Individual C-USA title not option after upset
By Danny Gillham
Sports Editor

Frog fans with plans to visit Graceland over the New Years holiday might not want to pack their bags just yet.

After being all but a lock for the sole holder of Conference USA title and the AXA Liberty Bowl, the Frogs stumbled in East Carolina Saturday 31-28.

The loss now puts the Frogs in a three-way tie for the conference lead, and more than likely will tie for the C-USA crown if the team beats Memphis Saturday.

By many of the stats the Frogs dominated the game. TCU held the ball more than five minutes longer, had 13 more first downs and gained 445 offensive yards to East Carolina’s 236.

The key stat that stood out though was turnovers. The Frogs had seven, the most given up all season.

“I think the bottom line is we gave it to them,” head coach Gary Patterson said. “We still played well enough to have a chance to win. Those kind of games probably hurt you more than the games when you get blown out.”

Things were looking good for TCU early, when a 52-yard scamper by true-freshman running back Lonta Hobbs put the Frogs up 7-0.

East Carolina matched with a 19 yard touchdown pass from Paul Troth to Richard Alston with 7:12 left in the first quarter.

Despite the turnovers, the Frogs were clinging to a late lead when Travis Heath stripped junior Ricky Madison and took the ball 81 yards for a touchdown. A two-point conversion made the score 31-28.

It almost seemed the Frogs would not get the chance to drive for the winning score when on a fourth-and-three, Christshawn Gilliam took a fake punt 37 yards and seemingly sealed the game.

However the Frog defense held on a fourth down later in the drive and gave their offense the ball on its 11-yard line with three minutes and two timeouts.

The team drove into field goal range, but junior Nick Browne missed a 40-yarder with 25 seconds remaining. It was his second miss of the game, and fourth in a row.

“For us to even hold them on a fourth down and then come on the length of the field to kick a field goal, I’d put Nick Browne in that situation 10 times,” Patterson said. “He’s been that guy for us all year. It’s just one of those things where he just didn’t get it done.”

The best the team can now hope for is a win on Saturday and a share of the conference title. The Liberty Bowl gets first pick on what team it wants when there is a co-champion. The other possible places the Frogs may head are the GMAC Mobile Alabama Bowl on Dec. 18 and the Houston Bowl on Dec. 27.

Danny Gillham