TCU Puts Bowl Hopes On Line Saturday
11/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 19, 2004
FROGS PREPARE FOR FINAL TWO HOME GAMES: The TCU Horned Frogs (4-5, 2-4 C-USA) begin a regular season-ending two-game homestand when they host the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (5-3, 4-2 C-USA) on Saturday, November 20. Game time is set for 2:05 p.m. at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. The Frogs will wrap up the regular season and play their final Conference USA conference game when they host Tulane on Saturday, November 27.
WHAT'S TRANSPIRED: TCU opened the season with a pair of non-conference wins over Northwestern and SMU, but have dropped three of its last four and five of seven, including two in a row at C-USA rivals Cincinnati and Louisville. The Frogs have struggled on the road, winning just one of five contests, but have defended their home turf for the most part, winning three of four at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. The Frogs have won 16 of their last 18 games at home. Southern Miss is 5-3 overall, 4-2 in league action. They are coming off back-to-back losses to Cincinnati (52-24) and Memphis (30-26). They wrap up league action next week vs. UAB.
THE TCU-SOUTHERN MISS SERIES: This is the sixth meeting between the two schools with the Frogs winning three of the previous five decisions. The teams have met in each of the past four seasons with each team winning twice. TCU won by a 37-7 count the last time the two squads hooked up in Fort Worth, back in the 2002 season, while Southern Miss defeated the Frogs by a 40-28 count last year in Hattiesburg. This is the last scheduled meeting between the two schools. Next season TCU will move to the Mountain West Conference while Southern Miss will remain in the revamped Conference USA.
BOWL HOPES: The Frogs (4-5) are still in the hunt for a bowl bid, but have their backs against the wall. TCU needs to win its final two games to become bowl eligible for the seventh straight season. The Frogs must defeat both Southern Miss (5-3) on November 20 and Tulane (4-5) on November 27 to win six games and become bowl eligible. TCU was in a similar situation in the 2001 season. After back-to-back losses to East Carolina and at UAB left the Frogs with a 4-5 record, TCU bounced back with a home win over 17th-ranked Louisville (37-22) and a 14-12 decision at Southern Miss to earn a spot in the galleryfurniture.com Bowl against Texas A&M.
