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Dominant defense keeps TCU unbeaten in Mountain West

Nov 2, 2008 - 6:56 AM LAS VEGAS (Ticker) -- Less than a week away from its biggest game of the season, No. 12 TCU continued to assert its dominance over the Mountain West Conference with a 44-14 blowout over New Mexico on Saturday.

The Horned Frogs remained unbeaten in league play with another stellar defensive effort. After entering the game leading the conference in both scoring defense and total defense, the nation's second-ranked defensive unit did not disappoint.

TCU held the Rebels (3-6, 0-5 Mountain West) to 176 total yards, forced two turnovers and took control early.

TCU (9-1, 6-0) faces one more major hurdle on Thursday when it visits 10th-ranked Utah in a contest that could end up deciding the conference title.

"We went without pads (in practice). That is what BYU and Utah (do)," TCU head coach Gary Patterson said. "We had started it last year in our last game against BYU on the road. We did it this week and our kids were fresh. When you go to somebody else's house, it's tough to go to their house and win. (Utah) has it sold out and knows that we are coming."

In the Horned Frogs' tune-up, sophomore Andy Dalton tossed three touchdown passes and led an offense that piled up 394 yards.

As they rolled to their fifth win in a row following a 35-10 loss to then-No. 2 Oklahoma, the Horned Frogs were patient and methodical on a windy night, physically wearing down the Rebels on the strength of a ground game that gained 254 yards.

Dalton manufactured a 17-play, 77-yard drive that kept UNLV's defense on the field for nearly seven minutes. Dalton capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown toss on play-action to senior tailback Justin Watts to give TCU a lead it would never relinquish.

"We got a couple breaks," Patterson said. "The wind kicked up and as bad as it was today in the second quarter, I thought it was a deciding factor because it was in our favor and they couldn't get it punted out of there. It's hard to move the football when the wind is blowing like that. I thought we would have had the problem in the third quarter, but we were able to move it a couple of times."

Omar Clayton's 15-yard scoring strike to Rodelin Anthony briefly got the Rebels back into contention late in the first quarter, cutting their deficit to 14-7.

Senior tailback Aaron Brown rushed for 60 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown early in the third that pushed TCU's lead to 30-7. Freshman Jai Cavness chipped in with 51 yards and a score on eight carries as six different TCU rushers picked up 19 yards or more on the ground.

"That was not the UNLV Rebel team that I know that was playing out there tonight," UNLV head coach Mike Sanford said. "That is not the standard of play that I expect out of our team. That was below standard. I want to give credit to TCU. They're a very good football team. They have an excellent defense."

TCU came into the season flying somewhat under the radar, with most of the attention around the conference focused on Utah and Brigham Young - both of which were considered strong BCS contenders.

But the Horned Frogs have been the most impressive team in league play so far. Not only have they won each of their six conference games - for the most part, they haven't even been close.

Colorado State gave TCU some trouble on October 11, as the teams went scoreless in the second half and the Frogs escaped with a 13-7 win. But aside from that, no one has provided much of a threat - not even the vaunted Cougars.

"We are excited about being 9-1 right now," Patterson said. "I think that is the biggest thing. You know it's hard to get to nine or 10 ballgames."

In the Horned Frogs' five other games in Mountain West play, they have outscored their opponents by a total of 197-38.

Clayton left the game with a left knee injury in the third quarter after scrambling and being taken down by a pair of TCU defenders. He had to be helped off the field and was replaced by freshman backup Mike Clausen.

"We won't know the severity of that until Monday. He has to get an MRI and get a look of what is damaged in it," Sanford said. "I think (Clayton's absence) did affect the team. I also think it was a difficult team for a backup quarterback to go in against. TCU is a very good football team and very fast."