Frogs Travel to San Jose State

#9/9 TCU (7-0, 4-0) at San Jose St. (6-3, 4-1)

Game 8
Nov. 4, 2000 * 9:05 p.m. (CST)
Spartan Stadium (30,456)
San Jose, California

Television: ESPN2 (Mark Jones (play-by-play), Gino Torretta (color analyst) and Rob Stone (sidelines)).
Radio: TCU/ESPN Sports Network (Brian Estridge and John Denton). The game will be broadcast on KWRD 94.9 FM in Fort Worth-Dallas.

The Coaches:
Dennis Franchione (Pittsburg State, 1973)
Overall Record: 18th year * 135-64-2 (.676)
at TCU: 3rd year * 22-9 (.710)

Dave Baldwin (Cal St. Northridge, 1978)
Overall Record: 6th year * 26-37 (.412)
at SJSU: 4th year * 17-25 (.405)

The Series: 2nd meeting * TCU leads 1-0-0

Last Meeting: at TCU 42, SJSU 0 (1999)

Frogs Travel to San Jose State to Face Spartans
The TCU Horned Frogs (7-0, 4-0) travel to San Jose, California Saturday, November 4 to face the San Jose State Spartans (6-3, 4-1) in a Western Athletic Conference game. Game time has been changed to 7 p.m. (9 p.m. central time) to accommodate an ESPN2 nationally televised audience. The Frogs enter the contest ranked 9th by the Associated Press and 9th by ESPN/USA Today. TCU is also ranked 9th in the latest Bowl Championship Series Rankings.

The Nation's Longest Winning Streak
TCU's 37-0 win over Rice extended the Frogs' winning streak to 12 games. Thanks to Oklahoma's 34-14 win over Nebraska, the Frogs now have the longest winning streak in the nation. TCU's streak, the second longest in school history, is the longest since the 1937-38 teams produced 14 straight victories. The 1937 Frogs ended the season with three straight wins, then the 1938 team ran off 11 consecutive wins on their way to the national title.

Key Notes

A TCU win would extend the winning streak to 13 games, and send the Frogs to 8-0 for the first time since 1938. TCU has won five straight games on the road.

Heisman Trophy Candidate LaDainian Tomlinson has rushed for 1,950 yards and 23 touchdowns in the last 11 regular-season games.

Tomlinson leads the nation in rushing (184.7) and scoring (12.9).

Under Coach Fran, TCU has a 15-1 record when rushing for 240+ yards.

TCU has outscored their opponents by 202 points (253-51). Opponents have scored six touchdowns this year, four in the first quarter and two in the fourth. TCU has allowed only nine points on three field goals in the second and third quarters.

Under Coach Fran and defensive coordinator Gary Patterson, the Frogs are 17-2 when holding opponents to less than 300 yards of total offense.

The Frogs lead the nation in total defense (237.6) and scoring defense (7.3).

In 12-game winning streak, TCU has allowed only 791 yards rushing on 398 attempts, an average of 1.98 yards per attempt and 65.9 yards per game.

In the last two seasons, the Frogs are 7-1 in games played after November 1.

Poll Notes
For the 11th consecutive week, the Frogs are ranked in the national polls. This week, TCU is ranked 9th by the Associated Press and 9th by ESPN/USA Today. The #9 ranking is the highest the Frogs have been ranked since December 2, 1959, when TCU was ranked 7th by the AP. Before this season, TCU last appeared in the national polls on October 23, 1990, when TCU was ranked 24th by the AP and 19th by UPI. TCU's preseason national ranking was the first for the school since the 1960 season, when the Frogs were ranked 11th by the AP.

TCU-San Jose State Series
The Frogs and Spartans are meeting for only the 2nd time... TCU defeated San Jose State, 42-0, last season in Fort Worth... LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 300 yards on 23 carries as the Frogs build a 35-0 lead at the half...TCU held San Jose State to 246 yards, including only 74 yards rushing.

Red Zone Scoring Success
TCU has been extremely successful when penetrating the "Red Zone" during the 2000 season. The Frogs have scored points in 28 (20 touchdowns/8 field goals) of their 28 drives inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Last season, TCU scored on 35-of-43 trips (26 TDs/9 FGs) in the Red Zone. Opponents have scored in 5-of-11 trips (2 TD/3 FG) inside the TCU 20-yard line.

Winning Season
TCU's win over Rice provided the Frogs' with their seventh win of the season, allowing TCU to record their third straight season of at least seven wins. The last time TCU won at least seven games in three consecutive seasons was 1928-1936, when the Frogs won at least eight games in nine consecutive years. TCU last posted three straight winning seasons in the 1950s, when the Frogs recorded winning seasons in 1955-56-57-58-59. The winning campaign is the fifth in the last seven years, and the eighth in the last 35 years. A win Saturday would be TCU's eighth win of the season. TCU last won eight regular-season games in 1984, when the Frogs finished 8-4.

Football News Coach of the Year
Dennis Franchione has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the Football News Coach of the Year award. The list will be trimmed to three finalists on Monday, November 20. The official announcement will be made on Wednesday, December 6. The 10 finalists (listed alphabetically) are:

Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech)
Mike Belloti (Oregon)
Tommy Bowden (Clemson)
Bob Davie (Notre Dame)
Dennis Franchione (TCU)
Lou Holtz (South Carolina)
Rick Neuheisel (Washington)
Gary Nord (UTEP)
Bob Stoops (Oklahoma)
Randy Walker (Northwestern)

Football News Player of the Year
LaDainian Tomlinson has been named one of 15 semifinalists for the Football News Offensive Player of the Year award. The list will be trimmed to five finalists on Monday, November 20. The official announcement will be made on Wednesday, December 6. The 15 finalists (listed alphabetically) are:

Damien Anderson (Northwestern)
Michael Bennett (Wisconsin)
Drew Brees (Purdue)
Eric Crouch (Nebraska)
Woodrow Dantzler (Clemson)
Joey Harrington (Oregon)
Josh Heupel (Oklahoma)
Koren Robinson (N.C. State)
Ken Simonton (Oregon St.)
David Terrell (Michigan)
Anthony Thomas (Michigan)
LaDainian Tomlinson (TCU)
Michael Vick (Virginia Tech)
Derek Watson (South Carolina)
Chris Weinke (Florida State)

Rush for 240
A major statistical trend under Coach Fran has been TCU's success when they rush for at least 240 yards in a game. Overall, TCU is 15-1 in two-plus seasons under Franchione, when rushing for 240 yards or more. TCU has rushed for at least 240 yards in 5-of-7 games this season, including a season-high 393 yards against Hawaii. Last season, the Frogs were 4-0 when they surpassed the 240-yard barrier. Franchione-coached teams are 31-4 since 1992, when rushing for at least 240 yards. The game-by-game totals for 2000:

Opponent                Att.    Yards   Avg.    TD
Nevada                  55      317     5.8     4
Northwestern            69      387     5.6     3
Arkansas State          44      255     5.8     4
Navy                    51      197     3.9     1
Hawaii                  71      393     5.5     5
Tulsa                   46      223     4.8     1
Rice                    51      249     4.9     3

Opening Drive Scores
TCU has scored points on their first possession in 17 of the last 23 games, including five times this year. TCU has scored touchdowns against Nevada, Hawaii and Rice, and kicked field goals against Northwestern and Navy. In 1999, the Frogs scored points on the opening drive in 8-of-12 games.

Scoring Points, Recording Shutouts
The Frogs have scored points in 40 of 83 possessions this season... TCU needs to average 27.3 points per game in the final four games to tie the school record for points in a season... the 1984 Frogs scored 362 points on a school-record 48 TDs, while the 2000 Frogs have already scored 253 points on 32 TDs and 10 field goals... TCU has scored in 99 consecutive games... the last time the Frogs were shutout was a 32-0 blanking by Texas on Nov. 15, 1991... TCU has held their opponent to three points or less in seven of the last 14 regular-season games, including shutouts of San Jose St. (42-0), SMU (21-0) , Navy (24-0) and Rice (37-0)... TCU has outscored their opponent, 415-96 in the 12-game winning streak.

Big Play Offense
The Frogs have an offensive category titled "Explosives", which are rushing plays of 12 yards or more and pass plays of 16 yards or more. TCU's goal is to get at least eight per game. The breakdown for the 2000 season:

Opponent                Run     Pass    Total
Nevada                  7       2       9
Northwestern            9       2       11
Arkansas State          6       4       10      
Navy                    1       4       5
Hawaii                  7       2       9
Tulsa                   6       2       8
Rice                    5       3       8

Individual Rushing: Tomlinson (23), Printers (11), Layne (5) Stilley (1),
                    Madison (1).

Individual Receiving: Maiden (5), James (3), Brown (2), Dunbar (3), M.
                      Schobel (2), Layne (4), Ellis (1), Roberts (1).

Explosives by year      Run     Pass    Total
2000                    41      21      62
1999                    60      31      91
1998                    38      16      54

TCU's Workhorse
In the first seven games of the season, LaDainian Tomlinson has shown that he gets better the more he touches the ball. The TCU workhorse is averaging 184.7 yards rushing per game on an average of 33.7 carries.

Tomlinson by Attempt
Plays           Attempts-Yards  Average 
1-10            70-448          6.4
11-20           70-298          4.3
21-30           51-365          7.2
31-40           29-152          5.2
41+             10-39           3.9

Tomlinson by Quarter
Quarter Attempts-Yards  Average 
1st             72-424          5.9
2nd             66-378          5.7
3rd             51-322          6.3
4th             40-178          4.5

More than LT
As opponents have geared up to stop LaDainian Tomlinson, the Frogs have shown they do have other weapons. The following is a game-by-game look at TCU's over-looked weapons.

Oppt.     Player          Stats
Nev.      Layne           4 rush, 33 yards, 1 TD
NU        Printers        8-12 pass, 74 yards rushing
Ark. St.  Dunbar          4 recepts., 91 yards, 2 TD
Navy      Printers        14-of-17, 188 yards passing
          Layne           7 rush, 78 yards rushing
Hawaii    Layne           2 recepts, 55 yards receiving
Tulsa     Printers        14 att, 87 yards rushing
Rice      Layne           4 att, 35 yards rushing, 1 TD

Solid Passing Game
Entering Saturday's game against San Jose State, the Frogs are ranked second in the WAC and 14th in the NCAA in passing efficiency. The Frogs have completed 64-of-108 (59.3%) passes for 861 yards. TCU has a efficiency rating of 142.6 Against Navy, the Frogs completed 15-of-18 passes for 192 yards.

Now Wearing #1, Casey Printers
In 17 career starts, Casey Printers has a 15-2 record as the starting quarterback. Last season, he led the Frogs to a 8-2 record, earning third-team Freshman All-America honors. Printers, the MVP of the Mobile Alabama Bowl, helped lead the Frogs to a five-game winning streak to end the 1999 season.

In his career, Printers has completed 58.3% of his passes. This season, Printers has completed 59.8% (61-105) of his passes for 850 yards. He completed a single-game school record 82.3% (14-of-17) of his passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns against Navy. In the Arkansas State contest, Printers completed 11-of-15 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns, including a career-long 74-yard strike to LaTarence Dunbar. He enters the San Jose State game, needing 644 yards to move pass Lindy Berry into 10th in career passing yards at TCU.

Printers Career Numbers
        Passing                         Rushing
Yr.     C-A-I           Yds     TD      Att.    Yds     TD
00     61-102-5        850     9       56      229     1
99     86-150-7        1213    8       32      -69     1
Tot.    147-252-16      2063    17      88      160     2

Receiving Leaders
Tailback LaDainian Tomlinson enters the 2000 season as the active leader in career receptions. The following list is a breakdown of TCU's receptions leaders.

Player, Class                   Receptions
LaDainian Tomlinson, Senior     36
Cedric James, Senior            33
LaTarence Dunbar, Sophomore     32
Tim Maiden, Senior              26
Kevin Brown, Sophomore          14
B.J. Roberts, Junior            10
George Layne, Junior            9
Matt Schobel, Junior            7
Terran Williams, Sophomore      5
Andrew Hayes-Stoker, Junior     2
Quint Ellis, Sophomore          2
Chad Purcell, Senior            1

Another Threat
TCU's leading rusher, based on average per carry is not LaDainian Tomlinson, but fullback George Layne. The junior from Alvin has rushed for 238 yards on 32 carries, an average of 7.4 yards per attempt. Layne has also shown the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He is third on the team in reception yards with 133 yards on five receptions, an average of 26.6 yards per catch. Overall, Layne has 371 yards of total offense on 37 touches, an average of 10.02 yards per play. Layne is second on the team with six touchdowns, four rushing and two receiving.

One of the premier college football players in the country... a candidate for the 2000 Heisman Trophy, Doak Walker National Running Back Award and the Maxwell Award... on his way to leading the NCAA in rushing, Tomlinson burst onto the college football scene with an NCAA single-game record 406 yards rushing on 43 attempts against UTEP on November 20, 1999.

Solid Start for LT

LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 200 yards and scored two touchdowns on 41 attempts as the Frogs defeated Rice, 37-0.

Tomlinson leads the nation in rushing with an average of 184.7 yards per contest, and scoring (12.9).

Tomlinson has rushed for 1293 yards on 236 attempts this season, scoring 13 touchdowns. Tomlinson is averaging 14.3 yards more per game this season than he did in the first seven games of the 1999 season. He is on pace to rush for 2032 yards.

Tomlinson has scored 90 points this season, 39 more than the TCU defense has allowed.

Tomlinson has scored 23 touchdowns in the last nine regular-season games.

Last season, LT rushed for 300 yards on 23 attempts against San Jose State. He scored touchdowns on runs of 74 and 89 yards. The 89-yard run is the longest run in school history.

Against Tulsa, Tomlinson surpassed the 1,000-yard mark, becoming the first TCU player to surpass 1,000 yards in more than one season. He rushed for 119 yards and scored a touchdown in TCU's 17-3 win.

Tomlinson rushed for a season-high 294 yards and four touchdowns on a school-record 49 attempts against Hawaii. The outing was the third best day in his career, and it ranks fifth in TCU history. In the process, he became the first TCU player to rush for over 4,000 yards in a career.

Despite playing only three quarters against Arkansas State, he rushed for 140 yards on 23 carries, a 6.1 average. He scored touchdowns on runs of 64 yards and one yard.

LT rushed for 243 yards on 39 attempts against Northwestern, scoring two touchdowns.

Despite playing only three quarters against Nevada, Tomlinson rushed for 176 yards and three touchdowns on 24 attempts. He had one pass reception for two yards.

LT is the TCU record holder for touchdowns with 47. All 47 of his touchdowns have been on the ground. He tied the single-season record with 18 rushing scores in the 1999 season.

Tomlinson is first in the NCAA among active leading rushers with 4,398 career rushing yards on 774 attempts. Tomlinson is trailed by Anthony Thomas (Michigan) who has rushed for 3,858 yards, and Maryland's Lamont Jordan, who has rushed for 3,920 yards.

LT is also moving his way up the WAC's career record lists. He is third in rushing yards with 4,398 yards. He needs 416 yards to pass Steve Bartalo (Colorado State) and become the Western Athletic Conference's all-time leading rusher. He's 191 yards behind Marshall Faulk (San Diego State), who ranks second.

Tomlinson's 47 career rushing touchdowns ranks second in WAC history. He is 10 behind Marshall Faulk's (San Diego State) 57 rushing TDs. He needs to score three rushing touchdowns to move into the NCAA career top-10.

He needs to rush for 560 yards, an average of 140.0 yards per game to move into the top-10 in NCAA career rushing. He is currently in 27th in NCAA career rushing yards.

He has eclipsed the 100-yard barrier on a school-record 17 occasions in his career, including each of the last nine regular-season games. The Frogs have a record of 14-3 when Tomlinson rushes for at least 100 yards.

He is TCU's all-time leader in all-purpose yards (5462) and total yards of offense (4624).

He can become the first TCU running back to earn first-team All-America honors since Kenneth Davis in 1984. Jim Swink earned first-team All-America honors in 1955.

Entering the 2000 football season, Tomlinson is the only running back in NCAA Division I history to surpass the 400-yard mark in a single-game.

He led the country in rushing in 1999 with 1,850 the first TCU player to lead the nation in rushing. The yardage total set a new WAC record and it ranks 22nd in NCAA history.

Tomlinson can become the fifth TCU player to finish in the top-five in voting for the Heisman Trophy. Sam Baugh finished fourth in 1935, Davey O'Brien won the award in 1938, Jim Swink was the runner-up in 1955 and Kenneth Davis finished fifth in 1984.

He is averaging 109.5 yards per game against ranked opponents. Since Tomlinson arrived at TCU in 1997, the Frogs have faced four nationally-ranked foes. He has rushed for 438 yards on 96 attempts, scoring five touchdowns. TCU has a record of 2-2 in the four games.

He owns five of TCU's top-seven single-game rushing efforts, rushing for at least 269 yards three times in 1999. In the process, he tied Kenneth Davis' school-record for 200-yard games in a season at three.

He is the TCU single-season record holder in attempts in a game (49), attempts in a season (268), yards in a game (406), yards in a season (1,850).

He owns three of TCU's 15 longest runs from scrimmage, including a school-record 89-yard touchdown run vs. San Jose State. Tomlinson also had an 80-yard touchdown run against Tulsa and a 79-yard run at Arkansas State.

A first-team pre-season All-America selection by Athlon, Playboy, Football News, The Sporting News, Texas Football, Blue Ribbon, Street and Smith and Preview Sports... a second-team All-America honoree by Lindy's... WAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year by Athlon, The Sporting News, Dave Campbell's Texas Football, Street and Smith, Preview Sports, Rivals.com and Lindy's... Texas Colleges Offensive Player of the Year by Dave Campbell's Texas Football.

Tomlinson's Stats       Att.    Yds.    Avg.    TD      Long    
1997                    126     538     4.3     6       36
1998                    144     717     5.0     8       33
1999                    268     1,850   6.9     18      89
2000                    236     1,293   5.5     15      64
Career                  774     4,398   5.7     47      89

Head Coach Dennis Franchione
In his third season at the helm of the TCU football program is Dennis Franchione (Pittsburg State 73). He has recorded a 135-64-2 record during his stints at Southwestern (Kan.), Pittsburg (Kan.) State, Southwest Texas State, New Mexico and TCU. Coach Fran is 22-9 overall at TCU, 12-4 at home and 10-5 on the road (including neutral sites). The Frogs had won a total of 22 games in the previous five seasons combined.

He has led the Frogs to bowl wins over USC (Sun Bowl) and East Carolina (Mobile Alabama Bowl). In his 18th season as a head coach, the 49-year old Franchione is presently ranked 15th among active NCAA Division I-A coaches in winning percentage (.677) and 13th in victories (135).

The 1999 WAC title was TCU's first football title in the conference, and the school's first football championship since 1994, when the Frogs tied for the Southwest Conference Championship. TCU's bowl win against USC was the school's first since the 1957 Cotton Bowl, when TCU defeated Syracuse, 28-27. Plus, the win over East Carolina gave Frogs back-to-back bowl wins for the first time since 1936-37, when TCU defeated LSU in the 1936 Sugar Bowl and Marquette in the 1937 Cotton Bowl. Franchione has recorded a win-loss mark of 37-18 in the last five years, posting winning seasons in both his last two years at New Mexico and his first three seasons at TCU. Under Franchione, 18 Frogs have received first or second-team all-conference honors in the last two years, plus LaDainian Tomlinson was named the 1999 WAC Player of the Year. Franchione was a member of the West coaching staff in the 2000 East-West Shrine game.

Double-Digit Starters
Nineteen Frogs have double-digit starting assignments to their credit, including Aaron Schobel who has started 41 straight games in his TCU career.

Player, Class, Position         Starts
Aaron Schobel, Senior, DE       41
Mike Keathley, Senior, OL       34      
Greg Walls, Senior, CB          32
Shawn Worthen, Senior, DT       31
Curtis Fuller, Senior, FS       30
Shannon Brazzell, Senior, LB    29      
Jeff Millican, Senior, OL       29
Russell Gary, Senior, SS        28
Jeff Garner, Senior, C          26
David Bobo, Senior, OT          24
LaDainian Tomlinson, Senior, TB 23
B.J. Roberts, Junior, TE        19
Victor Payne, Junior, OL        19
Chad Bayer, Junior, LB          19
Jason Goss, Sophomore, CB       17
Casey Printers, Sophomore, QB   17
Tim Maiden, Senior, WR          16
Shane Ladewig, Senior, OL       12
George Layne, Junior, FB        12

O-Line Knockdown Blocks
The Frogs recorded 96 knockdown blocks against Rice, including 27 by Jeff Millican. The game-by-game totals for 2000 with the starters totals in parentheses.

Oppt. (total)   Bobo    Millican   Garner  Payne   Keathley
Nev. (88)       17      16         8       10      12
NU (139)        30      33         25      36      13
ASU (83)        12      16         12      11      14
Navy (109)      25      25         15      20      14
Hawaii (88)     16      22         10      15      15
Tulsa (64)      17      15         9       11      12
Rice (96)       20      27         10      24      15
Totals (667)    137     154        89      127     95

Experienced O-Line
Entering Saturday's contest against San Jose State, the TCU offensive line has combined for 144 career starts. Mike Keathley leads the way with 34 starts in his career. Guard Jeff Millican has started 29 games, center Jeff Garner has posted 26 starts and tackles David Bobo has 24 starts to his credit. Junior Victor Payne has started 19 games and senior backup Shane Ladewig has started 12 times.

Special Teams
The TCU special teams' units played a pivotal role in the 17-3 win over Tulsa. Joey Biasatti punted 8 times for a 44.5 average, allowing one return for minus-six yards. Tulsa's Donald Shoals entered the game as the nation's leader in punt return average. Chris Kaylakie converted one field goal and two extra points, while LaVar Veale had one punt return for 17 yards.

Entering Saturday's contest against San Jose State, the Frogs are ranked first in the WAC in kickoff returns and net punting, and third in punt returns. In the NCAA, TCU is ranked 1st in kickoff returns, 10th in net punting and 23rd in punt returns.

The Frogs have returned nine kicks this season for 268 yards, an average of 29.8 yards per return. TCU has returned 19 punts for 232 yards, a 12.2 average. In the Nevada contest, LaVar Veale returned eight punts for 143 yards, scoring one touchdown on an 85-yard return. The punt return for a touchdown was the first by a TCU player since John Washington returned a punt 65 yards against Texas in 1995. LaTarence Dunbar also returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score against Nevada. Dunbar leads the nation in kickoff returns with a 34.0 average. Last season, the Frogs led the NCAA in kickoff returns with a 27.5 average. Reggie Hunt established a TCU single-season record with a 34.1 average. His average did not meet NCAA minimum requirements, or he would have led the nation in kickoff returns. Biasatti's 41.6 average ranks second in the WAC and 37th in the NCAA. Veale ranks first in the WAC and 21st in the NCAA in punt returns.

Kaylakie Continues to Climb in Record Books
Senior kicker Chris Kaylakie has successfully converted 10-of-11 field goals and all 31 PAT attempts. In his career, Kaylakie has now kicked 35 field goals in 49 attempts. He needs to kick four more field goals to climb into 2nd place in career field goals. All-American Michael Reeder kicked a school-record 57 field goals in his career. Kaylakie, a 1998 All-WAC choice, has successfully converted 95-of-97 (.979%) PAT attempts. He ranks second in TCU history in PAT conversions, five behind Ken Ozee's 100 PATs. Kaylakie has converted his last 42 PATs, a streak that ranks second in TCU history. With 31 PATs this season, he is fifth in single-season PATs. Kaylakie is third in TCU history with 200 points scored kicking in his career. Reeder is the record holder with 259 points. Ozee ranks second with 205 points.

The Nation's Top-Ranked Defense
TCU enters Saturday's game as the top-ranked defense in the country, allowing only an average of 237.6 yards per game. The Frogs also lead the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 7.3 points per contest.

In the last 11 games, TCU has allowed only 791 yards rushing on 398 attempts, an average of 1.98 yards per attempt and 65.9 yards per game. This season, the Frogs have allowed 652 yards rushing on 256 attempts, an average of 2.5 yards per rush. TCU is ranked 14th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing 93.1 yards per game. Since the arrival of Dennis Franchione and defensive coordinator Gary Patterson, a TCU opponent has been held to 100 rushing yards or fewer in 15 of 31 games. The TCU pass defense has also fared well this season, allowing only 144.4 yards per game. Opponent's have completed only 44.7% of their passing attempts. The Frogs are ranked first in the nation in passing yards allowed and third in pass defense efficiency.

Last season, TCU allowed only 139 yards rushing in the final five games of the year. In the Mobile Alabama Bowl, TCU held East Carolina to minus-16 yards rushing on 26 attempts. Overall, the Frogs finished the season fifth in the nation in total defense, allowing a meager 284.5 yards per game. In 1999, the Frogs were first in the WAC and 14th in the final NCAA rushing defensive statistics. Here is a closer look at how the TCU defense has fared under Patterson.

        Rushing Yds     Passing Yds     TDs             Total Yds       NCAA
Year    Avg./GM         Avg./Gm         Allowed         Avg./GM Total   Def. Rank
1998    163.1           182.7           25              345.7           40th
1999    100.9           183.5           24              284.5           5th
2000    93.1            144.4           6               237.6           1st

On the Defensive
TCU's top defensive efforts since the arrival of Dennis Franchione and Gary Patterson.

Total Yards
        Yards   Opponent        Year
        81      SMU             1999
        120     Navy            2000
        151     Arkansas State  2000
        164     North Texas     1999
        186     Rice            2000
        216     Tulsa           1999
        221     UNLV            1998
        223     East Carolina   1999
        246     San Jose State  1999
        254     Oklahoma        1998

Rushing Yards
        Yards   Opponent        Year
        -23     USC             1998
        -16     East Carolina   1999
        11      Nevada          2000
        14      Arizona         1999
        28      North Texas     1999
        31      SMU             1999
        32      Fresno State    1998
        38      UTEP            1999
        58      Hawaii          1999
        67      UNLV            1998
        72      Tulsa           2000

Aaron Schobel, a semifinalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award, has developed into one one of the top defensive ends in the country. In the NCAA national defensive stats released earlier this month, Schobel was tied for the national lead in sacks. Schobel is also a candidate for the Bronko Nagurski Award. In the last two weeks, Schobel has recorded 16 tackles, including seven against Rice. He had nine tackles against Tulsa, including three behind the line of scrimmage. He had five solo stops, four assisted, including an assist on a sack.

Schobel, who has recorded 6.5 sacks this season, is TCU's all-time leader in sacks, both career and single-season. He has posted 31 sacks in three-plus seasons, resulting in losses of 220 yards. Overall, he has recorded 59.5 tackles behind the line for losses of 307 yards. He established the single-season record in 1999, recording 10 sacks. He added three more to his total in the Mobile Alabama Bowl, when he posted three sacks against East Carolina. Schobel has started 41 consecutive games in his career. The only game he did not start was the first game of his redshirt freshman year. Schobel was a preseason second-team All-American by Football News, and the WAC preseason Defensive Player of the year by the WAC's head coaches, The Sporting News, Athlon, Preview Sports and Lindy's magazines. The Sporting News rated Schobel as the fifth best defensive end in the country.

Career Sacks
Rank    Player                  Total
1.      Aaron Schobel, 1997-    31

Career Tackles Behind the Line
Rank    Player                  Total
1.      Aaron Schobel, 1997-    59.5

Career Yards Lost Tackling
Rank    Player                  Total
1.      Aaron Schobel, 1997-    307

Sack Attack
The 2000 Horned Frogs are closing in on TCU's 1999 record-setting total of 37 sacks. TCU has recorded 31 sacks in nine games, including a single-game school-record 15 sacks at Nevada. The Frogs recorded 12 in the first half, erasing the previous school-record of nine in just two quarters. Thirteen different Frogs have posted at least one sack. Aaron Schobel, TCU's all-time leader in sacks, has a team-leading 6.5 sacks. Backup end Joe Hill has recorded 4.5 sacks, and Shannon Brazzell is third with four sacks. Chad Bayer and Bo Schobel are tied for fourth with three sacks.

Behind the line of Scrimmage
The Frogs have recorded 78 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, resulting in losses of 289 yards. Including the school-record 15 sacks, TCU posted 20 tackles behind the line against Nevada. TCU recorded 17 tackles behind the line of scrimmage against Arkansas State, including four sacks. Shannon Brazzell leads the team with 12 tackles behind the line, followed by Aaron Schobel (nine), Chad Bayer (nine), Shawn Worthen (six) and Joe Hill (six). Last season, TCU recorded 117 tackles behind the line of scrimmage for losses of 452 yards. Schobel led the team with 19 stops in the backfield, Brazzell had 15 and Bayer had 14 tackles behind the line. The following is a list of TCU's current leaders in career tackles behind the line.

Career Tackles Behind the Line
Player, Class             Total
Aaron Schobel, Senior     59.5
Shannon Brazzell, Senior  33.5
Shawn Worthen, Senior     24
Chad Bayer, Junior        21
Russell Gary, Senior      13

Against the WAC
In four-plus seasons in the Western Athletic Conference, the Frogs have compiled a win-loss mark of 17-18 against WAC competition. However, TCU has won 11 of the last 12 conference games. Nevada, the newest member of the WAC, was the 15th different conference opponent for the Frogs since joining the league in 1996.

Injury Report
Starting cornerback Jason Goss has been lost for the season. Goss tore the ACL in his left knee during open week practice. Punter Joey Biasatti has also been lost for the year, after breaking his right leg against Rice.

Frogs on Television
Ten of TCU's 11 games are scheduled to be televised. ESPN2 is televising the San Jose State game, while ESPN Regional televised the Nevada (Sept. 9), Tulsa (Oct. 21) and Rice games (Oct. 28). Fox Sports Net will nationally televise the Northwestern (Sept. 16), Navy (Sept. 30), Fresno State (Nov. 11) and SMU (Nov. 24) contests. Fox Sports Southwest will televise the Hawai`i (Oct. 7) and UTEP (Nov. 11) games on a regional basis. In the last two seasons, TCU has appeared on television 10 times, including five national broadcasts.

Up Next
The Frogs return home to host Fresno State in a WAC contest. Kickoff for the November 11th contest is set for 2:30 p.m. The game will be televied nationally by Fox Sports Net.

Schedule

Frogs Travel to San Jose State

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Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Football versus Iowa State on Nov. 8, 2025 at 2:30 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football at BYU on Nov. 15, 2025 at TBD

Upcoming Event: Football at Houston on Nov. 22, 2025 at TBD

Upcoming Event: Football versus Cincinnati on Nov. 29, 2025 at TBD

Frogs Travel to San Jose State

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