Frogs Set for Fiesta Bowl Kickoff
1/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 4, 2010
GLENDALE, Ariz.--Third-ranked TCU aims to complete the first perfect 13-0 season in school history tonight when it matches up against fellow unbeaten and sixth-ranked Boise State in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. The game, which will be televised live by FOX, is set for a 6:21 p.m. MT kickoff. Pre-game coverage on FOX begins at 5:30 p.m. MT.
GAME DAY COVERAGE: FIESTA BOWL CENTRAL | LISTEN LIVE!!! | | TCU BOWL GUIDE
ABOUT THE GAME
• No. 3 TCU makes its 11th bowl appearance in the last 12 seasons, and first in the BCS, when it faces No. 6 Boise State in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
• This will be the Horned Frogs' 25th overall bowl appearance. TCU is 11-12-1 all-time in bowl games.
• TCU has won four straight bowl games for the first time in its history. The Frogs are also one of just seven teams nationally to have a current bowl winning streak of at least four in a row.
• TCU is 7-3 in bowl games with Gary Patterson on its coaching staff and 5-3 with him as head coach. Prior to Patterson's arrival on campus in 1998, the Frogs had just four bowl wins in their history.
• The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl will mark the first time since 1938, when the top-ranked Frogs defeated No. 5 Carnegie Tech 15-7 in the Sugar Bowl, that TCU has played a game with both teams ranked this high.
• TCU is playing its first bowl game in January since the Jan. 1, 1959 Cotton Bowl when the Frogs and Air Force battled to a scoreless tie.
NOTING THE HORNED FROGS
• TCU won the Mountain West Conference Championship for the first time since 2005, its debut season in the league. The Frogs have won at least a share of 15 conference championships.
• TCU is 12-0 for the first time in program history. The Frogs also have just their second 12-win season. The 1935 national championship team was 12-1 after a 3-2 victory over LSU in the Sugar Bowl. No TCU team had previously won 12 games in a regular season.
• TCU has its first perfect regular season since the 1938 national championship team went 10-0, before closing the campaign at 11-0 with a 15-7 Sugar Bowl win over Carnegie Tech.
• At No. 3, the Frogs have their highest ranking since the 1938 national championship squad was No. 1 in the season-ending poll.
• TCU has won at least 10 games for the sixth time in the last eight seasons. The Frogs reached 11 wins for the fifth time since 2003.
• TCU has won 14 in a row for the nation's second-longest current winning streak (Texas 17). The Frogs are one of five undefeated teams in the nation.
• The Frogs have tied a school record with their longest winning streak since winning the final three games in 1937 and all 11 contests in their 1938 national championship campaign.
• Each of TCU's last seven victories have been by at least 27 points.
BEATING THE RANKED
• TCU is 3-0 against teams (BYU, Clemson, Utah) ranked at one point during this season with a combined victory margin of 107-45. Two of the three wins were on the road.
NATIONAL HONORS
• TCU's Jerry Hughes is a two-time consensus All-American and the 2009 recipient of the Lott Trophy and Ted Hendricks Award as the nation's top defensive end. He was also a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Rotary Lombardi Award and Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
• Gary Patterson has received National Coach of the Year honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation and Sporting News. He is also the recipient of the George Munger Award and Woody Hayes Award as the nation's top coach.
THE NATION'S BEST
• TCU tops the nation in total defense (233.3 yards per game) while ranking fourth in total offense (469.1 yards per game).
• The Frogs are the only team in the country to place in the top 10 in both categories.
SERIES NOTES
• TCU and Boise State are meeting for the third time in their history. All three games will have taken place in bowls over the last seven seasons.
• Each contest between the Frogs and Broncos has also seen both teams ranked in the top 20.
• No. 11 TCU defeated No. 9 Boise State, 17-16, in last year's Poinsettia Bowl.
• The first meeting between the teams saw the 18th-ranked Broncos defeat the 19th-ranked Frogs, 34-31, in the inaugural Fort Worth Bowl in 2003.
FAMILIAR FACES
• TCU head coach Gary Patterson was the linebackers coach at UC Davis in 1986 when Boise State head coach Chris Petersen was the Aggies' starting quarterback.
