Defense, special teams play critical role in Frogs 16-10 victory on Family Weekend
While the offense continues to have its woes, the rest of the Frogs picked up the slack in a 16-10 win over North Texas.
By Danny Gillham
Sports Editor

It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win.

The Frogs offense showed very little, but their defense and special teams stepped up to boost the team to a 16-10 victory over North Texas in front of 33,281 on Family Weekend.

The Frogs knew this was a important game in the minds of the Mean Green, and weren’t about to let them pull off an upset, players said.

“We came out with a point to prove,” senior linebacker LaMarcus McDonald said. “It was supposed to be those guy’s Super Bowl, and we wanted to take their Super Bowl away from them.”

Playing their fourth game in three weeks, TCU wondered if the team could get up for this game. However, any motivation needed was provided by North Texas.

“They tried to intimidate us by walking on our Frog, and disrespecting us,” senior defensive tackle John Turntine said. “The bottom line is between the whistles, that’s what all counts. We won that war.”

But before the victory, the Frogs struggled to find consistency on offense. The team amassed only 178 net yards, and had two turnovers that put the defense in uneasy situations.

The defense then took over.

With the Mean Green receiving the ball off the turnovers deep in Frog territory, the defense held UNT to just three points in the two drives.

“As on any team, defense wins championships and big games,” senior wide receiver Adrian Madise said. “I got to take my hat off to those guys. When we have messed up a little, they were there to pick up the slack.”

Head coach Gary Patterson also was pleased with the defensive performance.

“They just beat us up front offensively,” Patterson said. “We didn’t take advantage of some opportunities. Fortunately for us, our defense was better than theirs tonight.”

On special teams, junior Nick Browne and senior Joey Biasatti continued their stellar year, while senior return man Terran Williams’ two returns set up scores for 10 of the Frogs’ 16 points.

Now the Frogs head into the off-week. The conference schedule picks up on Oct. 5.

“We can’t get complacent at all,” Madise said. “We can’t allow ourselves to think that we are better than we are, because we have some tough opponents coming up. We can’t dwell on being 3-1, because its too early in the season.”