12
The Last Time
TCU…
…played in a bowl game…2005 (Houston Bowl vs. Iowa State)
…missed a bowl game…2004
…pitched a shutout…2004 (SMU)
…was shutout…1991 (Texas)
…scored 50 points…2005 (UNLV)
…went undefeated…1938
…won a conference title…2005 (Mountain West)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…Never
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2003 (Robert Merrill)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2003 (Reggie Harrell)
…had a first-round draft choice…2001 (RB LaDainian Tomlinson)
