By Todd J. Shriber staff reporter The TCU Horned Frogs will face an old nemesis Saturday in Houston. A nemesis that is control-oriented, disciplined and open about how it plans to beat its opponent. That nemesis comes in the form of the Rice Owls, a team that has beaten the Horned Frogs three years in a row. Those victories, and any other victory Rice notches, comes via a successful running game.
Rice has won the time of possession battle in six of its seven games this year, and that's how the Owls have strung together four consecutive wins after starting the season 0-3. The Owls hold the ball an average of nine minutes longer than their opponents. But TCU head football coach Dennis Franchione said if the Horned Frog defensive is successful on first downs, Rice may not have the ball that long. "One of the biggest things is to play well on first down," Franchione said. "Last year, against us, they averaged a little less than two yards on first down." The Richardson-led rushing attack has piled up 1,844 yards on the ground this year. Rice's total offensive output in 1999 is 2,133 total yards. Last week, in its 49-7 victory over San Jose State, Rice ran the ball 81 times for 413 yards. Franchione said TCU has taken extra practice time in an effort to prepare for Rice's triple-option attack. "Gary (Patterson, TCU defensive coordinator) took a couple days out of two-a-days in the summer to go over the triple-option," Franchione said. "We also have an advantage in that (scout team quarterback) Sean Stilley ran the triple-option in high school." Richardson has thrown for five touchdown passes this year, and that's a big deal at Rice. He's only thrown 45 times, but he doesn't need to be much of a passer in Rice's offense. He is the team's leading rusher with 449 yards. TCU's running game won't play second fiddle to Rice's though. The Horned Frogs feature the nation's leading rusher in junior LaDainian Tomlinson. Freshman quarterback Casey Printers seems to be getting more comfortable with TCU's version of the option. Both players are trying to ignore the hype about this game being the deciding factor in the race for the Western Athletic Conference championship. "I take this as another football game," Printers said. "Rice is a good team, but we've just got to go out and play our game." Tomlinson said no single game is bigger than another. "Every game is a big game to us," he said. " As long as we go out, and we're focused we'll be OK." Rice is 3-0 in the WAC, and TCU is 2-1. Edge Box
Todd J. Shriber
By Matt Welnack staff reporter After his 300-yard rushing game against San Jose State two weeks ago, junior tailback LaDainian Tomlinson called his offensive line the best in TCU history. While that assertion remains debatable, this season's group of blockers continue to open holes big enough for a truck to drive through and provide protection to freshman quarterback Casey Printers. Junior center Jeff Garner said one of the main reasons this year's offensive line is as good as it is, is because they have a closer bond with each other than past lines. They are all the same age, and they all started their college career together at TCU. They go out to eat with each other every Thursday night, usually to a steakhouse. They finish each other's sentences, and they know what each other are thinking on the field. "We've been through exactly the same stuff since we've been here," junior tackle David Bobo said. Because of the limited time in the huddle, the linemen can only say a word or two. And sometimes that's all it takes. "It's just knowing that you can say one word, and it can mean a couple of sentence's worth of information," Bobo said. Offensive coordinator Dan Dodd said on almost every team, the offensive linemen are the closest of any group. "I guess it's because of an 'us-against-the-world' mentality," Dodd said. "The only satisfaction the offensive linemen get is from doing their job. They knock their guy down to get a sense of satisfaction." While it is the backs and receivers that score the points and get the notoriety, the linemen get their satisfaction from seeing the back of Tomlinson's jersey as he races toward the end zone, Garner said. "We don't worry too much about not getting the glory," Garner said. "We get our glory out of seeing (Tomlinson) leading the nation in rushing and scoring touchdowns. We're just as happy when he scores touchdowns as we would be if we scored touchdowns." Dodd said the only ways to objectively measure the success of an offensive line is the number of rushing yards and sacks allowed. But, Dodd said, the performance of the offensive line is key to the success of the whole team. Tomlinson leads the nation in rushing with 176 yards a game. The rushing offense as a whole is second in the Western Athletic Conference and 12th in the nation, averaging 242 yards a game. The quarterback has been sacked only five times this season for a loss of 40 yards. "They take great pride in running the football," Dodd said. "They are, without a doubt, the glue that holds the offense together. You can have all the great skilled athletes you want, but if you don't have kids up front - end of story - you can't be good on offense." Dodd said if a team's offensive line is hard-nosed and tough-minded, they have a good chance of succeeding. "They really set the pace in terms of leadership because they don't have a lot of individual statistics," Dodd said. "They set the pace on the practice field, in the locker room, on game night and in the huddle."
Matt Welnack |
The Owls run the triple option as their offensive attack.
That means TCU defenders will have to keep tabs on quarterback Chad Richardson
and three other running backs on any given play.| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |