TCU defense ranks among nation's best in NCAA stats
1/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 10, 2007
FORT WORTH, Texas -- The TCU football team, with nine defensive starters returning next season, closed the 2006 campaign ranked second nationally in run defense and total defense while placing third in scoring defense.All three statistical categories saw the top marks posted in the six-year head coaching tenure of Gary Patterson.
The Horned Frogs allowed just 60.8 yards per game on the ground to trail only Michigan (43.4). TCU held Northern Illinois tailback Garrett Wolfe, the nation's leading rusher, to 28 yards rushing on 20 carries in a 37-7 Poinsettia Bowl victory.
With only 234.9 yards per game allowed, TCU ranked second behind Virginia Tech (219.5) in total defense. During their eight-game winning streak to close the season, the Frogs held their opponents to an average of 185.1 yards each contest.
Only Virginia Tech (11.0) and Wisconsin (12.1) allowed fewer points per game than TCU (12.3). The Frogs surrendered one offensive touchdown in the final nine quarters of the season.
TCU was seventh in pass efficiency defense with a rating of 102.3. The Frogs allowed just nine touchdown passes on the year, tied for the fifth-lowest total in the nation. TCU was 10th in tackles for a loss (7.6 per game) and 15th in sacks (2.9 each contest).
In defensive ends Tommy Blake and Chase Ortiz, linebackers Jason Phillips and Robert Henson, and safety Brian Bonner, the Frogs return five All-Mountain West Conference selections next season. Also back will be Freshman All-American cornerback Nick Sanders.
Offensively, TCU was ninth nationally in rushing offense (194.6 yards per game) and 17th in total offense (408.5 yards each contest). The Frogs tied for sixth in fewest sacks allowed (1.2 per game).
TCU opens the 2007 campaign Sept. 1 with a home contest against Baylor before traveling to Texas on Sept. 8. The Frogs are 4-0 against Big 12 opponents over the last two seasons.
