Football Notches Win Over Northwestern, 48-24

Saturday, September 7

Evanston, IL

12:00 PM CT

TCU

1-1

Northwestern

0-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

TCU

Northwestern

LaDainian Tomlinson won the Doak Walker Award.

Football Notches Win Over Northwestern, 48-24

9/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

Sept 7, 2002

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By NANCY ARMOUR
AP Sports Writer

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Corey Connally rushed for 88 yards and a score and had another 33 yards receiving Saturday as TCU beat Northwestern 48-24.

Quarterback Sean Stilley rushed for a touchdown and passed for another, and backup Tye Gunn also rushed for a score for the Horned Frogs (1-1).

Jason Wright was the lone bright spot for Northwestern (0-2), returning the opening kickoff for a school-record 100 yards. He also set another mark with 191 yards on kick returns.

But overall, it was another dismal day for Northwestern, which was soundly beaten last week, too. The Wildcats were sloppy and disorganized, fumbling the ball six times and setting up two TCU touchdowns with their miscues.

They did score twice in the final 22 minutes to make the score respectable, but the game was well out of hand by then.

Northwestern didn't solve its quarterback dilemma, either. All three quarterbacks played, and only true freshman Alexander Webb stood out. But Webb played just four series before getting sandwiched between two defenders and having the wind knocked out of him.

Webb was 2-of-6 for 45 yards. Brett Basanez, who started the game, was 6-for-17 for 74 yards. Tony Stauss, the starter last week, was 8-of-12 for 50 yards.

The Horned Frogs have had a rough week, playing Monday afternoon and losing in overtime after leading by 15 in the fourth quarter. But they didn't look tired, outgaining the Wildcats 441-275 and running off 41 unanswered points.

Northwestern should get some of the credit for those points, though. After getting off to a quick start with Wright's return, the first allowed by TCU since Oct. 8, 1986, Northwestern got sloppy.

They had the ball at the TCU 1 on their next possession but had to settle for David Wasielewski's 22-yard field goal. Then, punting from their own 25 midway through the first, they gave up a safety when freshman Chris Horton snapped the ball over Brian Huffman's head and into the end zone.

TCU got its first touchdown off yet another Northwestern mistake. The Horned Frogs were punting after their first series of the second quarter, and Northwestern freshman Mark Philmore grabbed the ball at his own 11 and then promptly dropped it.

LaTarence Dunbar recovered, and on the next play, Stilley ran 11 yards for the score. Stilley hit Kevin Brown for the conversion, giving TCU a 13-10 lead.

On Northwestern's next possession, Basanez was scrambling at his own 24 when he got hit by LaMarcus McDonald and the ball popped up in the air. John Turntine recovered it at the 21 and ran it in for another touchdown to give TCU a 20-10 lead.

Gunn, Connally and Dunbar all rushed for touchdowns as TCU took a 41-10 lead. It was midway through the third quarter before Northwestern finally got back on the board.

Wright had another long return, taking the ball 74 yards before finally running out of bounds at the TCU 20. Jeff Backes had three carries to give Northwestern fourth-and-2 from the 12.

The Wildcats were then called for a false start, pushing them back to the 17. But they decided to go for it. Good thing, too, as Backes scrambled around the left end and ran it in for the score.