TCU to face Utah Thursday night in Salt Lake City
10/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 2, 2006
ABOUT THE GAME
•The TCU football team plays its second straight Thursday game when it travels to Salt Lake City to face Utah.
•The Horned Frogs will take the field for the first time since having their 13-game winning streak snapped with a 31-17 loss to BYU. TCU's run of consecutive victories had been the longest active streak in the nation and the best by the Frogs since winning a school record 14 in a row from 1937-38.
•In last year's meeting with the Utes in Fort Worth, also on a Thursday night, TCU quarterback Tye Gunn threw a 4-yard scoring pass to Michael DePriest in overtime as the Frogs won 23-20 to snap an 18-game Utah winning streak. TCU rallied from a 17-7 third-quarter deficit in its Mountain West Conference debut.
•Following the contest, TCU will have its second open date in four weeks as it will be idle for 16 days before returning to action Oct. 21 at Army.
THE SERIES
•TCU's 23-20 overtime win over Utah last season was its first victory over the Utes in three meetings.
•The first two games in the Frogs' series with the Utes took place when both teams were members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). In TCU's only other appearance in Salt Lake City, Utah won 21-7 in 1996. The Utes were also victorious, 32-18, in Fort Worth in 1997.
TIES TO THE BEEHIVE STATE
•TCU football coach Gary Patterson was the secondary coach at Utah State for three seasons (1992-94).
•During that same period, Frog defensive coordinator Dick Bumpas was the Aggies' defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. TCU cornerback coach Charles McMillian was a Utah State captain for two years (1993-94) and a member of the 1993 Aggie squad that won the Big West title and appeared in the Las Vegas Bowl.
HONORARY BIG 12 MEMBERS
•In a stretch of just 15 games, dating back to the start of the 2005 season, TCU went 4-0 against the Big 12 while allowing just 11.0 points per game.
•Only four Big 12 teams (Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Colorado) won more games than TCU against Big 12 foes during that period.
•TCU opened and closed the 2005 campaign with victories over Big 12 squads, winning 17-10 at Oklahoma and 27-24 over Iowa State in the Houston Bowl.
•The Frogs defeated Baylor (17-7) and Texas Tech (12-3) in the season's opening three weeks, holding the Bears and Red Raiders to a combined one touchdown and 10 points.
WORTH NOTHING
•At 56-20 (.737), TCU has the 13th-best record in Division I-A since the start of the 2000 campaign.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE TOUGHER THAN BIG 12
•TCU is 2-0 versus the Big 12 this season and 0-1 in the Mountain West Conference.
SCHEDULING QUIRKS
•Since the start of the 1996 season, the Frogs are 12-7 in non-Saturday, regular-season games. Under Patterson, TCU is 9-6 and has played on every day of the week.
•After facing Utah, TCU will have played 16 of its 61 regular-season contests (26.2 percent) under Patterson on non-Saturdays.
ACTIVITY AND LAYOFFS
•After opening the season with three games in 14 days, TCU is now in a stretch with just two contests in 34 days.
•After playing Texas Tech on Sept. 16, the Frogs had an open date before back-to-back Thursday games versus BYU (Sept. 28) and at Utah (Oct.5).Following its date in Salt Lake City, TCU has another bye week before returning to action Oct. 21 at Army.
•TCU has four straight Saturdays (Sept. 23, Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Oct. 14) without a game.
•When including a season-opening Sunday contest at Baylor (Sept. 3), the Frogs will have played on just two of the opening seven Saturdays in the 2006 campaign.
WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
•Chris Manfredini, PK - Lou Groza Award Star of the Week (Sept. 16 vs. Texas Tech)
•Chris Manfredini, PK - Mountain West Conference Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 16 vs. Texas Tech)
•Marvin White, S - Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 16 vs. Texas Tech)
•Marcus Jackson, QB - Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 3 vs. Baylor)
•Marvin White, S - Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 3 vs. Baylor)
FROGS PROMINENT ON THE PRESEASON WATCH LISTS
•TCU has eight players on a total of 10 different preseason watch lists:
•Jeff Ballard, QB - Davey O'Brien Award
•Tommy Blake, DE - Chuck Bednarik Award, Ted Hendricks Award, Lombardi Trophy, Lott Trophy, Bronko Nagurski Trophy
•Aaron Brown, TB - Doak Walker Award
•Chris Manfredini, PK - Lou Groza Award
•Robert Merrill, TB - Doak Walker Award
•Chase Ortiz, DE - Ted Hendricks Award, Lombardi Trophy, Bronko Nagurski Trophy
•Jason Phillips, LB - Butkus Award
•Herb Taylor, OT - Lombardi Trophy, Outland Trophy
•TCU is one of nine teams to have three players on the Lombardi Award Watch List.
FROGS AS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
•Jeff Ballard, QB - Football Writers Association of America All-America checklist
•Tommy Blake, DE - Athlon, Street & Smith's, The Sporting News All-America checklist (No. 7 defensive end in the nation)
•Aaron Brown, TB - Football Writers Association of America All-America checklist
•Robert Merrill, TB - Football Writers Association of America All-America checklist
•Chase Ortiz, DE - Football Writers Association of America All-America checklist
•Jason Phillips, LB - The Sporting News All-America checklist (No. 13 inside linebacker in the nation)
•Herb Taylor, OT - Athlon, Street & Smith's, NationalChamps.net, Football Writers Association of America All-America checklist, The Sporting News All-America checklist (No. 10 offensive tackle in the nation)
•Marvin White, S - The Sporting News All-America checklist (No. 6 safety in the nation)
FROGS ON THE PRESEASON All-MWC TEAM
•TCU placed five players on the 2006 preseason All-Mountain West Conference Team: defensive end Tommy Blake, defensive end Chase Ortiz, linebacker Jason Phillips, offensive tackle Herb Taylor and safety Marvin White.
•After having just one player (defensive tackle Ranorris Ray) on the 2005 preseason All-Mountain West Conference Team, TCU concluded the campaign with a league-best 18 selections on the postseason squad. No other school had more than 12.
SPEED
•In a 40-yard timing by National Football League scouts, the fastest Frogs are wide receiver Michael DePriest (4.33) and safety Marvin White (4.37).
BOUNCING BACK
•In the week after a regular-season loss, TCU has an 11-3 record under coach Gary Patterson.
PATTERSON NEARS MILESTONES
•TCU's next victory will be the 47th for coach Gary Patterson, tying him with Francis Schmidt (1929-33) for third on the Frogs' career list. Dutch Meyer (109, 1934-52) and Abe Martin (74, 1953-66) rank first and second, respectively.
•The Utah game will be Patterson's 66th contest as TCU's head coach, enabling him to tie F.A. Dry (1977-82) for fifth on the Frogs' all-time chart. Pat Sullivan is fourth at 67 (1992-97).
QUICK STARTS
•TCU has opened at 3-1 or better for the fourth time in Gary Patterson's six seasons as head coach.
•The Frogs won their opening 10 games in 2003 en route to an 11-2 campaign.
THE RANKINGS
•TCU appeared in 15 consecutive top-25 polls by the Associated Press and USA Today before falling out after last week's loss to BYU.
•At No. 15 in the Sept. 17 and Sept. 24 USA Today coaches' polls, the Frogs had their highest September ranking since 1959.
•With a No. 21 appearance in the USA Today poll and a No. 22 spot in the Associated Press Top 25, TCU posted its highest preseason rankings since it was No. 20 by AP in 2000.
THE BCS
•The Frogs were 14th in the final 2005 BCS standings. It was the 20th time TCU has appeared in the BCS standings, the most of any school playing in a conference without an automatic BCS bid. Boise State and Utah are tied for second at 12.
•Since Gary Patterson arrived at TCU as defensive coordinator in 1998, TCU is 12-6 against teams from leagues with automatic BCS bids.
STUFFING THE RUN
•Over its last seven games, dating back to the 2005 campaign, TCU's run defense is allowing just 40.1 yards per game. No opponent in that stretch has rushed for more than 72 yards.
•The Frogs top the MWC and are third nationally in run defense (45.8 yards per game).
•In six seasons under coach Gary Patterson, TCU is 32-5 when holding the opponent under 100 yards rushing.
DEFENSIVE STANDS
•The Frogs lead the MWC and are 16th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 13.5 points per game.
•In its 12-3 win, TCU became the first team since 2000 to hold Texas Tech without a touchdown. The Red Raiders were limited to 204 yards passing after entering the game with a 396.5 per game mark.
DEFENDING THE PASS
•Facing pass-oriented teams in its opening four games, TCU has surrendered just four touchdown tosses this season.
•Rafael Priest's team-leading seven passes broken up, which rank second in the MWC behind only Utah's Eric Weddle, are just one shy of TCU's 2005 team-leading total of eight shared by Quincy Butler, Drew Coleman and Jeremy Modkins.
STATISTICAL HIGHS VERSUS BYU
•Donald Massey's career-high eight receptions were the most by a Frog since Cory Rodgers had nine grabs in last year's BYU contest.
•Jeff Ballard had a career-high 359 yards in total offense.
•Ballard's 296 yards passing represented the second-best total in his career, topped only by a 302-yard effort at Air Force last year (Oct.22).
•Ballard's 63 yards rushing marked his highest single-game total since gaining 79 yards in his first collegiate start (vs. New Mexico, Oct. 1, 2005).
•The TCU offense had 2006 single-game bests in first downs (29), plays from scrimmage (82), passing yards (296), pass attempts (50) and completions (26).
THE TURNOVER STORY AGAINST BYU
•The TCU defense failed to register a takeaway for the first time in 19 games, dating back to Oct. 30, 2004 at Cincinnati.
•The Frogs trailed in the turnover category (-2) for the first time in seven contests, when they had three giveaways and two takeaways in a 23-20 win at San Diego State (Oct. 29, 2005).
•The minus-2 differential versus the Cougars was the largest turnover deficit for TCU since a negative-3 in last year's game versus SMU (Sept. 10, 2005).
FINISHING STRONG
•In the second half of games this season, TCU has outscored the opposition by a 60-24 margin. That total includes a 34-10 differential in the third quarter.
•Dating back to last year, the Frogs have allowed just 45 fourth-quarter points in their last 16 games (2.8 per contest). During that same period, TCU has outscored its foes by a 223-110 margin in the second half.
HE'S BACK
•Senior tailback Lonta Hobbs made his first appearance in over a year in the BYU game.
•Hobbs rushed for 21 yards on five carries while adding an 11-yard reception.
•Three of Hobbs' six touches in the game resulted in first downs.
•Hobbs was playing for the first time since suffering a season-ending groin injury at SMU in week two of the 2005 campaign.
•With both of his appearances last season coming on the road (at Oklahoma and at SMU), Hobbs was playing in his first home contest since the 2004 season finale against Tulane when he rushed for 124 yards.
HOW STRONG ARE THEY?
•The following numbers come courtesy of TCU's strength and conditioning program:
•43 - Number of players who bench 350+ pounds
•16 - Number of players who bench 400+ pounds
•329 - Average team power clean in pounds
•48 - Number of players who squat 500+ pounds
•19 - Number of players who squat 600+ pounds
•523 - Average team squat in pounds
•Top Lifters:
•Bench Press - Jarrarcea Williams, NT (475 pounds)
•Squat - Cody Moore, DT (760 pounds)
•Power Clean - Cody Moore, DT (440pounds)
ROOKIE STARTERS
•In each of the last two games, TCU has featured a tailback (Justin Watts, vs. Texas Tech) and wide receiver (Marcus Brock, vs. BYU) making their first career starts.
FROGS IN UTAH
•TCU will be playing in the state of Utah for the fifth time in its history. The Frogs are 2-2 (1-1 vs. BYU, 0-1 vs. Utah, 1-0 vs. Utah State) in The Beehive State.
PASSING TYE
•The 12-3 win over Texas Tech improved Jeff Ballard's record to 11-0 as TCU's starting quarterback. He surpassed Tye Gunn's previous school mark for most consecutive victories (10) to begin a career as a starting quarterback.
•Ballard's first start in that stretch, a 49-28 win over New Mexico last year, came after he replaced an injured Gunn. When Gunn was hurt the previous week at BYU, Ballard came off-the-bench and rallied the Frogs from an 18-point third-quarter deficit to a 51-50 overtime victory in Provo. It's the largest come-from-behind win in Gary Patterson's six seasons as TCU's head coach.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
•Included below is where Jeff Ballard ranks on TCU's all-time list for longest overall winning streak by a starting quarterback:
1. Davey O'Brien - 14
2. Sammy Baugh - 12
3. Jeff Ballard - 11
4. Tye Gunn - 10
5. Howard Grubbs - 9
AT HOME
•TCU had its seven-game home winning streak snapped against BYU. Its last previous loss came in the 2004 season finale to Tulane.
•Since the start of the 2000 season, TCU is 31-5 (.861) in Amon Carter Stadium. Included in that total are undefeated marks in four (2000, 2002, 2003, 2005) of those years which contributed to at least 10 wins in each season.
•Over the last four years, TCU's 17-4 (.810) mark ranks 15th in home winning percentage among Division I-A members.
•The BYU contest closed a stretch of three home games in 20 days for TCU. The Frogs now have just three home dates over the final 65 days of the regular season.
•The 12-3 win over Texas Tech saw TCU record its first sellout crowd since 1984, when the Frogs hosted Texas. The attendance of 45,647 against the Red Raiders represented the second-largest crowd in TCU history, surpassed only by the 47,280 for that 1984 contest against the Longhorns.
•TCU sold a record 13,962 football season tickets this season.
SENSATIONAL SOPHOMORE
•Tailback Aaron Brown, the 2005 Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year and a Freshman All-American by The Sporting News, tops TCU in rushing (243 yards) and touchdowns (four) while placing second in receptions (14) and receiving yards (227).
•Brown's 14 receptions have already surpassed his total of 11 from last year and equaled the top mark by a Frog back in 2005 (14, Robert Merrill).
•Brown is second in the MWC in all-purpose yards per game (117.5). He's also tied for third in the league in scoring by touchdowns (6.0 points per game).
•A native of Katy, Texas, Brown is sixth in the MWC in rushing (60.8 yards each contest) and ninth in receiving yards per game (56.8).
THE CENTURY MARK
•Tailback Aaron Brown's 107 yards receiving at Baylor were the most by a Frog since Cory Rodgers totaled 128 yards on six catches in a 48-10 win at Air Force last season (Oct. 22).
•Brown became the first TCU running back to reach 100 yards receiving in a game since Andre Davis had four receptions for 109 yards in a 30-28 win at Tulane on Oct. 15, 1994.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
•Fifteen different Frogs have combined for TCU's 75 receptions this season.
•Quentily Harmon (21), Aaron Brown (14) and Donald Massey (10) are the lone Frogs in double figures.
•TCU wide receivers have accounted for 47 receptions with running backs catching 19 balls and tight ends nine.
•Seven players have scored touchdowns this season with Brown being the lone Frog to reach the end zone more than once.
THE GO-TO-GUY
•Quentily Harmon tops TCU with 21 receptions, giving him 80 career catches.
•After setting a career-high in receiving yards (96) in the season-opening win at Baylor, Harmon tied a career-best with six receptions in the UC Davis game.
•Harmon was the top returning receiver this season after catching 28 passes to place second on the Frogs in 2005.
LOVING THE TIGHT END
•TCU tight ends have three touchdown catches among their nine receptions on the season.
•Reaching the end zone have been Quinton Cunigan (Baylor), Shae Reagan (UC Davis) and Brent Hecht (BYU). Cunigan and Reagan scored on their first career receptions.
•Hecht tops the Frog tight ends with four grabs for 44 yards. Dating back to last season, he has at least one reception in nine of the last 10 games.
•Chad Andrus is a graduate student this fall.
MERRILL AMONG THE BEST
•TCU tailback Robert Merrill entered the 2006 season ranking third among Division I-A's active career rushers:
1. Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois - 3,236 yards
2. Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma - 3,033 yards
3. Robert Merrill, TCU - 2,771 yards
GATOR BAIT
•TCU safety Marvin White, nicknamed Gator, has a team-best 32 tackles in twice being named the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
•White's average of 8.0 stops per game ranks fifth in the MWC. It's also well above last year's TCU top mark of 5.9 (Jason Phillips).
SPLITTING THE UPRIGHTS
•Chris Manfredini is 7-of-8 on field goals this season and 20-of-21 in his two years at TCU (2005-06).
•When including a 10-of-11 mark for Cincinnati in 2003, he is 30-of-32 (93.8 percent) on field goals in his collegiate career.
•In the 12-3 win over Texas Tech, Manfredini accounted for all of TCU's scoring as he kicked a career-best four field goals. His performance earned him Lou Groza Award Star of the Week and Mountain West Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
•Manfredini had a career-long 47-yard field goal versus UC Davis.
FINDING THE END ZONE
•Peter LoCoco, who doubles as TCU's long-range field goal kicker, has had touchbacks on 7-of-21 kickoffs this season.
•Against Texas Tech, LoCoco had two kickoffs go five yards deep in the end zone before being run out by the Red Raiders.
•LoCoco also had a pair of kickoffs taken out of the end zone against BYU.
•Over the last nine games in 2005, LoCoco had touchbacks on 27-of-63 (42.9 percent) kickoffs.
THE TWO-FOOTED MONSTER
•Chris Manfredini and Peter LoCoco had 47 and 49-yard field goals, respectively, in the 46-13 win over UC Davis.
SPECIAL TEAMS STANDOUTS
•TCU leads the Mountain West Conference and is 12th nationally in kickoff return average (26.4). The Frogs are fourth in the MWC in punt returns (8.6 per attempt).
•Donald Massey is averaging 31.0 yards on five kickoff returns, including a 69-yard effort at Baylor.
•Marcus Brock is second in the MWC and 37th in the country with a 10.1 punt return average.
MOVING THE STICKS
•TCU is averaging 4.2 yards per carry with its top-seven ground gainers all averaging at least that mark per rush.
CONTROLLING THE CLOCK
•TCU has won the time of possession battle in three of its four games. The lone exception was against BYU when the Frogs had the ball for a season-low 28:24.
•TCU is averaging 31:44 on the season, placing it second in the MWC.
IN THE ZONE
•TCU ranks second in the Mountain West Conference in red-zone offense, scoring on 15-of-16 possessions (93.8 percent). The Frogs have nine touchdowns and six field goals.
•Defensively, opponents have had just eight red-zone visits against TCU to tie for the lowest mark in the MWC. The Frogs have allowed three touchdowns and four field goals.
SCORING FIRST
•After scoring first in 10 of 12 contests last season, TCU has been first on the board once (Texas Tech) in four games this year.
•Since the start of the 2002 season, the Frogs have scored first in 71.2 percent (37-of-52) of their games.
•TCU had scored first in eight consecutive contests before Baylor snapped the streak with a 21-yard second quarter touchdown pass. The previous time a TCU opponent had scored first was BYU on Sept. 24, 2005.
QUICK SCORES
•TCU has scored in the first quarter in 11 of its last 13 games.
•TCU saw its streak of scoring in the first quarter snapped at nine contests at Baylor. The Frogs were held scoreless in the opening 15 minutes for the first time since Sept. 15, 2005 versus Utah.
CLOSE CALLS
•Dating back to the 2003 campaign, 18 of TCU's last 40 games have been decided by seven points or less. The Frogs are 15-3 in those contests, including 5-0 last year.
VERSATILE FROGS
•The TCU defensive line features five former high school running backs: Tommy Blake, Jerry Hughes, Cody Moore, Jared Retkofsky and Jarrarcea Williams.
FIDING THE SCOREBOARD
•At 168 games, TCU currently has the seventh-longest streak in the nation for not being shut out. The Frogs haven't been blanked since a 32-0 defeat at Texas on Nov. 16, 1991.
BONUS FOOTBALL
•TCU is 5-4 since the NCAA adopted overtime play in 1996.
WIN-LOSS UPDATES
•After just three winning seasons in 13 years (1985-97), TCU has won over 70 percent of its games (71-30, .703) since the start of the 1998 campaign when head coach Gary Patterson arrived on campus.
•TCU has an all-time record of 530-503-57 (.512) in its football history which began in 1896.
THE MISSING
•TCU opened 3-0 despite starting tailbacks and past 1,000-yard rushers Lonta Hobbs and Robert Merrill not playing due to injury.
•Sidelined for the season is offensive tackle Heath Raetz. Starting wide receiver Michael DePriest missed the opening two games due to injury before returning to action against Texas Tech.
•The Frogs rallied from a 7-0 halftime deficit at Baylor with starting quarterback Jeff Ballard sidelined.
HITTING HIS MARK
•After feeling woozy and playing just the first half in the season opener at Baylor, Jeff Ballard completed 18-of-23 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns against UC Davis to post the fourth-best single-game completion percentage (78.3) in TCU history. He also ran for a 10-yard score.
DEJA VU
•In relief roles, the numbers of Jeff Ballard in last year's 51-50 overtime win at BYU and Marcus Jackson in the second-half comeback at Baylor are very similar:
•Ballard - 8-of-12 passing (75.0 percent), 150 yards, 2 TDs
•Jackson - 11-of-13 passing (84.6 percent), 148 yards, 2 TDs
•Jackson was two attempts shy (a minimum of 15 is required) of qualifying for the second-best single-game completion percentage in TCU history. The current mark is held by Max Knake who was 13-of-15 (86.7 percent) in a 27-25 win over Rice in 1994.
MASSEY REGAINS YEAR
•TCU wide receiver Donald Massey has been granted a medical redshirt after playing in just two games as a true freshman in 2004. He is now a sophomore in eligibility.
WHERE TO FIND THE TCU ASSISTANTS
•Press Box: Mike Schultz (offensive coordinator/running backs), Dick Winder (quarterbacks), Tony Tademy (linebackers) and Chad Glasgow (safeties).
•Field: Dick Bumpas (defensive coordinator/defensive line), Charles McMillian (cornerbacks), Jarrett Anderson (wide receivers), Dan Sharp (tight ends/special teams) and Eddie Williamson (assistant head coach/offensive line).
AN EXPERIENCED STAFF
•TCU returned its entire coaching staff from the 2005 season.
•The Frogs are one of just four teams (N.C. State, Oklahoma, Temple) in Division I-A to have all 10 of their coaches play Division I football. Eight members of the TCU staff competed on the Division I-A level with two in I-AA.
WHO ARE THESE GUYS
•With standout tailbacks Lonta Hobbs and Robert Merrill sidelined, reserves Detrick James and Justin Watts have been major producers after entering the fall in No. 4 and No. 5 positions, respectively, on the depth chart.
•James has recorded the three-highest rushing games of his career in the opening four contests. He's currently third on the team in rushing with 157 yards on a 4.2 per carry mark. He totaled 56 yards last season.
•Watts, who made his first collegiate start in the Texas Tech game, was the Frogs' second-leading rusher with a career-best 64 yards on seven attempts versus UC Davis.
DYNAMIC DUO
•Safety Marvin White and linebacker Jason Phillips both appeared on The Sporting News' preseason All-America checklist.
•In the opening two games, they both recorded double-figure tackle performances.
•White set a career-high with 14 tackles at Baylor, nearly three times the amount of the next-closest Frogs (three players had five stops). Against UC Davis, White posted his first interception of the season and fourth of his career.
•Phillips equaled a career-high with 10 tackles against UC Davis while also recording his first career interception.
LINEBACKER DROUGHT OVER
•Jason Phillips' first career interception, in the third quarter against UC Davis (Sept. 9), was TCU's first pick by a linebacker in nearly two years (David Hawthorne vs. SMU, Sept. 11, 2004).
DEFENSIVE BATTLES
•TCU's 12-3 win over Texas Tech marked the first time the Frogs won when scoring 12 or fewer points since a 12-3 win over UT-Arlington in the 1974 season opener.
THE IRONMAN
•Offensive tackle Herb Taylor's 40 consecutive starts, representing every TCU game over the last four seasons, is tied for the fourth-longest current streak in Division I-A.
FROGS OR TADPOLES
•TCU has played four true freshmen this season: offensive tackle Marshall Newhouse, linebacker Daryl Washington and defensive ends Wayne Daniels and Jerry Hughes. Eleven redshirt freshmen have also seen action.
•The Frogs tied for fourth nationally last season in their number of freshmen (21) played. Sixteen were redshirt freshmen with five true freshmen.
NEW FACES
•While preseason All-American and Lombardi and Outland Trophy candidate Herb Taylor has made 40 consecutive starts, representing every TCU game over the last four years, the other four starters (OG Maurice Bouldwin, OG Matty Lindner, C Blake Schlueter, OT Wade Sisk) on the Frog offensive line have made their first collegiate starts this season.
•When including wide receivers Ervin Dickerson and Donald Massey, TCU had six first-time starters on offense in the season opener at Baylor.
•Also against Baylor, the defense had three first-time starters (DT Cody Moore, CB Rafael Priest and CB Nick Sanders) while nose tackle Jarrarcea Williams made his first start since the final two games of the 2004campaign.
PATTERSON MILESTONES
•Gary Patterson is the only head coach in TCU history with three 10-win seasons (2002, 2003 and 2005).
•With a .708 winning percentage (46-19), Patterson is 15th among active coaches in Division I-A. He has taken part in half of the eight 10-win campaigns in TCU's history. He was defensive coordinator during a 10-2 campaign in 2000.
•Prior to Patterson's arrival, the only 10-win seasons at TCU were recorded in the 1930s. Francis A. Schmidt led the Horned Frogs to 10-0-1 and 10-1-1 marks, respectively, in 1932 and 1933. Dutch Meyer then guided TCU to its national championship seasons in 1935 (12-1) and 1938 (11-0).
HERE TO STAY
•At a Nov. 22, 2005 news conference, TCU athletics director Danny Morrison announced that football coach Gary Patterson agreed to a contract extension through the 2012 season.
A SPECIAL BACKFIELD
•TCU's trio of Aaron Brown, Lonta Hobbs and Robert Merrill was ranked in the preseason by The Sporting News as the fourth-best backfield in the nation.
•Merrill (2,771 yards) and Hobbs (2,427) rank sixth and ninth, respectively, on TCU's career rushing list. Merrill needs just 13 yards to move past Basil Mitchell (2,783 yards, 1994-98) into fifth place.
•Merrill has led TCU in rushing in each of the last three seasons.
•Brown, Hobbs and Merrill make the Frogs one of just 13 teams in Division I-A to have three players with 100-yard rushing games on their resume.
THE CENTURY MARK
•Tailbacks Lonta Hobbs and Robert Merrill are tied for seventh in TCU history with 10 100-yard rushing games. They sit one behind 1955 Heisman Trophy runner-up Jim Swink who had 11 100-yard efforts.
•TCU is 8-2 when Merrill rushes for at least 100 yards and 7-3 when Hobbs reaches the milestone. The Frogs are 3-0 when Brown hits the century mark.
•Merrill and Hobbs have reached 100 yards in the same game on one occasion, a 62-55 win at Houston in 2003. Merrill ran for a career-high 204 yards on 22 carries, while Hobbs added 102 yards on 22 attempts.
A SPECIAL FROG
•Former TCU tailback and current National Football League star LaDainian Tomlinson was named to CBS SportsLine.com's All-Decade Team. He was joined in the All-Decade backfield by former USC standouts Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush.
•The Web site wrote of Tomlinson, Before he started running wild with the San Diego Chargers, Tomlinson was an excellent college player at TCU.
•Tomlinson rushed for a combined 4,008 yards in his final two years of college, including 2,158 as a senior. He ran for an NCAA single-game record 406 yards versus UTEP in 1999 and won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back in 2000. Tomlinson, who has earned his TCU degree, had his No. 5 jersey honored by the Frogs last season.
OFFENSIVE BREAKTHROUGHS
•TCU's 50 touchdowns in 2005 set a new single-season school record. The previous mark was 49 in 2000. With 48 touchdowns in 2004, the Frogs have recorded their top three single-season touchdown totals in school history over the last six years with Mike Schultz as offensive coordinator.
•During that same period, TCU has had three of its top four single-season point totals. TCU's 398 points in 2005 represented the second-best mark in school history, trailing only the 410 in 2000.
OUTRIGHT CHAMPIONSHIPS
•The 2005 campaign saw TCU capture its first outright conference title since 1958.
•The Horned Frogs have taken part in conference championships in four different leagues over the last 12 years.
•Prior to last season, the five previous conference titles for TCU had 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).
PERFECTION
•With an 8-0 record in its debut season in the Mountain West Conference last year, TCU posted its first undefeated conference record (8-0) since the 1938 national championship team swept through the Southwest Conference.
•The 2005 Frogs were just the fourth team in school history to go through a season undefeated in league play, joining the 1938 and 1932 Southwest Conference squads as well as the 1920 team that was unblemished in the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
NFL DRAFT PICKS FROM MWC TEAMS
•TCU 163, San Diego State 133, BYU 131, Utah 123, Colorado State 93, Wyoming 75, New Mexico 59, UNLV 40, Air Force 7.
QUARTERBACK U
•Five of the top-six career completion percentage leaders for TCU have played in the last six seasons:
1. Jeff Ballard - 59.6 (2004-06)
2. Sean Stilley - 57.9 (1999-02)
3. Brandon Hassell - 56.7 (2003-04)
4. Casey Printers - 56.1 (1999-01)
5. Max Knake - 55.8 (1992-95)
6. Tye Gunn - 55.0 (2002-05)
FAMILIAR NUMBERS
•Aaron Brown is wearing the same jersey number (23) as former TCU standout Jim Swink, a consensus All-America selection and the runner-up for the 1955 Heisman Trophy.
ROCKSTAR/COACH?
•During the offseason, TCU coach and guitarist/singer Gary Patterson will perform all genres of music in local concerts. In one setting for children, he did a memorable rendition of Old McDonald had a farm.
TV DARLINGS
•TCU played in a nationally-televised season opener for the sixth straight season:
2001 - Nebraska 21, TCU 7 (ABC)
2002 - Cincinnati 36, TCU 29 (OT, ESPN)
2003 - TCU 38, Tulane 35 (ESPN)
2004 - TCU 48, Northwestern 45 (2 OT, ESPN2)
2005 - TCU 17, Oklahoma 10 (ABC)
2006 - TCU 17, Baylor 7 (FSN)
FROGS AND THE NFL
•In Gary Patterson's five-year tenure as head coach, TCU has had 14 players drafted with a total of 25 in NFL camps.
•Seven players from last year's Frog team were in NFL camps: Cory Rodgers (WR, fourth-round draft pick, Green Bay), Michael Toudouze (OT, fifth-round draft pick, Indianapolis), Drew Coleman (CB, sixth-round draft pick, New York Jets), Quincy Butler (CB, free-agent, Dallas), Tye Gunn (QB, free-agent, Chicago), Jeremy Modkins (S, free-agent, Green Bay) and defensive tackle Ranorris Ray (DT, free-agent, Dallas).
•Six other former Horned Frogs are currently active in the NFL: Anthony Alabi (OT, Miami), Robert Pollard (DE, Seattle), Aaron Schobel (DE, Buffalo), Bo Schobel (DE, Indianapolis), Matt Schobel (TE, Philadelphia), LaDainian Tomlinson (RB, San Diego) and Ryan Tucker (OL, Cleveland).
DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE
•The Frogs have been the nation's top-ranked defense twice in coach Gary Patterson's eight years on the TCU campus. Overall, the Frogs have been in the top five in the nation in total defense three times in Patterson's tenure.
