The Frogs were six points behind until the third quarter, when Crouch led a 10-play, 98-yard drive to seal the victory.

Four touchdown underdogs, the Frogs kept it closer than most prognosticators expected. Head coach Gary Patterson said he thought his team reacted well in front of the 77,473 in attendance.

"After the initial shock of playing in front of 78,000 and playing a team like Nebraska, I thought they settled down," Patterson said.

The Frogs limited last yearâs top rushing attack to 159 yards. Nebraska had negative 20 rushing yards in the second quarter, giving head coach Frank Solich fits.

"We didnât pick things up well inside, but we did get back to where the option played a very big part in the second half," Solich said. "Our power game struggled."

Patterson said the Frogs experience playing the option helped.

"Once we got our option responsibilities down, we felt like that one of the things people are scared to do against the option is they are scared to blitz it," Patterson said. "Because we play against it in practice, we understand a little bit more about it. So we were able to take some chances and got fortunate on some plays and (Nebraska) lost yardage."

Nebraska stormed out of the gate early to score on their first drive. Crouch had runs of 33 and 12 yards and I-back Thunder Collins, playing for suspended I-back Dahrran Diedrick, ran for a 6-yard touchdown.

"With a lot of young guys it takes time to get used to the speed, especially Nebraska. They are fast," senior linebacker Chad Bayer said. "Once we picked it up, we started playing pretty decent."

TCU responded with a touchdown the next drive. Junior quarterback Casey Printers, zig-zagging his way around the Nebraska pass rush, threw to h-back Matt Schobel for a 67-yard touchdown.

"I am not sure how he got over there," Printers said. "(It was) one of those deals where I came back around and I donât know why I turned back around, but I am thankful that I did."

Notes:

• Sophomore defensive end Bo Schobel is out for the year with a torn right ACL.
• John Turntine was carted off the field with a neck injury in the late fourth quarter. Turntine never lost consciousness and will fly back with the team. Precautionary X-rays showed no injury.
• Turntine received a standing ovation from the sold out crowd in Memorial Stadium. After the game, players from both teams prayed for Turntineâs well-being in the center of the field.
• Redshirt freshman Marvin Godbolt was the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Pigskin Most Valuable Player of the Game for TCU. Godbolt received a $5,000 post-graduate scholarship from the NACDA Foundation. Godbolt had five tackles for 37 yards lost.

Brandon Ortiz
b.p.ortiz@student.tcu.edu