By Todd J. Shriber staff reporter Numbers really don't mean much in the world of college football. Just ask the TCU defense about its performance against San Jose State Saturday at Amon Carter Stadium. San Jose State came into the game ranked No. 9 nationally in total offense. The backbone of that offense was supposed to be the passing combination of quarterback Chris Kasteler and receiver Steven Pulley. TCU's defense headed into the game ranked No. 86 nationally in total defense and No. 105 out of 114 teams in pass defense. Those numbers seemed to matter little once the game started, as the Horned Frog defense made a performance that surprised even head coach Dennis Franchione. "I'm a little surprised," Franchione said after the game. "Not at our performance, but that we were able to do it to a team that last week had 500 yards and had been putting up 30 points a game for the last month. "It was a fantastic game plan that the defensive coaches had. We kept the quarterback off-balance. I don't think he knew where we were coming from when we coming." It showed in the final statistics that Kasteler was caught off guard by the TCU defense. He finished the day just 16 of 41 with one interception for 166 yards. He had been averaging 251 yards per game before the game against TCU.
Junior safety Curtis Fuller said it was part of TCU's game plan not to let Pulley be the game's deciding factor. "We did some things to slow him down," Fuller said. "We had a great game plan and we wouldn't let Pulley beat us. We shut down the run too. This isn't surprising; we can do this against anybody." Senior safety Reggie Hunt said the key was the defense's ability to play strong for all four quarters. "We've got the talent to shut down anybody," Hunt said. "We just talked about putting all four quarters together and we did this time." The game was expected to be a shoot-out coming in, but that scenario never materialized. "I probably ticked Gary off a little when I wondered if we could outscore them," Franchione said of TCU defensive coordinator Gary Patterson. "It was an incredible game by the defense."
Todd J. Shriber
By Matt Welnack staff reporter After coming off a dismal showing against Fresno State two weeks ago - when junior tailback LaDainian Tomlinson gained only 49 yards - the offensive line was challenged by head coach Dennis Franchione to perform better. With the help of the offensive line's blocking, Tomlinson is now the leading rusher in the nation after rushing for 300 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. Tomlinson is averaging 176.5 yards per game, which is 14 yards more than Iowa State's Darren Davis. "Seeing him break downfield and knowing I was a part of that, there's no better feeling (than) when he comes to thank us," junior tackle David Bobo said. The 42-0 win over San Jose State Saturday was another record-setting day for Tomlinson. His first quarter touchdown run of 89 yards was the longest rushing play in TCU history. Tomlinson's 300-yard effort is a career high and an Amon Carter Stadium record. "I didn't know that I had that many yards," Tomlinson said. "I felt like I may have had 200. The offensive line did a terrific job of blocking, so did our fullbacks. I felt like I had a lot (of yardage), but I didn't know I had that many." The offensive line made it easy for him by creating holes big enough to "run a diesel through," Tomlinson said. "This might be the best offensive line in TCU history," Tomlinson said. "They really moved a lot of people around today. From there it was all gravy." A total of 10 TCU players rushed the ball as the Frogs amassed 418 yards on the ground, which is the most during Franchione's tenure. Sophomore fullback George Layne rushed for 49 yards on six carries and scored two touchdowns, the first of his career. Freshman quarterback Casey Printers completed four of 12 passes for 67 yards and one touchdown. He left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury. Senior quarterback Patrick Batteaux came in relief, passing for 42 yards and one touchdown on three completions. "I think we could have thrown the ball more, but we didn't have to," Franchione said. TCU scored fast and furious - a total of 35 points - in the first half. Four of the Frogs' scoring drives were under 1 1/2 minutes. The 42 points were the most since Franchione took over the team last season, and the victory margin is the largest since TCU joined the Western Athletic Conference in 1996. "Certainly we scored pretty fast," Franchione said. "An 89-yard run doesn't take much time off the clock. Given my druthers between possession time and points, I'll take the points."
Matt Welnack
In a long-awaited announcement, TCU officially accepted an invitation to join Conference USA. But in an unexpected announcement, Southern Methodist University did not receive an invitation to flee from the crumbling Western Athletic Conference. This news comes somewhat as a surprise because the two schools were the front-runners in Conference USA's expansion plans. Talks with C-USA commissioner Mike Slive began in late August and TCU and SMU were considered to be a package deal for conference expansion. Going to Conference USA is a good deal for TCU because of the national exposure and quality of athletic programs. SMU, however, gets the bad end of this situation because they have to remain in the struggling WAC. Slive said the decision to not invite SMU was a numbers issue because the board of presidents did not want to increase the size of the conference. SMU athletics director Jim Copeland said SMU is somewhat surprised at being turned down for C-USA and are in the same situation as last year, which is "not that bad." Copeland said the decision not to invite SMU was more political than it was objective. "There are so many different ways to look at things," Copeland said. "You've got a number of different things from different angles. I talked to Slive before the press conference. He was hesitant to give reasons." Whatever Conference USA's reasoning is, it doesn't make sense to invite one and not the other. With the addition of the University of South Florida as a football-playing school in 2003, the conference will have 11 teams, one short for a championship game. It would seem logical then to accept SMU as the 12th school which would allow C-USA to have two divisions and have a championship playoff game. Obviously, this would mean increased revenue for all schools involved. It would also seem logical to keep the TCU-SMU cross-town rivalry intact. Who are the Frogs going to develop a rivalry with, the University of Alabama-Birmingham? In basketball last season, both the TCU-SMU match-ups were featured on ESPN. This season's football game is on national television. Nothing gets the football players more fired up than playing for the annual Iron Skillet, a trophy given to the winning team. Both Copeland and TCU head coach Dennis Franchione agree the rivalry should be kept intact. In fact, Franchione thinks the intensity of the rivalry will increase. Copeland said he will keep TCU on SMU's schedule in the future. "I have been a part of a rivalry that was not in the same conference," Franchione said. "That is still something that is possible. I think the rivalry will increase. That's a cross-town rival - and that's something that we all need." According to a prepared statement from the SMU athletics department, the school will continue to develop its athletics program with the WAC, with enthusiasm of course. It seems, however, that the WAC is heading in a downward spiral. Eight teams bolted last season to form the Mountain West Conference. TCU leaves this season. WAC senior associate commissioner Jeff Hurd said the WAC might stay at eight teams or look at possibly expanding. Of course, this comes from the man who in April said losing TCU would severely hurt the standing of WAC. "There is no question TCU is vital to the future success of the conference" Hurd said in April. "Without (TCU) it would be a mortal wound to the conference." Compare that to what Hurd said Monday. "We don't feel that the loss of one university, no matter who it is, is a death blow by any means," Hurd said. "We still consider ourselves a viable Division I conference and we'll explore what options we have." The athletics program at TCU is on the rise. With the addition of new athletic facilities, a Sun Bowl win and a new conference to play in, TCU looks to make the fighting Frog a brand name in the national spotlight. Whether SMU will follow suit, we don't know. Staying in the WAC certainly won't help its chances.
Matt Welnack is a junior news-editorial journalism major from San Antonio. He can be reached at (mgwelnack@-delta.is.tcu.edu)
By Paul Freelend skiff staff It's surprising how much Mustangs and mythological Greek monsters can have in common. In ancient Greek mythology, the Hydra, a fire-breathing monster, ravaged the countryside and whenever one of its heads were cut off, two heads popped up to take its place. When the Volley Frogs took away one of Southern Methodist's offensive weapons Friday night, two more popped up right where the other left off. "We were concerned about (junior middle blocker) Melissa Godwin coming into the match," head coach Sandy Troudt said. "She had been playing well for them of late. We tried to neutralize her, and we did, but we weren't able to accomplish much else. SMU just served us off the floor tonight." TCU was able to hold Godwin to only nine kills and six errors on 27 attempts, but Mustang outside hitters Kelly Klecka and Erin Pryor combined for 30 kills to lead SMU past the Volley Frogs 11-15, 6-15, 4-15. "Our kids were really high emotionally coming into the match," Troudt said. "We were able to contain Pryor at the start and she was making some errors. Lisa [Seifert, SMU head coach] pulled her and sat her on the bench so she would calm down. She calmed down but our kids didn't. I thought that Pryor and Klecka played as well as I have ever seen them play." TCU opened the match on fire, claiming the first five points on hitting and serving errors by SMU. The Mustangs would control play for most of the game, scoring the final six points of the game to take a 1-0 lead. The second game opened as a mirror image of the first game as SMU jumped out to an early 6-0 lead before the Volley Frogs closed the lead with 6-7. The Mustangs outdistanced TCU from there, closing out the game behind the serving of senior defensive specialist Mariah Ohlsen. The Mustangs flew out to an 8-1 lead in the third game. The Volley Frogs cut the lead to 3-8 before SMU finished off the match, taking seven of the next eight points to earn the three game sweep of the Volley Frogs.
Entering the match, Pape and Pryor were fighting for top honors on the Western Athletic Conference's all-time kills list. Pape came into the contest with 1,512 kills for her career while Pryor had 1,548. With the results of the match in, Pryor sits in eighth place all-time with 1,564 kills while Pape holds ninth place with 1,515 career kills. High on the Volley Frogs' list of things to work on for the next match is consistency in passing, King said. "We have been working on our passing every day in practice," she said. "It just seems that whenever we get pressed in a game situation we revert back to our old habits." Troudt agreed with King about the passing problems. "That was probably the worst passing performance that we have had as a program," she said. "We just came in too emotional. This will not be a recurring theme, though. We will fight back and keep getting better. We just got hammered and sometimes when you get hammered, it's the best thing possible for the program at that time." After a week of practice, the Volley Frogs will then spend a weekend on the road, visiting Texas-El Paso (4-12, 2-2 WAC) Saturday and Texas Tech (11-7, 1-5 Big 12) Sunday.
Paul Freelend
By James Zwilling skiff staff The TCU men's soccer team entered the 1999 season with a 2-22 record in the Western Athletic Conference. Tuesday, they lead the WAC after opening conference play with two wins in three days. Head coach David Rubinson said he is pleased with his team's performance. "If you look at our history in the WAC, this is a very nice feeling being 2-0," he said. The Horned Frogs defeated San Jose State, 3-1, Sunday at the TCU Soccer Complex in their second victory of the weekend following their 2-0 shutout Friday against Fresno State. The Horned Frogs garnered national attention Monday when NSCAA Midwest Regional rankings placed TCU 5th in the Midwest Region. TCU entered the SJSU matchup on a three-game winning streak with a record of 5-3-1. Sophomore midfielder Nick Baker opened scoring for TCU 3:12 into play with a goal off a corner kick by junior defender Michael Martin. "That first goal of the game was critical," Rubinson said. "After the goal we let down a little." Rubinson said the team relied on an organized defense and junior goal keeper Ian Keate to lead the team. "Ian, without a doubt, continually steps up to the plate and comes up big," he said. Sophomore midfielder Josh Rife scored his fifth goal of the season 67:47 into the game off an assist from junior forward Aaron Grieshaber, which ended the contest, 2-0. Rubinson said San Jose's struggle late in the game led to TCU's victory. "San Jose struggled finishing and couldn't hold it together under the gun," he said. "We bent, but we didn't break." Rubinson said the team recognizes it is at a critical point in the season. "At this point, we are playing with confidence, heart and intensity," Rubinson said. "The team knows that playing well is their only chance to make it to the NCAA tournament." The team carried their confidence into Sunday's double-overtime game against Fresno State. Junior forward Brad Johnson scored the first goal of the game. Fresno State answered 18 minutes later when Kupono Low scored to tie the game at 1-1. Baker scored his second goal of the weekend 74:51 into play to put the Horned Frogs in the lead, 2-1. Fresno State's Low answered with his second goal of the game 78:56 into the matchup again tying the game. Regulation time ended with the score tied, 2-2. Neither team managed a goal in the first overtime, but 119:38 into play Rife scored his second game-winning goal of the season of an assist by VanEnk. Rife leads his team with six goals on the season. Rubinson believes TCU simply played a better overtime. "We owned more of the midfield and we played better soccer," he said. "We were not willing to lose." The Horned Frogs will continue WAC play at 2 p.m. Sunday against Southern Methodist University at the TCU Soccer Complex. SMU, which currently ranks 24th in the nation, ranks directly above TCU in the Midwest Region. In a prepared statement, Rubinson said he believes his team is on its way to the top 25 in the nation. "This is the best all-around group of guys we've had," Rubinson said. "They've really come together in the past few seasons to put us where we are now. It's a great change to finally be at the top of the conference instead of the bottom. This team knows what it will take to become a top-25 program." Rubinson said he believes the SMU game will be an indicator of the team's abilities. "We have more quality players, more depth, ability and leadership than ever before," Rubinson said. "But we haven't arrived yet. Next week we play SMU, and we will have a better idea of where we're at."
James Zwilling |
What made things difficult for the Spartans was Kasteler's
inability to hook up with Pulley, the Western Athletic Conference's leading
receiver coming into the game. Pulley finished the day with just four catches
for 46 yards, all of which came in the second half with the game well out
of reach.
TCU was led by sophomore outside hitter Marci King's nine
kills while sophomore middle blocker Allison Lynch and freshman outside
hitter Stephanie Watson each chipped in seven. Sophomore setter Lindsay
Hayes contributed 27 set assists and senior outside hitter Jill Pape and
sophomore middle blocker Jennifer Sebastian led the Volley Frogs' blocking
effort with five assisted blocks each.| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |