Tomlinson Runs For Season High 305 Yards
11/18/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) (Nov.18) LaDainian Tomlinson ran for season-high 305 yards and three touchdowns, including scores of 68 and 89 yards, as No. 15 TCU beat Texas-El Paso 47-14 Saturday, November 18.
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| TCU tailback LaDainian Tomlinson, (5) breaks away from University of Texas-El Paso defensive back Derek Walker, (48) and runs 68 yards for a touchdown during the first quarter in Fort Worth, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2000. Tomlinson ran for season-high 305 yards and three touchdowns in TCU's 47-14 win. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam) |
Still, the record-setting game wasn't Tomlinson's best against the Miners (8-3, 7-1). He set an NCAA I-A record with 406 yards and also scored six TDs against UTEP last season.
UTEP, which had set a school record with seven straight wins, will have to wait to see if it will have to share its first WAC title and to which bowl it will be going. TCU would have to lose Friday at SMU for the Miners to win the title outright.
The Miners scored first, when Rocky Perez threw a 3-yard TD pass to Lee Mays midway through the first quarter, six plays after a fumble by TCU quarterback Casey Printers was recovered by Trey Merkens at the Frogs' 20.
After that, it was all Tomlinson and TCU, which had 529 total yards.
Tomlinson had 33 carries, and increased his NCAA-leading rushing total to 1,984 yards. He has 5,089 career yards.
Tomlinson took an inside handoff, busted through a gap untouched and then shed defensive back Crance Clemons at the 45 on his 68-yard scoring run.
George Layne scored the go-ahead TD on a 4-yard run early in the second quarter, but the 10-play, 74-yard drive began with runs of 18, 6 and 12 yards by Tomlinson.
Midway through the third quarter, Tomlinson took an inside handoff, sprinted to the right and then outran two defenders for his 89-yard score. He added a 1-yard TD early in the fourth that capped a 15-play, 74-yard drive.
Tomlinson has more than 100 yards in 12 straight games, a streak that began with the record game against UTEP last November.
The Frogs actually put the game out of reach when Printers threw two TD passes in a 61-second span in the second quarter.
Printers, a sophomore who is 17-3 as the TCU starting quarterback, hit streaking Cedric James in stride for a 75-yard TD pass that was the longest score for both players. Printers also threw an 8-yard TD pass to Chad Purcells.
Printers finished 10 of 18 for a season-high 216 yards.
Chris Kaylakie had field goals of 27 and 38 yards for the Frogs, who have won 11 straight home games and already accepted an invitation to play in the Mobile Alabama Bowl on Dec. 20.
UTEP's only other TD came when Perez hit diving Allan Ray for 7 yards with 6:25 remaining. That capped a 17-play, 83-yard drive that took nearly 7 1/2 minutes.
Perez finished 21 of 46 for 217 yards. He set a UTEP single-season record with 26 TD passes, 15 of them to Mays.
