Owl hunting
Frogs sustain nation’s longest winning streak by defeating Owls

By Matt Stiver
skiff staff

Sophomore quarterback Casey Printers pleaded with his coach. When head coach Dennis Franchione called in his play choice, Printers shook him off three times before Franchione consented.

Maybe Printers thought TCU was trailing by four, instead of leading by 30, with 1:46 to play from the Rice 33-yard line. Or maybe he and the rest of the Frogs were tired of losing to the Owls.

When the Frogs broke the huddle, Printers dropped back and lofted a 33-yard strike into the waiting arms of sophomore wide receiver LaTarence Dunbar.

“That was four years of frustration right there,” Printers said. “I knew the seniors on this team waited and wanted this game.”

By virtue of their 37-0 victory over Rice, TCU’s first over the Owls since 1995, the Frogs now own the longest winning streak in the nation at 12 games.

The current squad is a far cry from the 1-10 team Franchione inherited in 1998. TCU moved up to No. 9 in the Associated Press poll, their highest ranking since 1959 and No. 9 in the Bowl Championship Series poll.

“As visionary as I try to be, not even I could have dreamed this,” Franchione said.

The Frogs, who came out slow on their first offensive series, soon found motivation. After going three downs and out, sophomore punter Joey Biasatti dropped back to punt. As Biasatti completed his kick, Rice freshman linebacker Jeff Vanover slipped and fell into Biasatti, breaking both his right tibia and fibula.

Technically, the Frogs only picked up a first down via the personal foul penalty for roughing the kicker.

Emotionally, they got a huge lift.

“It pumped us up,” Printers said. “The offensive line was ready to play after that.”

TCU gained 249 yards on the ground and Printers added 151 through the air.

Rice head coach Ken Hatfield said the injury was unintentional.

“I think that play kind of rallied their team,” Hatfield said.

The Frogs responded, going 80 yards on 16 plays. Junior fullback George Layne scored on a 1-yard dive, giving TCU a lead it would not relinquish.

The TCU defense held the Owls to 186 total yards. Rice trailed 20-0 and had only 34 yards at the half, but got its running game going in the third quarter. The Owls rolled up 138 yards and held the ball for 12:12, but the Frogs kept them out of the end zone.

Taking the second half kick off, the Owls drove to the TCU 19-yard line. Rice then threw four straight incomplete passes despite averaging 7 yards a rush on the drive.

On its next drive, Rice used 14 plays to march from its own 17-yard line to the TCU 1-yard line. After getting stopped on three tries, the Owls tried to sweep around outside on fourth down. Senior cornerback Greg Walls tackled Rice running back John White for a loss.

The Owls would not threaten to score again.

The Frogs took over at their own 5-yard line, and they put Rice away with the subsequent scoring drive.
Senior tailback LaDainian Tomlinson, who rushed for 200 yards and two touchdowns, gave the Frogs a 30-0 lead when he scored on a 4-yard sweep with 9:34 left in the game.

Matt Stiver
m.r.stiver@student.tcu.edu

Defensive stop helps Frogs preserve shutout

By Danny Horne
sports editor

In the grand scheme of the game, it was just one play. But for the Horned Frogs, it could mean the difference between a resounding 37-0 win and just another run-of-the-mill win similar to the 17-3 win over Tulsa Oct. 21.

With the 23-0 score at the start of the fourth quarter and Rice driving for a possible score, the Owls were stalled at fourth-and-goal from the TCU one-yard line.

The Owls attempted a sweep around the left tackle which was stuffed by TCU senior cornerback Greg Walls.

HIllary Morgan/SKIFF STAFF TCU junior linebacker Chad Bayer (48) and junior weak safety Charlie Owens (17) help make a tackle on Rice junior fullback Jamie Tyler. TCU held Rice to 186 total yards, including 140 yards rushing.

Head coach Dennis Franchione said that play wasn’t necessarily the turning point of the game.

“It was probably more like a finishing point,” he said. “I guess you could say that it was more like the dagger into the heart. The resulting drive was probably even bigger.”

Instead of Rice narrowing the score to, at least, 23-7, TCU drove 95 yards the other way to give TCU a 30-0 lead. At the same time, TCU managed to trim valuable minutes off the clock.

TCU defensive coordinator Gary Patterson said he couldn’t speak for the offense, but said the goal-line stand really seemed to put a charge into the team.

“The whole sideline really got picked up by that,” he said. “Our defense has a lot of heart and that was made evident on that play.”

Theoretically, if Rice gets that touchdown and follows with a defensive hold in TCU’s next series, the Owls get a chance to make the game close. Granted, that doesn’t make for a Rice win, but it would’ve dramatically hurt the Horned Frogs’ rankings in polls like the Associated Press and subsequently the Bowl Championship Series.

The new BCS standings have TCU ranked No. 9, up four spots from last week. TCU was helped in large part by losses from Clemson, Kansas State and Ohio State.

While being No. 9 doesn’t guarantee anything, Franchione said he’s proud of what has happened so far.

“It’s something we can build from,” he said. “We know we have to keep getting a little higher. Losses from other teams are helpful for us because we have no guarantees and we understand that.”

After TCU’s lackluster 14-point win over Tulsa, the Frogs dropped to No. 11 in both the AP and coaches’ polls, but were impressive enough this week to climb back to No. 9 in each poll.

With the criticism the Horned Frogs get because of their less-than stellar competition, there is no room to stumble.

Franchione said there is a clear difference for the voters when they see 37-0 and 17-3.

“There’s no doubt it makes a difference,” he said with a laugh. “Another close game would just raise more issues about us and would just make us have to try to defend ourselves more. It’s nothing we haven’t learned to deal with.”

Danny Horne
bravestcu3116@mindspring.com

By Danny Horne
sports editor

Down love-40 on the fourth match point of Monday’s Intercollegiate Tennis Association Men’s Region VI Championship, TCU senior Esteban Carril cried out at the top of his lungs.

The outburst seemed to churn up his emotions as Carril came back to tie the third set at 6-6 and eventually won the tie-breaker 7-3 against University of Texas at Arlington junior Andy Leber.

Carril, who’s been playing through nagging injuries for much of the fall season, said he was just lucky because he has not been at full strength.

“It was all about luck,” he said with an exhausted smile. “You can play good points and make good serves, but to come back from four match points, it’s all about luck.

“I like to be able to run all over the place, but today and for most of the fall season, I’ve not had the strength. I’m just not in my top shape right now.”

Sarah Kirschberg/CO-PHOTO EDITOR Senior Esteban Carril returns a shot in his three-set championship win against Andy Leber of University of Texas at Arlington in the ITA Region VI Championships Monday. Carril lost the first set, but bounced back to take the next two for the win.

Carril defeated Leber 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3). Leber had beaten TCU sophomore Antonio Gordon in straight sets Sunday to reach the final. Carril defeated fellow Horned Frog senior Scott Eddin to reach the final, also in straight sets.

Men’s tennis coach Joey Rive said Leber had been playing particularly well and said that is what makes Carril’s comeback even more impressive.

“I’m impressed with his effort in the whole tournament knowing that he’s been hurt,” Rive said. “It’s tough to play two singles matches a day, plus doubles and then coming back (Monday) and play this grueling match and actually win.”

Carril played with emotion throughout the match, allowing his emotions to overflow into his play on different occasions. Leading 4-1 in the second set, Carril vehemently disagreed with a call. He and Leber exchanged words across the net, and Carril kicked the ball off the court.

Rive said it’s just part of how Carril likes to play.

“He has a tendency to go in and out with his emotions,” Rive said. “It’s really just all part of the genius.

ou can’t expect to mold him into something you’d want him to be. He’s been very successful playing that style.

“It was very clear that (Leber) got frustrated with (Esteban). When you play someone like Esteban, you have to stay emotionally stable. Leber wasn’t able to respond.”

The win was Carril’s second win over Leber this season. He defeated him at the ITA All-American Championships Oct. 13 in Stone Mountain, Ga.

Danny Horne
bravestcu3116@mindspring.com

By Ram Luthra
skiff staff

The TCU cross country runners made a bit of history at the Western Athletic Conference cross country championships on a wet and muddy Saturday afternoon at Mohawk Park in Tulsa, Okla., this past weekend.

The women’s squad captured the team title tallying 35 points, and TCU junior Glady’s Keitany won the individual crown. The victories marked the first-ever conference team and individual victories in school history.

“This is a great accomplishment for our players, coaches and the TCU cross country program,” cross country coach Dan Waters said. “It was a nice way to leave the WAC, but we have more things left on our agenda for the year.”

The women were led by Keitany, who won the individual title in the 8000-meter race in 17:22. Keitany has won four individual titles this year. Along with the victory, Keitany garnered WAC Athlete-of-the-Year and first-team all-WAC.

“Glady’s deserved that,” Waters said. “She worked very hard all year, and her six months of hard training and preparation paid off.”

TCU fared better than defending WAC champion Rice, who finished with 100 points. Texas-El Paso finished third with 110 points. Sophomore Robin Schacht finished the 5000-meter race in fourth place, with a time of 17:58, and junior Cindy Dietrich finished eighth, clocking in at 18:36.

“Robin and Cindy both ran hard for us today,” Waters said. “All the runners ran above what they have been finishing, but I was really impressed with Cindy’s performance.”

Waters was the unanimous choice for women’s Coach of the Year, after the Frogs placed five runners in the top 12 to win the conference title by a 65-point margin.

Special to the Skiff TCU junior Glady’s Keitany leads the pack at the Oklahoma State Jamboree Classic. Keitany won that meet as well as three others, including last weekend’s Western Athletic Conference Championship.

On the men’s side, the Frogs found success in the individual competition.

TCU junior transfer Eliud Njubi won the individual title. He ran the 8000-meter course in 24:42 and garnered WAC Athlete-of-the-Year and first-team all-WAC honors.

“He ran comfortably all through the race,” Waters said. “This is a race he wanted to win, and he did. I think this will be a great confidence boost for him that will carry over in the regional meet and the nationals.”

Njubi’s win marked the second TCU male runner to win an individual title at a conference meet. Glen LeGros won the Southwest Conference title in 1991 and 1992.

The men’s team finished in sixth place, tallying 111 points. Waters said both teams will use the next couple of days to rest and get their bodies healthy.

He said Herbert Mwangi, the men’s No. 2 runner, did not run in the meet because of an injured Achilles’ tendon. He said he will likely return to the lineup for the South Central Regional Meet in Denton Nov. 11.

“I hope we can take some of the momentum from the WAC meet into the South Central competition,” Waters said. “If we can duplicate this confidence and energy there, we will be in good shape.”

Ram Luthra
r.d.luthra@student.tcu.edu

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