Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 72

COLLEGES 4CC Sunday November 2191999 I wwwstar-telegramcom nee bowR hopes A Frogs enh Wen II "WSW AMPS A A share of WAC title to do" The Horned Frogs limited the Miners who passed for 384 yards to 38 yards rushing on 28 carries TCU took a 17-0 lead in the first quarter after taking advantage of two UTEP turnovers After two TCU turnovers in the second quarter UTEP tied the game at 17 when quarterback Rocky Perez scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 40 seconds remaining in the first half In the second half TCU thrived on Tomlinson's four touchdowns as Tomlinson worked on setting an NCAA Division I-A single game rushing record of 406 yards The Frogs outscored the Miners 35-7 in the second half en route to assuring themselves a second consecutive winning season "We've talked about ways to make this season special" TCU coach Dennis Franchione said "We've done that by making ourselves bowl eligible" Brett Hoffman (817) 390-7163 I i rA '0- 4 fl 2 Its i rt- -Nr li 'g i 0 4 I drif l'i I A04 'lel 17 ZS I' 'r' tz A 11? :1 11 1 4 314 Itt A 4 a I :4" lir' 1 40 0 1 1 01 (4' '''9t 1 tk 4 1 9 1' '14k -) c' i re '1 TEAM STATISTICS UTEP ICU First Downs 21 22 Rushing 3 18 Passing 14 2 Penalty 4 2 Rushing yards 38 475 Carries 28 61 Average gain 14 78 Passing yards 384 31 Attempts 43 8 Completed 28 4 Intercepted 2 1 SacksNds lost 1-3 0-0 Average gain 89 39 Total offense 422 506 Plays 71 69 Average gain 59 73 Punting average 450 355 No punts 4 2 Penalties-yards 5-55 10-69 Fumbles-lost 1-1 3-2 Third down en 3-12 8-12 Time of possession Total Yards 506 I 422 27:30 A INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS ittre) RUSHING A Yds Avg Lg TO Tomlinson 43 406 94 70 6 Batteaux 7 51 73 18 0 Hayes-Stoker 2 14 70 13 1 Layne 4 5 13 3 0 Printers 2 4 20 7 0 Purcell 1 -1 -10 0 0 Dover 1 -1 -10 0 0 Dunba 1 -3 -30 0 0 Totals 61 475 78 70 7 PASSING A Yds TO Lg hit Printers 7 4 31 0 17 1 Batteaux 1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 8 4 31 0 17 1 PASS RECEIVING No Yds Lg TO Tomlinson 2 6 9 0 Maiden 1 17 17 0 Brown 1 8 8 0 Totals 4 31 17 0 PUNTING No Yds Avg tg Huffman 2 71 355 51 Totals 2 71 355 51 PUNT RETURNS No Yds Lg Huffman 1 20 20 KICKOFF RETURNS No Yds tg Tomlinson 1 14 14 Roberts 1 10 10 TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS Hunt 10-4-0 Bayer 2-7-0 Goss 4-4-0 Fuller 2- 5-0 Schobel 1-5-1 Maiden 2-3-0 ShnBrazzell 0-5-0 Williams 1-3-0 Wilson 2-1-0 of1)V1-- RUSHING A Yds Avg Lg TO Johnson 5 16 32 9 0 Smith 13 13 10 11 0 Stuckey 7 10 14 8 1 Reid 1 0 00 0 0 Perez 2 -05 2 1 Totals 28 38 14 11 2 PASSING A Yds TO Ig lot Stuckey 27 19 296 1 59 2 Perez 12 8 80 0 18 0 Phillips 4 1 8 0 8 0 Totals 43 28 384 1 59 2 PASS RECEIVING No Yds tg TO Natkin 9 75 13 0 Thompson 5 92 47 1 Mays 4 65 25 0 Johnson 4 28 9 0 Knapp 3 31 20 0 Ray 2 85 59 0 Johnston 1 8 8 0 Totals 28 384 59 1 PUNTING No Yds Avg 14 Beard 4 180 450 50 PUNT RETURNS No Yds tg Clemons 1 4 4 KICKOFF RETURNS No Yds Li Minor 2 27 15 Austin 4 106 48 Totals 5 133 48 TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS Jackson 4-7-0 Sheppard 5-4-0 Merkens 5-4-0 Young 2-5-0 Walker 3-3-0 King 1-4-0 Salinas fl-4-0 Edmond 2-2-0 Wideman 0-3-0 moves TCU closer to Dec 22 The Frogs could receive official notification from the Mobile Bowl committee this week Bayer's first of the two interceptions came early in the first quarter when he picked off UTEP's Jay Stuckey at midfield Four plays later TCU tailback LaDainian Tomlinson scored his first of six touchdowns on a 13-yard run giving the Horned Frogs a 7-0 lead 2:22 into the first quarter His second interception was in the fourth quarter when Bayer intercepted Stuckey giving TCU possession at the Frogs' 37 On the next play Tomlinson ran for a 63-yard touchdown giving TCU a 45-17 lead with 9:17 remaining in the game "We said to ourselves that we ain't going to let them come out and beat us because we've got a lot more to play for than they do" Bayer said "We stopped the run and they had to go to the pass so it was kind of easy for us to know what they were going LaDainian Tomlinson scores the second of yard leap into the end zone describe what it felt like" offensive tackle David Bobo said "He made my job a whole lot easier" said backup quarterback Patrick Batteaux who started the second half "All I had to do was hand the ball off to him I've got to carry out my fakes but it's kind of hard because I wanted to watch him" TCU's press-box staff remained in contact with Franchione in the fourth quarter as Tomlinson started to make a run at the record book At that point the Frogs had the game in hand and Franchione debated taking Tomlinson out of the game With a short week ahead Franchione didn't want to risk re-injuring Tomlinson's tender ankle "Get that close to something like that believe me it was not an easy call whether to take him out or let him try to get the necessary yards" Franchione said "You get a young man who puts himself in that kind of day that kind of position you need to let him finish it off" Tomlinson missed the second half of the Hawaii game Oct 30 after spraining his ankle He was held out of practice the next week TCU's bye week returned to play against North Texas on Nov 13 Tomlinson looked a step slow against the Eagles finishing with 75 yards on 21 carries But he looked sharp early against the Miners He was able to make hard cuts and easily break through arm tackles Tomlinson had 59 yards by the end of the first quarter and 119 at halftime He rushed for 121 more in the third and put the finishing touches on the historic performance with 166 yards in the final period His 63- and 70-yard scores came in the fourth Tomlinson's two touchdowns in the third turned a 17-17 halftime tie into a 31-17 Frogs' advantage On TCU's first drive of the second half Tomlinson carried seven consecutive times for 71 yards and scored from 27 yards out "I finally got smart enough to quit trying to throw it and just give it to him" Franchione said As for the ankle Tomlinson smiled and said: "I think it's real good right now" 0- Arthur Garcia (817) 390-7760 'i k'' i 41'' 11-4 tt i 4 -N A if 4 4 4 A 4449 I SY t1 te airm40110 te 0 io or ity ci dt': rit i i f) tk 4- c' 4 if r0 Ell 52 ITTEP 24 RtIEP 0 rirt9 1jj 14: 17 (CU 1Fp- I 0 II1411211152 FIRST QUARTER TCU 7 UTEP 0: Tomlinson 13 yard run (Kay- lakie kick) 2:22 Drive: 4 plays 44 yards 0:52 a TCU 14 UTEP 0: Tomlinson 1 yard run (Kay- lakie kick) 4:40 Drive: 3 plays 9 yards 1:25 TCU 17 UTEP 0: FG Kaylakie 37 11:39 Drive: 12 plays 50 yards 4:35 SECOND QUARTER TCU 17 UTEP 7: Thompson 47 pass from Stuckey (Bishop kick) 1:24 Drive: 8 plays 85 yards 4:45 ICU 17 UTEP Bishop 25 3:23 Drive: 5' plays 15 yards 1:44 TCU 17 UTEP 17: Perez 2 yard run (Bishop kick) 14:20 Drive: 5 plays 35 yards 1:34 BIRD QUARTER ICU 24 irrEp 17: Tomlinson 27 yard run (Kaylakie kick) 11:44 Drive: 7 plays 71 yards 3:18 TCU 31 UTEP 17: Tomlinson 1 yard run (Kaylakie kick) 9:53 Drive: 10 plays 58 yards 4:54 FOURTH (WAFER TCU 38 UTEP 17: Tomlinson 70 yard rim (Kay lakie kick) 2:53 Drive: 3 plays 76 yards 1:33 TCU 45 UTEP 17: Tomlinson 63 yard run (Kay-' lakie kick) 5:43 Drive: 1 play 63 yards 0:10 TCU 45 UTEP 24: Stuckey 3 yard run (Bishop kick) 8:22 Drive: 6 plays 77 yards 2:39 TCU 52 UTEP 24: Hayes-Stoker 13 yard run (Kaylakie kick) 14:09 Drive: 9 plays 43 yards 5:47 IICILNOTES BY ARTHUR GARCIA Star-Telegram Staff Writer Bowl update FORT WORTH Mobile Alabama Bowl official Frank Modarelli attended the ICU-UT-El Paso game to scout the Frogs as the Western Athletic Conference representative for the inaugural bowl Although not official it appears TCU will face No 23 East Carolina on Dec 18 The Mobile Alabama Bowl will extend East Carolina an invitation tomorrow and TCU could also receive a bid early this week Technically Modarelli said three' WAC schools ICU and co-champions Hawaii and Fresno State are under consideration for the Mobile bid The Frogs could also tie for the WAC title with a victory over $MU on Friday While the bowl committee publicly won't name its favorite it is clear that TCU is Its top choice especially considering LaDainian Tomlinson's record-breaking 406- yard rushing performance yester- day The Mobile Alabama Bowl which has the second choice from the WAC is in constant contact with the other bowls such as the Las Vegas Bowl that have tie-ins to WAC and Conference USA teams to determine the best draws for each game The perfect sce- nario as far as Mobile is con- cemed is Fresno State going to the Las Vegas Bowl which picks from among the league champions and ICU going to Alabama As for the Frogs opponent the Mobile Bowl wants East Carolina which beat North Carolina State 23-6 yesterday The other possibility is Louisville which lost to Southern Mississippi yesterday There was talk that the Mobile Bowl might release the Pirates to participate in a higher-profile bowl but that seems unlikely now Tribute to Aggies ICU flags on campus are being flown at half-mast through today in honor of the 12 who died and the others injured when Texas bonfire stack collapsed early Wednesday morning "The TCU community is deeply saddened by the tragic events at Texas MN claiming the lives of students and injuring others" ICU Chancellor Michael Ferrari said in a statement released by the school "I express our heartfelt sympathy to their families and friends and to the entire Texas community at this difficult time" Briefly a Patrick Batteaux primarily a wide receiver for his first two sea- sons at TCU before moving to quarterback last season played both receiver and quarterback terday Lined up as a wideout at one point in the first quarter Bat- teaux had an 18-yard run after taking a reverse hand-off from Tomlinson Defensive end Aaron Schobel set a TCU career record for sacks after tackling UTEP quarterback Rocky Perez for a 3-yard loss early in the second period Schobel a junior has 225 career sacks Royal West had the school mark with 22 The Frogs need four sacks to tie the school single-season record of 37 set in 1987 The announced crowd of 21218 at Amon Carter Stadium was ICU's seccind-smallest this season ERtrerni rir a Victory over UTEP BY BRITT HOFFMAN Star Tekgram Sufi flirt FORT WORT! With TCU needing a victory to keep its hopes alive for a bowl and a share of the conference title horned Frogs linebacker Chad Bayer knew that his team had to stop the UT-El Paso's passing attack During TCU's 52-24 rout of UTEP yesterday at Amon Carter Stadium Bayer made two interceptions that set up scoring opportunities By stopping UTEP drives with the interceptions Bayer helped the Frogs clinch bowl-eligibility and move within a victory of a share of the Western Athletic Conference title If ICU (6-4 4-2) defeats SMU (4- 5 3-2) Friday at Amon Carter the Frogs would end up tied with Hawaii and Fresno State both 5-2 in conference for the WAC championship Though not official the victory against the Miners virtually assures that TCU will be the WAC's representative in the Mobile Alabama Bowl on TOMLINSON From Page I CC had a 300-yard effort against San Jose State on Oct 9 He also tied Davis' record of three 200-yard games in a season A TCU single-game mark for rushing attempts with 43 Mike Luttrell had 40 against Rice in 1973 Tomlinson's heroics highlighted a victory that clinched a second consecutive winning season for the Frogs and moved them within a victory of claiming a share of the Western Athletic Conference title TCU (6-4 4-2) needs a victory over SMU (4-5 4-2) on Friday to tie Hawaii and Fresno State both 5-2 for the WAC regular-season championship TCU also became bowl-eligible with the win and indications are the Frogs are headed to the first Mobile Alabama Bowl against No 23 East Carolina on Dec 22 "Going into the game I wasn't thinking about a lot of yards" Tomlinson said "All I was thinking about was winning the game I knew we had to get to six wins for a chance to be conference champs" Tomlinson regained the Division IA rushing lead he lost after the Hawaii game His per-game average jumps to 1725 yards from 1466 and ahead of previous leader Thomas Jones of Virginia who gained 91 yards yesterday to fall to 1635 Wisconsin's Ron Dayne finished the season with a 1667-yard average Tomlinson also moved into fourth on TCU's career rushing list with 2980 yards He passed Jim Swink Curtis Modkins and former teammate Basil Mitchell yesterday Tomlinson is only 14 yards away from Davis at No 3 Tomlinson's six scores covered 13 1 27 1 70 and 63 yards He broke Jeffery's single-game rushing record with the 63-yard score in the fourth quarter "I never dreamed about scoring that many touchdowns" Tomlinson said "I saw former Texas running back Ricky Williams do it twice last year" Tomlinson left the game after a 7- yard run with 2:34 to play TCU called a timeout as the 21218 in attendance at Amon Carter Stadium gave Tomlinson a standing ovation The entire team left the sideline to congratulate him Youngsters students and adults all surrounded Tomlinson asking for autographs after the final gun ESPN ABC and TV stations from around the area called for interviews A long night for Tomlinson was just beginning a TCU public relations official said on the field "Never seen anything quite like that before" TCU coach Dennis Franchione said "I've had some great rushing teams and some great running backs but I don't remember many days like that one" How could he? "It's the best ever" Franchione said "What have we been playing college football a hundred-and-something years and nobody has ever been able to do what he just did today It was pretty amazing" Tomlinson thanked God his linemen think I'm going to buy them a couple the coaching staff his mother the fans and anything else dressed in purple His fellow players were left sptechless Almost "Once he did it I can't even Special to the Star-TelegraiTICHAD GREENti his six touchdowns early in the first quarter with a 1- RUN TO GLORY A breakdown of LaDainian Tomlinson's record 406-yard performance on 43 carries yesterday against UT-El Paso (unofficial statistics based on play-by-play): FIRST QUARTER Yard Down Carry EP44 1-10 Right side loss of 1 yard EP13 1-10 Left end 13 yards TOUCHDOWN EP9 1-G Middle 3 yards EP1 3-G Dive over middle 1 yard TOUCHDOWN TC38 2-2 Middle 4 yards TC32 2-20 Middle 9 yards TC41 3-11 Right end for 4 yards PENALTY TC34 3-18 Right end 12 yards EP47 1-10 Middle for 2 yards EP27 1-10 Right end 9 yards EP23 2-6 Delay cut left 3 yards Totals: 10 carries 59 yards 2 touchdowns SECOND QUARTER TC21 1-10 Middle 2 yards FUMBLE TC32 1-10 Right end 40 yards EP28 1-10 Right side 4 yards TC20 1-10 Left side 9 yards TC40 1-10 Middle 5 yards Totals: 5 carries 60 yards THIRD QUARTER TC29 1-10 Middle 9 yards TC38 2-1 Delay cut left no gain TC38 3-1 Left end 12 yards 50 1-10 Right end 9 yards EP41 2-1 Middle 6 yards EP35 1-10 Right side 8 yards EP27 2-2 Pitch left 27 yards TOUCHDOWN TC42 1-10 Middle 10 yards EP48 1-10 Right side 2 yards EP31 2-10 Pitch left 1 yard EP21 1-10 Middle 7 yards EP14 2-3 Middle 2 yards EP12 3-1 Right end 5 yards EP7 1-G Left side 6 yards P1 2-G Bounces outside left 1 yard TOUCHDOWN TC38 2-11 Right end 2 yards TC45 2-4 Middle 5 yards 50 1-10 Middle 2 yards EP48 2-8 Middle 7 yards Totals: 19 carries 121 yards 2 touchdowns FOURTH QUARTER TC24 1-10 Middle 1 yard TC25 2-9 Middle 5 yards TC30 3-4 Left side 70 yards TOUCHDOWN TC37 1-10 Left side 63 yards TOUCHDOWN EP43 1-10 Middle 6 yards EP37 2-4 Middle 8 yards EP29 1-10 Middle 4 yards EP22 3-3 Left side 2 yards EP11 1-10 Middle 7 yards Totals: 9 carries 166 yards 2 touchdowns Yard EP44 EP13 EP9 EP1 TC38 TC32 TC41 TC34 EP47 EP27 EP23.