Frogs Set To Take On Mustangs for Iron Skillet
11/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 27, 2003
QUICKLY: The Iron Skillet and Metroplex braggin' rights are on the line when the TCU Horned Frogs (10-1) travel to Dallas to face the SMU Mustangs (0-11) in the final regular season game of the 2003 campaign on Saturday, November 29. The Frogs, who had their 12-game winning streak snapped on Thursday, November 20 at Southern Miss by a score of 40-28, enter the contest ranked 19th in the country according to the Associated Press and 17th in the land according to the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll. They had climbed to as high as 10th in the A.P. poll and ninth in the coaches' poll prior to that loss. The Horned Frogs recorded their first 10-0 start since the national championship season of 1938 by posting wins over Tulane (38-35), Navy (17-3), Vanderbilt (30-14), Arizona (13-10 in OT), Army (27-0), USF (13-10), UAB (27-24), Houston (62-55), Louisville (31-28) and Cincinnati (43-10) before the setback at Southern Miss.
SENIOR SALUTE: This game marks the final regular season game for the 2003 senior class at TCU, one of the most successful classes in school history. Over the past four years the Frogs have recorded 36 wins (10-6-10-10). That represents the best four-year total since the '38 seniors posted 36 wins (12-9-4-11). The school record for wins over a four-year period is 40, set from 1932-35. The 2003 seniors are: Andy Boerckel, Nick Browne, Corey Connally, Destiny Curlee, Devon Davis, Bruce Galbert, John Glud, Josh Goolsby, Kenny Hayter, Ricky Madison, Jon Morgan, Stanley Moss, Matt Orlovsky, Robert Pollard, Chad Pugh, Tyrone Sanders, Bo Schobel, Brandon Williams and Chris Wingate.
A TCU WIN OVER SMU WOULD...: * Give the Frogs an 11-win season for the first time since 1938. * Match the second highest single season win total in school history. They won a school record 12 games in 1935 before winning 11 in 1938. * Extend the Frogs' winning streak over SMU to five straight games, matching the longest TCU winning streak in the series, set from 1949-1953. * Give the Frogs the all-time series lead over SMU, 39-38-7. * Allow the Frogs to be ranked in the nation's top 25 at the end of the regular season for the first time since 2000 and for just the second time since the 1959 season.
TCU HISTORY: This is the 107th year of intercollegiate football for TCU. The Frogs own an all-time record of 510-494-57. TCU has fielded a team every year since 1896, with the exception of the 1900 campaign. The Frogs have posted wins in 20 of their last 22 games since a 36-29 overtime loss at Cincinnati which opened the 2002 season.
THE LAST TIME OUT: The TCU Horned Frogs mounted a furious fourth quarter rally, but fell short in a 40-28 Conference USA loss at Southern Miss on Thursday, November 20. The loss snapped TCU's 12-game winning streak, the second longest in the nation behind Oklahoma. The Golden Eagles held a 31-6 advantage with just under 12 minutes to play in the game, but TCU scored 22 points over the next 4 1/2 minutes to close the gap to 31-28 with 6:55 remaining in the game. A field goal and a late touchdown after a TCU turnover gave USM the victory and at least a share of the Conference USA title. The Frogs outgained the Golden Eagles, 429-278 in the contest, but turned the ball over four times to USM's one. Brandon Hassell threw for 260 yards and Robert Merrill carried 16 times for 132 yards. Reggie Harrell caught seven passes for 108 yards.
JUST WIN BABY: Gary Patterson can't be accused of running up the score to secure additional votes in the polls, as five of the Frogs' 10 victories have been by just a three-point margin and another was a seven-point win They have three-point wins over Tulane, Arizona, USF, UAB and Louisville and defeated Houston by a touchdown. The Frogs have nothing to apologize for, as they went from 1972-1984 without winning a single game by three points or fewer. They were 0-9 during that stretch in games decided by a field goal or less. Five of the Frogs last 10 wins have been decided by three points or less. Prior to this season, they had won just five of the previous 49 games by three points or less. Dating back to last season, eight of the Frogs last 13 wins have been by a touchdown or less.
TEN WIN SEASONS: The Frogs have posted their second straight 10-win season and their third in the last four years. They have recorded 10 or more wins in a season seven times in school history: 1935 (12), 1938 (11), 1932 (10), 1933 (10), 2000 (10), 2002 (10) and 2003 (10). To put that in perspective, the Frogs went from 1974-1980 winning just nine times combined!
BOWL ELIGIBLE: TCU is bowl eligible for a school-record sixth consecutive season. TCU had never appeared in bowl games in even three consecutive seasons prior to the current streak. TCU is one of just 18 Division I programs which has gone to a bowl game in each of the past five seasons. The list includes four teams the SEC (Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee); three teams from the Big 12 (Kansas State, Nebraska and Texas); two from the ACC (Florida State and Georgia Tech), the Big Ten (Michigan and Purdue), the Big East (Miami and Virginia Tech) and the Pac-10 (Oregon and Washington); Conference USA rival Louisville and Marshall from the MAC.
IN THE POLLS: The Frogs opened the season ranked 25th in the Associated Press poll. It marked just the second time since 1960 that TCU was ranked among the nation's elite in the pre-season poll. They began the 2000 season ranked 20th by the A.P. and climbed to as high as ninth in both polls that year. The Frogs are 19th in the AP poll this week and come in as the 17th-ranked team according to the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll.
TCU-SMU...THE SERIES: The TCU-SMU rivalry dates back to 1915 (a 43-0 TCU victory in Fort Worth). This is the 84th meeting between these two Metroplex private universities. The all-time series is deadlocked, 38-38-7, but TCU has won four straight, five of the last six and seven of the last nine meetings. In games played in Dallas, SMU holds a 22-18-2 advantage.
MORE ON THE SERIES: The Frogs have defeated the Mustangs four straight years for the first time since 1962-65. TCU has outscored the Ponies by a 138-23 margin over the last four meetings, including a 100-17 in the last two meetings in Dallas. The last time TCU defeated SMU in five straight tries was from 1949-53. That five-game stretch is the longest TCU winning streak in the series.
FIRST HALF SUCCESS: TCU has trailed heading into halftime in just two of its last 23 contests. The only times the Frogs have trailed at the intermission since the 2001 galleryfurniture.com Bowl loss to Texas A&M were a 3-0 deficit to Navy on September 6, 2003 and a 24-6 deficit at Southern Miss on November 20, 2003.
QUARTERBACK TANDEM: The Frogs have received solid play from the quarterback position whether Tye Gunn or Brandon Hassell has been under center. The two have combined to hit 57.2 percent of their passes for 2,487 yards and 11 touchdowns while throwing just nine interceptions. The Frogs are averaging 226.1 yards through the air.
GUNN HOLSTERED: Starting quarterback Tye Gunn suffered a groin injury in the third quarter of the win over UAB and has not played in the last four games and is not expected to play in the SMU game. Gunn has been hampered by injuries all season. After blowing out his knee against Southern Miss a year ago, Gunn started each of the Frogs' first two games this year before suffering a separated right (throwing) shoulder in practice on September 9. He returned to the starting lineup at USF and also started against UAB. For his career, he is 118-for-193 (61.1 pct). for 1,420 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. He is 8-0 as a starter and the Frogs have averaged 32.1 points per game when he starts.
NO HASSELL TO PLAY BRANDON: Junior Brandon Hassell has started seven games at quarterback this season. He also led the Frogs to a come-from-behind win over UAB, subbing for the injured Tye Gunn. In addition to the most important statistic (6-1 as a starter), Hassell has completed 105-of-188 passes (55.9 percent) for 1,699 yards and nine touchdowns. He threw for 375 yards at Houston, the eighth most prolific passing game in TCU history, with four touchdowns, one shy of the school record. In the last four games, Hassell has completed 61-of-103 passes (59.2 percent) for 1,007 yards and five touchdowns Hassell had appeared briefly in two collegiate games but had never thrown a pass prior to the Vanderbilt contest this season. Due to an injury to Tye Gunn, Hassell went through the entire 2003 spring practice session as the team's number one quarterback. The Frogs are averaging 33.4 points when he starts.
THE RUNNING GAME: The Frogs are averaging 202.5 yards rushing per game, ranking third in the conference and 19th in the nation. The Frogs have had seven 100-yard rushing games this season, five by Robert Merrill and one each by Lonta Hobbs and Ricky Madison.Their season-high 407 yard rushing day at Houston was the high mark since 1999 vs. UTEP (475).
YOUTH IS SERVED: Redshirt freshman Robert Merrill has made his presence felt at the Division I level. After not appearing in the backfield in either of the season's first two games, Merrill posted three consecutive 100-yard rushing performances to begin his career. In his first start, he rushed 31 times for 148 yards in a win over Arizona. He went for a career-high 204 yards on 22 carries against Houston, including a career-long run of 58 yards. In last week's loss at Southern Miss, he carried 16 times for 132 yards, an average of 8.2 yards per carry. In nine games in the backfield, Merrill has recorded 178 carries for 983 yards and three touchdowns, an average of 109.2 yards/game, and five 100-yard games.
FRESHMAN FEATS: Robert Merrill has put himself into an elite class of freshmen running backs at TCU. He needs just 47 yards to become the top freshman rusher in TCU history, passing Lonta Hobbs' mark.
A GRAND PERFORMANCE: Robert Merrill needs just 17 yards to log the ninth 1,000-yard rushing season in TCU history.
THE NATURAL: Sophomore Lonta Hobbs proved to be "the natural" when the Frogs took off his redshirt for game 5 of the 2002 season. In the remaining eight games, he rushed for 1,029 yards (6.6 yards per carry) in breaking all the Frogs' freshman rushing records. He was named the C-USA Freshman of the Year, was TCU's offensive MVP and was a fourth team Freshman All-American. His yardage total increased in each of his first seven contests, culminating with a career-high 287 yards on 33 carries in the regular-season finale against Memphis. This season, Hobbs, a member of the pre-season Doak Walker Watch List, has been hampered by a right ankle injury for much of the season. He has carried 133 tiems for 503 ayrs and eight scores. He looked healthy against Houston when he rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, his sixth career 100-yard game.
A SCORING MACHINE: Lonta Hobbs has scored eight rushing touchdowns this season. Just a sophomore, he has logged 20 rushing touchdowns (and one receiving TD) in just 17 games and ranks sixth on the all-time TCU charts for rushing touchdowns.
HARRELL HURDLES UP CHARTS: Junior wide receiver Reggie Harrell has become the 'go-to' guy, as he's been asked to fill the big shoes vacated by graduated seniors LaTarence Dunbar (Atlanta Falcons), Adrian Madise (Denver Broncos), Kevin Brown and Terran Williams. Harrell has all the tools to be a great one with excellent size (6-3, 209) and speed (two-time national semifinalist in the 110m high hurdles). He leads the squad with 49 receptions for 869 yards, an average of 17.7 yards per catch. He had caught at least three passes in each game this season except Cincinnati, as he left that game in the first half with an ankle injury after just one catch. He logged a career-high eight receptions for a career-high 128 yards in the victory over Louisville. He also had a 127-yard receiving performance at Arizona, including a 98-yard touchdown reception, his first career TD. With 869 yards receiving, he needs just three yards to break the school record of 871 yards receiving in a season, set by James Maness in 1984.
RED ZONE SUCCESS: The Frogs have a huge advantage in the red zone this season. They have scored on 43 of 49 opportunities (88 percent), including 25 touchdowns and have tallied 231 points. Meanwhile, TCU has allowed opponents just 25 scores in 36 tries in the red zone (69 percent) for a total of 138 points. TCU has scored in 25 of its last 26 and in 29 of its last 31 visits in the red zone.
KICK WITH NICK: Senior Nick Browne continues to break all the kicking records at TCU. He has hit on eight straight and 20 of his last 21 field goal attempts, as is the school's all-time single season kicking points leader with 107. His 25 field goals this season is a school record. He set a single game school record with 19 kicking points and tied his own mark with five field goals in the win over Cincinnati. A Groza Award semifinalist for the second straight year, Browne is a perfect 3-for-3 in his career from 50 yards out, including one vs. Vanderbilt earlier this year. He is tied for the nation's lead with an average of 2.27 field goals made per game and is eighth in scoring (9.91 ppg). He has been named the C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week a record five times this season and nine times in his career. He sits atop the all-time scoring list for kickers at TCU with 284 points and is behind only LaDainian Tomlinson in career points at TCU regardless of position. Browne is also the school record holder for career field goals made, converting 62 of 78 attempts. Browne was a pre-season all-America candidate and the defending placekicker on the first team Verizon academic all-America squad. He was Playboy's 2003 Anson Mount Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He was a first team all-league selection a year ago and was the pre-season co-favorite to win the 2003 Special Teams Player of the Year award.
MR. RODGERS NEIGHBORHOOD: Cory Rodgers has made a favorable impression as a redshirt freshman. He had the best game of his career at Houston when he hauled in six passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns. It was the high mark for a TCU receiver since Adrian Madise logged 177 yards vs. Southern Miss in 2001 and the ninth best in school history. He also scored on a rushing touchdown on his only carry. Rodgers had just six catches for 71 yards and no touchdowns through the season's first four games, but has caught 25 passes for 449 yards and four touchdowns in the last seven games. He also has two rushing TDs in that seven-game stretch. Rodgers also handles the Frogs kickoff and punt return duties and leads the squad with 122.8 all purpose yards per game.
SCHOBEL SACKS 'EM: Senior defensive end Bo Schobel is showing why he is regarded as one of the nation's best. Not only is he an all-America and Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year candidate, he is one of six finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award, given to the nation's top defensive end, and was one of 12 semifinalists for the Lombardi Award, given to the nation's top lineman.He leads C-USA in sacks and in tackles for loss this season, figuring in on 13.0 sacks and on 21 TFLs. His 13.0 sacks this season establishes a school record. The previous mark of 10.0 sacks was set by his cousin, Aaron Schobel, in 1999. He was the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week at USF.
PICKIN' & GRINNIN': The Frogs have intercepted 16 passes in 11 games this season after recording 22 interceptions in 12 games last year. They are tied for 14th nationally this year with 16 interceptions.
THORPE SEMIFINALIST: Cornerback Mark Walker has intercepted five passes this season and has six picks in his last 12 regular season contests. His five interceptions is second in Conference USA and his 0.45 interceptions per game ranks tied for 23rd in the nation. He was recently named one of 12 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, which goes to the nation's top defensive back.
MEET YOU ANYTIME: The Frogs had games scheduled for every day of the week this season except Sunday and Tuesday. They scheduled Tulane on a Monday, Louisville on a Wednesday, Southern Miss on a Thursday, USF on a Friday and had eight games on Saturday.
WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE: The Frogs are winning the turnover battle, 25-19, averaging a plus-0.55 per game, the second best mark in the league and 31st in the nation. More importantly, TCU has come out ahead in points off turnovers. The 19 turnovers by the Horned Frog offense (10 fumbles, 9 interceptions) have led to just 37 points for the opposition, while the Frogs have turned 25 turnovers (16 interceptions, 9 fumbles) into 86 TCU points. However, in the lone loss to Southern Miss TCU's four turnovers led to 20 USM points, while the Golden Eagles one turnover did not result in any TCU points.
SENIOR CITIZENS: The Frogs have a defensive line that is long on experience. The Frogs boast a starting lineup of three seniors in ends Bo Schobel and Robert Pollard and tackle Chad Pugh. Schobel and Pugh are pre-season all-league selections, according to the league's coaches. The trio has made 77 career starts. Pugh leads the way with 28, followed by Pollard (25), Schobel (24).
TEXAS FLAVOR: The TCU squad is full of home-grown talent with only nine players on the original fall list of 105 coming from outside the state lines. Of those on the depth chart, only Chase Johnson, Andrew Calovich and Reeves Dalton grew up outside the Lone Star state.
GAME DAY ASSIGNMENTS: Mike Schultz, Dick Winder, Kyle Nystrom and Chad Glasgow work out of the press box on game day. Joining head coach Gary Patterson on the sidelines are David Bailiff, Eddie Williamson, Jarrett Anderson and Dan Sharp.
PLAYING SHORT: The Frogs have started 22 drives in their opponents territory, resulting in 17 scores (9 TDs and 8 FG), three punts, one interception and one clock expired. TCU's opponents have started 18 possessions in Horned Frog territory but have come away with just eight scores (7 TDs, 1 FG). In the lone loss at Southern Miss, TCU started just one drive in USM territory, leading to a touchdown, while the Golden Eagles started five drives on the TCU side of the 50, resulting in four TDs.
STOPPING THE RUN: TCU is ranked eighth in the nation in defending the run, allowing just 89.0 yards per game. The Frogs led the nation in 2002 in stopping the run, allowing just 64.83 yards per game. They were the only team in the country to allow less than two yards per carry during the 2002 season, allowing 778 yards on 393 carries, an average of 1.98 yards per carry.
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL: The TCU Leadership Council is a 12-member unit represented by a player from each position. The 2003 unit consists of placekicker Nick Browne, running backs Corey Connally and Ricky Madison, wide receiver Bruce Galbert, offensive guard John Glud, safety Marvin Godbolt, linebacker Josh Goolsby, quarterback Tye Gunn, tight end Stanley Moss, defensive ends Robert Pollard and Bo Schobel and cornerback Tyrone Sanders.
DID YOU KNOW... The Frogs are averaging 38.2 points per game over their last five games, tallying 191 points in those contests, after averaging just 23.0 points per game through the first six contests after scoring 138 points in those games.
INJURY BUG: The Frogs have overcome their share of injuries this season. Senior tailback Ricky Madison, the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week in the season-opener at Tulane, was lost for the season after suffering a knee injury in the season's second game. All-America candidate Marvin Godbolt was lost for the season after suffering a knee injury at Arizona in the season's fourth game. He had four interceptions in the first four games. Starting defensive tackle Brandon Johnson suffered a knee injury and has not played since the Houston game. Starting quarterback Tye Gunn has started just four of 11 games due to a shoulder and a groin injury. In addition, defensive tackle Richard Evans, an all-conference candidate, was lost just prior to the start of the season due to academics.
RE-ESTABLISHING THE TRADITION: The Frogs have assured themselves of posting a .500 or better record for the sixth straight season. The last time TCU recorded six consecutive winning seasons was from 1955-60. TCU has had a winning campaign in eight of the last 10 years including 2003 after logging just three winning seasons (1971, 1984 and 1991) in the previous 28 campaigns.
RETURN TO GLORY: After posting just three winning seasons in 13 years from 1985-1997, including a 1-10 campaign in 1997, the Frogs have turned the corner. TCU has posted a 51-20 record since the start of the 1998 season. The Horned Frogs have recorded three conference championships and a trio of bowl victories over the last six years.
ALL-AMERICA NOD TO SANDERS: TCU senior cornerback Tyrone Sanders is an all-America athlete, but that claim to fame comes on the track, not on the football field. Sanders ran the leadoff leg on TCU's 4x100 meter relay unit that placed sixth at the NCAA outdoor track & field meet in Sacramento in June.
OTHER FLYIN' FROG STARS: Tyrone Sanders is not the only Horned Frog football player to stand out on the track. Wide receiver Reggie Harrell reached the national semi-finals in the 110-meter high hurdles at the NCAA Championships in June. He is the defending Conference USA champion in both the indoor and outdoor high hurdles. Junior safety Chris Peoples participated in the NCAA outdoor track & field championships in the high jump. Peoples established a new school record with a best jump of 7-3.25, earning him a silver medal at the C-USA Championships. Needing just one day of practice, Shane Sims earned a fifth place finish at the C-USA Indoor Championships in the shot put with a mark of 49-11.25.
BOWL TIE-INS: Conference USA has five bowl tie-ins. The champion of Conference USA will go to the AXA Liberty Bowl and the league will also send teams to the GMAC Bowl (Mobile, Ala.), Plains Capital Fort Worth Bowl, Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl and New Orleans Bowl.
REMEMBERING 1938: The Frogs were 10-0 for the first time since 1938, 65 years ago. Here are some of the events of that year:
* The March of Dimes is established by FDR.
* Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
* "Superman" first published in comic book form.
* Howard Hughes sets record by completing 91 hour airplane flight around the world.
* Orson Welles's radio adaption of The War of the World is broadcast, causing mass panic in the eastern United States.
* MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture.
* Glenn Cunningham breaks the world record for the indoor mile run by completing the distance in 4:04.4.
* Don Budge becomes the first male tennis player to complete the Grand Slam in tennis of all four championships.
* In what was billed as the "Match of the Century", Seabiscuit defeated the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing champion, War Admiral.
* The Dutch Meyer-led Horned Frogs, behind quarterback Davey O'Brien, rolled to 11 straight wins, including a 15-7 triumph over Carnegie Tech in the Sugar Bowl. The club outscored its opponents 269-60 and never found itself behind, except briefly in the Sugar Bowl encounter.
SUCCESS ON AND OFF THE FIELD: TCU Football has been recognized for its student-athlete graduation rate by the American Football Coaches Association.TCU was one of 32 institutions across the country recognized for graduating 70 percent or more of its football players who entered the school as the freshman class of 1997-98.Duke University led the way when all members of its freshman football class of 1997-98 earned a degree. Six other institutions achieved a rate of 90 percent or better including Boston College, Connecticut, Northwestern, Rice, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.In addition to TCU, others receiving honorable mention with a rate of 70 percent or better include Ball State, Baylor, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Marshall, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Purdue, South Carolina, Southern Methodist, Southern Mississippi, Texas Tech, Tulane, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Western Michigan.
FROGS POST 10-2 MARK IN 2002: The TCU Horned Frogs earned a share of the Conference USA title and a spot as the league's representative in the AXA Liberty Bowl by going 6-2 in conference action and 9-2 during the 2002 regular season. The Frogs then defeated #23 Colorado State, 17-3, in the bowl game to finish the season with a 10-2 record and ranked in both polls: 22nd in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll and 23rd in the Associated Press poll. Gary Patterson was named the C-USA Coach of the Year, linebacker LaMarcus McDonald was the league's Defensive Player of the Year and Lonta Hobbs was recognized as the league's Freshman of the Year.
FAMILY TIES: The Frogs have several family members with ties to TCU and football. Bo Schobel is a cousin of former TCU standouts Aaron and Matt Schobel, both of whom now play in the NFL - Aaron with Buffalo and Matt with Cincinnati. Robert Pollard is the son of Bob Pollard, who played 11 seasons in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and St. Louis Cardinals. Jeremy Modkins is the brother of Curtis Modkins, who ranks sixth on TCU's all-time career rushing chart. Matthew Grimmett's father, Frankie, lettered in football at TCU in the early 1970s. Cody McCarty's father, Mickey, is one of the all-time greats in TCU basketball history. Brad Talbert's father, Don, played professionally for the Cowboys, Falcons and Saints, and uncle, Diron Talbert, was a standout for the Rams and Redskins. Chad Huffman's father, Royce, Sr., played football at TCU, while his brother, Royce, Jr., played both football and baseball for the Horned Frogs.
