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Sunday,
September 02, 2001 See Friday Issue
DENTON__The TCU Football team threw for only 92 yards Saturday and turned the
ball over twice to win ugly, 19-5, over North Texas and give head coach Gary
Patterson his first college win. We’re very frustrated with not being able to move theball, said junior
quarterback Casey Printers, who completed 10 of 16 passesfor 92 yards and
overthrew a pass to junior receiver LaTarence Dunbar for an interception. It
didn’t happen for us today. The Horned Frogs (1-1) held the Mean Green (0-1) to 130 yards total offense
and seven first downs. North Texas quarterback Scott Hall had 23 yards
passing and completed three of 12 attempts. There is no question there were two defense that came play tonight, North
Texas coach Darrell Dickey said. The difference was that their offense was
able to make plays and ours couldn’t. We didn’t make any plays in the passing game when we had the opportunities. The Frogs lone touchdown came on a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive in the
first quarter. On third-and-six, Printers found junior receiver Kevin Brown
at the back of the end zone to throw a 12-yard touchdown pass. The Frogs struggled offensively for the rest of the game, settling for four
Nick Browne field goals and finishing the game with only 198 yards total
offense. Patterson said Printers played well despite the lackluster statistics.
He had the one interception but overall got us 19 points and that’s all
that counts, Patterson said. We have to throw the ball better,but that
will come in time. The Frogs had two botched snaps, two turnovers, two fumbles and seven
penalties for 70 yards. North Texas its loss on the team’s inability to
capitalize these TCU mistakes. They’re further along on offense than we are, Dickey said. A few times we
had good position and easy chance to convert. But TCU is tough,and we didn’t
convert those chances. Brandon Ortiz |
Patterson pulls first win
by Kelly Morris
skiff staff
After eight months of waiting, Gary Patterson finally captured his first victory as head TCU football coach as the Frog’s won Saturday 19-5 against North Texas in Denton.
I’m relieved, Patterson said. It took the bowl game and then Nebraska before finally pulling out a win. I don’t care who the win is against. We could have played some church school over in Fort Worth as far as I’m concerned. We’ll take it.
Patterson’s first game as coach ended in a 28-21 loss against Southern Mississippi at the 2000 GMAC Mobile Alabama game December 20th. His second loss came at the hands of Nebraska just over one week ago.
With the win, the Frogs are now 1-1. The Mean Green are 0-1.
Senior linebacker Chad Bayer said even though Saturday’s victory wasn’t the most memorable, it was still nice to get a win for Patterson.
A win’s a win, Bayer said. We’re just happy to get one especially for Coach Patterson because he deserves it more than any other coach. He’s worked hard with this team, and the team loves playing for him.
But without the play of sophomore place kicker Nick Browne, the Frogs might have been looking at their second loss of the season instead of their first win. 13 out of the 19 points TCU scored came off the foot of Browne. Besides making the extra point on TCU’s only touchdown in the first quarter, Browne tied the TCU record for field goals in a game with four.
Saturday’s victory wasn’t the only win for Browne this weekend. Browne, who is also a member of the men’s soccer team, played in the 3-1 victory against Vanderbilt Friday in Nashville, TN. He will rejoin the soccer team today as they play its second game of the season against Belmont.
Despite balancing both sports, Browne said he was pleased to contribute in the game like he did.
I felt pretty good considering I had the (soccer) game Friday, Browne said. I felt my leg was strong. It’s a Catch-22 though because you always want to get chances for the field goals, but then again you always want the offense to put the ball in the end zone.
Patterson said Browne was a crucial part in the victory.
The guy was great, Patterson said. He kicks soccer goals during the day, and then field goals at night. We flew him in this morning, and he was with us all day. He will go back and play soccer Sunday.And if the Frogs want to continue winning, Patterson said the team has to work on its offense.
North Texas played really physical, Patterson said. We were fortunate to play in the red zone to allow North Texas to only come away with three points. On offense, there’s only one way to get an offensive line better and that’s to make blocks and drive and run the football. The second part is you have to able to get in the middle and start throwing the ball better.
The Frogs next game will be 6 p.m. Saturday against Southern Methodist in Dallas.
Kelly Morris
k.l.morris@student.tcu.edu
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