Merrill and Butler receive MWC honors
10/31/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 31, 2005
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- TCU tailback Robert Merrill has been named the Mountain West Conference co-Offensive Player of the Week while cornerback Quincy Butler is the league's co-Defensive Player of the Week following their performance in Saturday's win at San Diego State.A junior from San Antonio, Merrill rushed for a season-high 170 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries to key the 23-20 victory over the Aztecs. He had a 1-yard scoring run for No. 20 TCU's first points of the game just 2:58 into the contest. His 21-yard touchdown carry tied the game at 13-13 in the third quarter.
Merrill also had a fourth-down rush for a first down that enabled TCU to run out the clock in the final minute to preserve the victory. He became the Frogs' eighth-leading career rusher (2,554 yards) in the contest as TCU ran for a season-best 291 yards.
Butler's interception on a fourth-down Aztec pass set up TCU's game-tying touchdown in the third quarter. It was his team-best fifth interception of the season and his fourth pick in the last five games. Butler is tied for the MWC lead and is ninth nationally in interceptions this season.
Also a native of San Antonio, Butler broke up two passes and had a tackle for a loss of three yards in totaling four solo stops in the contest.
After playing six of its opening nine games on the road, TCU hosts Colorado State Saturday at 6 p.m. with an opportunity to win its first outright conference championship since 1958. A victory would give the Frogs a Mountain West Conference title in their first season of league play.
Since 1958, all five league titles for the Horned Frogs have been shared. TCU was co-champions of the Southwest Conference in 1959 and 1994, while also sharing a pair of Western Athletic Conference titles (1999, 2000) and a Conference USA championship (2002).
