Frogs Set For Season Opener at Tulane
8/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 29, 2003
FROGS OPEN 2003 CAMPAIGN: The TCU Horned Frogs begin their 107th year of intercollegiate football when they travel to New Orleans to take on the Tulane Green Wave on Labor Day. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN. The Frogs enter the 2003 season with an all-time record of 500-493-57. TCU has fielded a team every year since 1896, with the exception of the 1900 campaign. With a 26-10 record over the last three seasons (2000-02), the Frogs have begun the 21st century in much better fashion than they began the 20th century, when they were 1-7-2 from 1900-1902. In fact, it took the Frogs 10 years (1896-1905) to record 11 victories - they logged 10 wins alone in 2002!
THE SERIES: This is the 11th meeting between the two squads and their third battle as Conference USA rivals. TCU leads the all-time series by a 7-3 count, while the teams have split two games as C-USA opponents. The Frogs own a 3-2 record in New Orleans. TCU won last year's meeting in Fort Worth by a 17-10 score. Tulane has won the last two meeting that have taken place in the Superdome, including a 48-22 rout of the Horned Frogs during the 2001 season.
ANOTHER OPENING, ANOTHER SHOW: This is the third straight season and the fourth time in the last five years that TCU has opened its season in front of a national television audience. The Frogs are still looking for their first win in that scenerio. Last season, TCU dropped a 36-29 overtime decision at Cincinnati on Labor Day in an ESPN contest. Two years ago, TCU and Nebraska took part in the Pigskin Classic, which was televised by ABC-TV. The fourth-ranked Cornhuskers came away with a 21-7 victory. In 1999, TCU hosted Arizona to open the season with Fox Sports Net broadcasting the game nationally. The Wildcats escaped the rain-delayed contest with a 35-31 win.
IN THE POLLS: The Horned Frogs were the pre-season #25 team in the country according to the Associated Press. The only other time since 1960 that the Frogs were ranked in the pre-season poll by A.P. was in 2000, when they opened the campaign as the 20th ranked team in the land.
SEASON OPENERS: The Horned Frogs are 60-37-9 in 106 previous season openers. They have lost each of their last two and three of their last four season openers. This is the fourth straight season and the seventh time in the last eight years the Frogs have opened the campaign on the road. They possess a 23-24-4 record in season openers played on the road. Their last season opening road win came at Nevada by a 41-10 score to begin the 2000 campaign.
OPENING AGAINST A LEAGUE FOE: This year's game marks the ninth time since TCU joined the Southwest Conference in 1923 that the Horned Frogs have opened their season against a conference opponent. They are 3-5 in those contests. In 1923, TCU began the season with a 7-6 win over Oklahoma A&M. In 1943, TCU opened the season with a 13-0 win in Little Rock over Arkansas. They started four consecutive campaigns in the 1970s against crosstown rival SMU. The Ponies won all four contests, 34-14 in 1976, 45-21 in 1977, 45-14 in 1978 and 27-7 in 1979. TCU opened its 2000 season against Western Athletic Conference foe Nevada in Reno, winning by a 41-10 count. Last year, the Frogs dropped a 36-29 overtime decision at Cincinnati in the Conference USA lidlifter for both squads.
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.
TCU BOWLS INTO HISTORY: The Horned Frogs made their fifth straight bowl appearance following the 2002 season. TCU had never appeared in bowl games in three consecutive seasons prior to the current streak. TCU is one of just 18 Division I programs that 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.
LONG & WINDING ROAD: The Frogs have 12 games on the regular season schedule this season. They have played 12 games each of the last five years, but that includes bowl appearances. They have not played 12 regular season games since 1936.
MEET YOU ANYTIME: The Frogs have games scheduled for every day of the week except Sunday and Tuesday this season. They will play Tulane on Monday, Louisville on Wednesday, Southern Miss on Thursday, USF on Friday and eight games on Saturday.
RE-ESTABLISHING THE TRADITION: The Frogs have posted a .500 or better record in five straight seasons. The last time TCU recorded as many as five consecutive winning seasons was during the 1950s when they recorded six straight .500 or better ledgers from 1955-60. TCU has had a winning campaign in seven of the last nine years 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 41-19 record since the start of the 1998 season. They have recorded three conference championships and a trio of bowl victories over the last five years.
WINNING WAYS: The 2002 senior class was on the winning side of the ledger 34 times over the past four years, the best four-year total since the 1935-38 teams posted 36 wins. The 2003 Horned Frog seniors will enter their final campaign with 26 victories under their belts. The school record for wins over a four-year period is 40, set from 1932-35.
NFL ON THE HORIZON: The Frogs sent eight players from the 2002 senior class to NFL training camps, four from the offense and four from the defense. Wide receivers LaTarence Dunbar and Adrian Madise each were drafted, while Jason Goss, Kenneth Hilliard, Reggie Holts, LaMarcus McDonald, Jamal Powell and John Turntine signed free agent contracts. Over the past three years, TCU has had 19 players gain tryouts in NFL training camps, the most of any Texas-based university.
2003 PRE-SEASON HONORS: The C-USA coaches have pegged four Frogs as members of their pre-season all-conference squad. The coaches selected offensive tackle Anthony Alabi, defensive linemen Chad Pugh and Bo Schobel and placekicker Nick Browne as first team candidates. Browne also shared Special Teams Player of the Year honors with Louisville's kick returner Broderick Clark. The entire coaches' all-conference picks can be found on page six of this release.
TCU-TULANE 2002 REVISITED: Lonta Hobbs rushed for 124 yards and TCU stopped Tulane at the Frogs' 15-yard line with 1:26 left to preserve a 17-10 victory in Fort Worth on November 9. The Frogs did not score an offensive touchdown in the game, but held the Green Wave to 115 total yards. Tulane quarterback J.P. Losman completed just 8-of-29 passes for 49 yards and an interception in the contest.
10-WIN CAMPAIGNS: TCU has recorded two 10-win seasons in the past three years. They have won 10 or more games six times in school history: 1932 (10), 1933 (10), 1935 (12), 1938 (11), 2000 (10) and 2002 (10).
DISTINCT TEXAS FLAVOR: The TCU football team is full of home-grown talent with only nine players on the original fall list of 105 coming from outside the state lines. Only three players on the two-deep, Chase Johnson, Andrew Calovich and Logo Tevaseu, grew up outside the Lone Star state.
LEADING AT THE HALF: TCU did not trail at halftime during the entire 2002 season. They went into the intermission with the lead on nine occasions and were tied in the other three contests. The last time TCU trailed at the half was in the 2001 galleryfurniture.com Bowl loss to Texas A&M when they trailed at the half by a 14-7 margin.
GUNN BACK IN THE SADDLE: Sophomore quarterback Tye Gunn is back after sustaining a season-ending knee injury in last season's win over Southern Miss. The Frogs are 4-0 when Gunn is the starting signal-caller and averaged 40.5 points per game when he was under center, including wins over Louisville and Southern Miss. He has already posted two of the school's top seven games in completion percentage in his brief career. Last season he completed 57-of-91 passes for a 62.6 percent completion rate, with six touchdowns and just two interceptions.
LOADED BACKFIELD: Even without the returning presence of Tye Gunn, the Frogs have a loaded backfield this season. They feature four returning backs who have rushed for 100 yards in a game during their collegiate career. Lonta Hobbs leads the way with five 100-yard games, followed by Ricky Madison (4), Corey Connally (2) and Kenny Hayter (1).
FROGS FEATURE 4x100: The Frogs are known for their 4x100 relay unit on the track, but this football team can lay claim to that distinction as well with four running backs (Lonta Hobbs, Ricky Madison, Corey Connally and Kenny Hayter) who each have rushed for 100 yards in a collegiate game. Only three other schools have that same distinction this season: Air Force, Minnesota and Rutgers. THE NATURAL: Lonta Hobbs proved to be a "natural" when the Frogs took off his redshirt for game 5 of the 2002 season. In just eight games, Hobbs rushed for 1,029 yards (6.6 yards per carry) in breaking all the Frogs' freshman rushing records. He was named the league's Freshman of the Year, was the team'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. Hobbs is on the pre-season Doak Walker Watch List.
MADISON'S AVENUE: For those defenses focused on taking Hobbs out of the game, watch out for senior tailback Ricky Madison. Madison has carried the ball 349 times in his career for 1,406 yards, including a career-high 719 yards as a junior when he averaged 4.6 yards per carry. He owns four career 100-yard games, including two against Louisville, and has made 16 career starts.
HARRELL STEPS UP: Junior wide receiver Reggie Harrell will be asked to fill the big shoes vacated by graduated seniors LaTarence Dunbar, Adrian Madise, Kevin Brown and Terran Williams. Harrell has all the tools to be a great one with excellent size (6-3, 209) and speed (national semifinalist in the 110m high hurdles). He caught 13 passes for 205 yards a season ago, but will be the go-to guy in the Frogs' passing attack this season.
WHO ARE THESE GUYS?: Butch and Sundance would have asked themselves that question if they were asked to name the Frogs' wide receiving corps in addition to Reggie Harrell. After Harrell, the wideouts has a combined total of just two career receptions, both coming by senior Bruce Galbert, who caught both of his passes in the Tulane game a year ago. Sophomores Matt Grimmett and Ryan Pearson and redshirt freshmen Quentily Harmon, Cory Rodgers and Michael DePriest, all will see significant playing time this season but are looking for their first career receptions.
TOP RANKED DEFENSE: TCU finished the 2002 season with the nation's top-ranked defense. The Frogs allowed an average of just 240.25 yards per game and allowed over 300 yards just once all year - in the season opener at Cincinnati. It marked the second time in three years that TCU led the nation in total defense, also earning that distinction in 2000 when they allowed an average of 245.0 yards per game.
STOPPING THE RUN: TCU led the country in stopping the run in 2002. TCU allowed just 64.83 yards per game on the ground. The Frogs were the only team in the country to allow less than two yards per carry during the season, as opponents averaged just 1.98 yards per rush.
SENIOR CITIZENS: The Frogs have a defensive line that is plenty long on experience. The Frogs can boast a starting lineup of four seniors in ends Bo Schobel and Robert Pollard and inside run stoppers Chad Pugh and Richard Evans. Schobel, Pollard and Pugh are returning starters, while Schobel and Pugh are pre-season all-league selections, according to the league's coaches. Along with junior tackle Brandon Johnson, the quintet has made 52 career starts. Pugh leads the way with 17, followed by Pollard (14), Schobel (13), Johnson (7) and Evans (1).
KICK WITH NICK: Senior placekicker Nick Browne ranks fifth on the all-time scoring list for kickers at TCU with 177 points over two seasons. He needs 83 points to surpass Michael Reeder, who holds the school record with 259 points by a kicker. Reeder is also second on the list for points scored at TCU regardless of position. Browne is a pre-season all-America candidate, a Lou Groza Award candidate and the defending kicker on the first team Verizon academic all-America squad. He was a first team all-league selection a year ago and is a pre-season co-favorite to win the Special Teams Player of the Year award this season. POINTS BY KICKING CAREER
Michael Reeder (1994-97) 259
Chris Kaylakie (1998-2000) 237
Ken Ozee (1982-85) 205
Jeff Wilkinson (1990-92) 182
Nick Browne (2001-02) 177
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.
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 championships 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.
THEY'RE BACK: The Frogs have their entire coaching staff returning from the 2002 season.
GAME DAY ASSIGNMENTS: Offensive coordinator Mike Schultz, quarterbacks coach Dick Winder, linebackers coach Kyle Nystrom and safeties coach Chad Glasgow will work out of the press box on game day. Joining head coach Gary Patterson on the sidelines are defensive coordinator David Bailiff, assistant head coach Eddie Williamson, Jarrett Anderson Dan Sharp and Willie Mack Garza.
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.
BOWL TIE-INS: Conference USA will have five bowl tie-ins this season . 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.
SCHOBEL TO SHRINE: Defensive end Bo Schobel has been invited to play in the East-West Shrine Classic in January. He will become the third Schobel to play in the game. Aaron played following the 2000 season and Matt played following the 2001 campaign.
STACKING SACKS: Since the beginning of the 2000 season, TCU is ranked third in the nation in quarterback sacks. Rank School Sacks
1. Louisville 132
2. Fresno State 121
3. TCU 117
4. Texas 116
5. Washington State 112
PRE-SEASON PICKS: Defending C-USA champion TCU is the favorite to win the 2003 league crown, according to the conference coaches. The Frogs received eight of the 11 first place votes and 115 total points. Southern Miss was second with one first place vote and 106 points. USF and East Carolina each picked up one first place vote.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Frogs have a quick turnaround as they get ready to host Navy in their home opener on Saturday, September 6. That non-conference contest is set for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff. The Frogs defeated the Midshipmen in their only previous encounter, that by a 24-0 whitewashing in Annapolis during the 2000 season.
