Horned Frogs Host Vanderbilt on Saturday
9/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 19, 2003
QUICKLY: The TCU Horned Frogs (2-0, 1-0) return to action on Saturday, September 20, when they host the Vanderbilt Commodores (1-2, 0-2) out of the Southeastern Conference in a 6:00 p.m. contest in Fort Worth. The Frogs enjoyed an open week last week after playing two games in six days to open the season. TCU enters the game ranked 20th in the country in the Associated Press poll and as the 19th-ranked team according to the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll.
W.A. "MONTY & TEX" MONCRIEF FIELD: Thanks to a generous gift from W.A. "Tex" Moncrief, the TCU football facility will officially become Amon G. Carter Stadium and W.A. "Monty & Tex" Moncrief Field on Saturday. The Moncriefs have been one of the top philanthropic families in Fort Worth and have been huge supporters of TCU throughout the years..
TCU HISTORY: This is the 107th year of intercollegiate football for the Horned Frogs. The Frogs own an all-time record of 502-493-57. TCU has fielded a team every year since 1896, with the exception of the 1900 campaign. With a 28-10 record since the start of the 2000 season, the Frogs are one of the nation's top winning teams this century.
PATTERSON'S POINTS: On the win over Navy: "Defensively, we made mistakes, but played very hard. The defense definitely bailed us out. Offensively, we have to play better. I got after them pretty good at halftime. In the second half we came out with a little more fire and played better. We had a tired football team and played on a lot of guts." On the crowd: "I want to thank the community for its support. It was a great night. I wish we could have given them a better show, but we gave them a win." On Vanderbilt: "Vastly improved. We're going to have to play a lot better if we expect to beat them. Their new coach has them playing very physical." On the loss of Tye Gunn and on his replacement, Brandon Hassell: "I'm not worried about Brandon. Brandon will probably run the option better than Tye, and Brandon has probably a better arm. Tye makes people play better around him. That's what Brandon has to do. We won't change what we do. We just need him to manage the game. Good programs have to find a way to step up."
THE LAST TIME OUT: The TCU Horned Frogs rallied from a 3-0 halftime deficit to defeat the Navy Midshipmen, 17-3, in the Frogs' home opener on Saturday, September 6. It was the Frogs' second victory in less than a week, as they defeated Tulane in New Orleans by a 38-35 count on Labor Day, September 1. Plagued by poor field position (with their drives starting at an average of their own 12 yard line), the Frogs struggled offensively in the first half against Navy, gaining just 102 yards of total offense. Lonta Hobbs rushed for 74 of his game-high 79 yards and Tye Gunn hit on 10-of-12 passes for 138 yards as the Frogs put 17 points on the board in the second half. The TCU defense surrendered 10 first downs and 170 yards of total offense in the first half, but allowed just two first downs and 37 second half yards to the Midshipmen.
BIG CROWD SEES IT: The attendance at the TCU-Navy opener was 35,688. It marked the ninth largest crowd for a home opener in TCU history and was the most since 37,313 watched TCU open with Kansas on September 17, 1994. The crowd was also the largest at Amon G. Carter Stadium since the TCU-Army game (38,168) on October 20, 2001.
HOME WINNING STREAK EXTENDED: The Frogs 17-3 win over Navy extended TCU's home winning streak to eight, dating back to a 37-30 loss to East Carolina on October 30, 2001.
HOME STREAK ON THE LINE: The Frogs will put their eight-game home winning streak on the line when they take on Vanderbilt. The school record for consecutive home wins is 12, from 1932-34. The Frogs had a stretch of 18 consecutive non-losing home games beginning with the first game of the 1931 season, with that stretch only blemished by a 0-0 tie with SMU in the final game of the '31 campaign. The Frogs had an 11-game home winning streak from 1999-2000, before Northwestern (La.) State snapped the streak in the home opener of the 2001 season.
TRAILING AT THE HALF: When TCU went into intermission on the short end of a 3-0 score against Navy, it was something many of the younger players had not experienced. It had been 13 games since the Frogs last trailed heading into the lockerroom at halftime, dating back to the galleyfurniture.com Bowl loss to Texas A&M when the Frogs trailed 14-7 at the half.
GAME CAPTAINS: Game captains for the season opener at Tulane were quarterback Tye Gunn, offensive guard John Glud, defensive end Bo Schobel and cornerback Tyrone Sanders. The game captains for the Navy game were Glud, Sanders, linebacker Josh Goolsby, and weak safety Marvin Godbolt.
TCU-VANDERBILT: This is the fourth game of a series that dates back to 1995. TCU leads the series 2 games to 1. The Frogs won by a 16-3 count in Nashville in 1995, then dropped a 40-16 decision there two years later. In the only previous encounter in Fort Worth, the Frogs escaped with a 19-16 double-overtime victory in 1998. That game would mark the longest game in TCU history and is the only overtime win in four chances for the Horned Frogs.
TCU VS. THE SEC: The Frogs have struggled when taking on teams that currently reside in the Southeastern Conference. TCU owns a 32-64-4 record when playing teams that currently make up that 12-team league. The numbers are skewed somewhat in that TCU is 24-42-2 against Arkansas, with the bulk of those contests coming when both schools were members of the old Southwest Conference. The Frogs are 8-22-2 against the remainder of the SEC with winning marks against only Vanderbilt (2-1) and Alabama (3-2).
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. The Frogs have climbed to 20th in the AP poll this week and come in as the 19th-ranked team according to the coaches' poll. Here's how the Frogs have looked in the polls each week: Associated Press ESPN/USA Today
Date Rank Pts. Rank Pts.
Preseason 25 95 29 95
Aug. 25 - no poll - 30 65
Sept. 1 25 131 28 79
Sept. 7 22 195 23 157
Sept. 14 20 309 19 298
INJURY REPORT: The Frogs will be without the services of quarterback Tye Gunn, who injured his right shoulder in practice on September 9. He is expected to be sidelined 3-5 weeks. Tailback Ricky Madison underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery on September 11 and will miss the remainder of the season. Safety Ken Lewis suffered a knee injury during two-a-days and will miss the entire season. Offensive lineman Jon Morgan, who has missed the first first two games with a knee injury, has resumed practice.
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 two players on the two-deep, Chase Johnson, and Andrew Calovich grew up outside the Lone Star state.
GUNN HOLSTERED: Starting quarterback Tye Gunn will be sidelined for the next couple of weeks after injuring his right (throwing) shoulder during practice on September 9. Gunn took every snap for the Frogs in their first two games. He is 31-for-47 (66.0 pct.) for 416 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions this season. For his career, he is 88-for-138 (64.8 pct). for 1,048 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions. He is 6-0 as a starter and the Frogs have averaged 36.2 points per game when he starts under center.
HASSELL GET THE NOD: Junior quarterback Brandon Hassell is slated to make his first career start against Vanderbilt. Hassell, who was a highly touted signal-caller from nearby Arlington, Texas (Sam Houston High), has appeared briefly in two collegiate games, but has yet to throw a pass. However, due to an injury to Tye Gunn, Hassell went through the entire 2003 spring practice session as the team's number one quarterback. The redshirt junior is the most experienced quarterback on the squad and will be backed up by sophomore walk-on Kyle Kummer and redshirt freshman Jeff Ballard, neither of whom has played.
MADISON OUT FOR SEASON: The Frogs will be without the services of tailback Ricky Madison for the remainder of the season. Madison injured his right knee in the win over Navy and underwent arthroscopic surgery on September 11. Madison was the star of the Tulane game, rushing 23 times for 115 yards, his fifth career 100-yard rushing game, and catching a career-high three passes for 91 yards, including an 80-yard scamper. He was named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts. Madison has carried the ball 377 times in his career for 1,536 yards, including a career-high 719 yards as a junior when he averaged 4.6 yards per carry.
THE NATURAL: With the injury to Madison, more work may fall into the capable hands of sophomore Lonta Hobbs. Hobbs proved to be "the natural" when the Frogs took off his redshirt for game 5 of the 2002 season. In just 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 leads the team with 45 rushes for 141 yards, an average of 70.5 yards per game. He is on the pre-season Doak Walker Watch List.
SCORING MACHINE: Lonta Hobbs scored three rushing touchdowns in the Labor Day win over Tulane and added a rushing touchdown against Navy. He has logged 16 rushing touchdowns (and one receiving TD) in just 10 career games. Cy Leland is sixth on TCU's career rushing touchdown list with 17 scores.
HARRELL STEPS UP: Junior wide receiver Reggie Harrell has quickly become the 'go-to' guy, as he's been 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 leads the squad with nine receptions for 127, an average of 14.1 yards per catch. In the season opener at Tulane, Harrell caught a then-career-high four passes for 57 yards. He surpassed that in the win over Navy with five receptions for 70 yards. He caught 13 passes for 205 yards a season ago.
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 entered the 2003 season with a combined total of just two career receptions, both coming by senior Bruce Galbert. Sophomores Matt Grimmett and Ryan Pearson and redshirt freshmen Quentily Harmon, Cory Rodgers and Michael DePriest, all have seen significant playing time this season.
PICK THIS: Weak safety Marvin Godbolt has recorded two of the Frogs' three pass interceptions this season, while linebacker Josh Goolsby owns the other pick. Godbolt now has a team-high five career interceptions. The Frogs intercepted 22 passes last season.
WHERE THEY RANK: Here's where TCU ranks in several categories both in Conference USA and in the nation:
Category Number C-USA Nation
Scoring Off. 27.5 T4th 55th
Rushing Off. 191.0 3rd 35th
Passing Off. 208.0 6th 64th
Total Off. 399.0 5th 49th
Scoring Def. 19.0 4th 49th
Rushing Def. 99.0 2nd 29th
Pass Def. 189.0 6th 36th
Pass Eff. Def. 138.8 3rd 43rd
Total Def. 288.0 2nd 25th
Net Punting 32.5 8th 95th
Punt Returns 18.5 2nd 10th
Kickoff Returns 30.2 1st 11th
Turnover Margin -1.00 7th 88th
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. The Frogs allowed 369 yards to Tulane in the 2003 season opener, of which 183 came in the fourth quarter. They gave up 207 total yards to Navy, but just 37 after the intermission.
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. TCU picked up where they left off last season in the win at Tulane. The Frogs held the Green Wave to just 66 net yards rushing, including just 42 rushing yards by pre-season C-USA Offensive Player of the Year Mewelde Moore. Navy had a little more success, grinding out 132 yards on the ground, but only 23 came after intermission.
LOSING THE BATTLE BUT WINNING THE WAR: Despite having six turnovers in their first two games while forcing just four turnovers, TCU has actually come out ahead in turnovers leading to points. The six turnovers by the Horned Frog offense have led to just 10 points for the opposition, while the Frogs have turned their four forced turnovers by the defense into 21 points scored by the TCU offense.
BCS WINS: Conference USA posted three more victories over schools from one of the six BCS Conferences on September 13, giving the league six wins over BCS league teams in the first three weeks of 2003. That is more wins against BCS conference teams than C-USA had all of the 2002 season.
SENIOR CITIZENS: The Frogs have a defensive line that is plenty long on experience. The Frogs can boast a starting lineup of three seniors in ends Bo Schobel and Robert Pollard and inside run stopper Chad Pugh, and a junior in Brandon Johnson. Schobel, Pollard and Pugh are returning starters, while Schobel and Pugh are pre-season all-league selections, according to the league's coaches. The quartet has made 59 career starts. Pugh leads the way with 19, followed by Pollard (16), Schobel (15), Johnson (9).
KICK WITH NICK: Senior placekicker Nick Browne ranks fourth on the all-time scoring list for kickers at TCU with 190 points. The Lou Groza Award candidate needs 70 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 2003 Special Teams Player of the Year award.
POINTS BY KICKING CAREER
Michael Reeder (1994-97) 259
Chris Kaylakie (1998-2000) 237
Ken Ozee (1982-85) 205
Nick Browne (2001-03) 190
Jeff Wilkinson (1990-92) 182
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
MEET YOU ANYTIME: The Frogs have games scheduled for every day of the week except Sunday and Tuesday this season. They played Tulane on Monday, and have Louisville scheduled on a Wednesday, Southern Miss on a Thursday, USF on a 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 43-19 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 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 entered 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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
LOOKING AHEAD: After back-to-back home games, the Frogs return to the road for the second time this season when they travel to Tucson to face the Pac-10's Arizona Wildcats. The non-conference game is set for 9:00 p.m. Central time from Arizona Stadium. TCU's next home game will come on Saturday, October 4, when the Horned Frogs host Army in a 6:00 p.m. start at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
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.
SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM: 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.
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.
