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TCU slams BYU from ranks of unbeaten

Oct 17, 2008 - 5:08 AM FORT WORTH, Texas (Ticker) -- Busted and battered.

TCU destroyed BYU's BCS dreams on Thursday, erupting for 23 first-half points en route to a 32-7 victory over the previously unbeaten Cougars in a Mountain West Conference game.

The loss snapped BYU's 16-game winning streak, which was the longest in the nation. It also ended a stretch of 11 consecutive Mountain West road wins for the Cougars.

"BYU has been the top team in our conference the last two seasons, and our guys have been focused on them since January," TCU coach Gary Patterson said. "We really wanted to come out and be the best TCU football team that we could be and I think we did that. We knew it would be a big stage, we got some breaks and turnovers, and it worked out well for us."

The 24th-ranked Horned Frogs (7-1, 4-0) opened the scoring when Andy Dalton hit Jimmy Young with a 25-yard scoring strike less than three minutes into the game.

Six minutes later, wideout Jeremy Kerley capped a seven-play, 72-yard drive with a 16-yard run off a direct snap to make it 14-0. It was the sixth time this season the Horned Frogs have taken a 14-0 lead.

"We wanted to come with some surprises against a team like this," said Kerley, who had nine carries for 77 yards.

"I'm not taking anything away from them, because they are a good football team, but I think we played with some explosion tonight and caught them a little off-guard."

Ross Evans booted a 21-yard field goal to make it 17-0, 15 seconds into the second quarter. TCU closed its first-half surge when Dalton, who was 12-of-19 for 170 yards and two touchdowns, and Walter Bryant connected on a 12-yard fade pattern in the back corner of the end zone to make it 23-0. The extra point was missed.

TCU outgained eighth-ranked BYU 124 yards to minus-1 on the ground in the first 30 minutes.

Evans added a 31-yard field goal after the Horned Frogs took the opening kick of the second half and went on another march.

The Cougars (6-1, 2-1) finally got on the board with 4:26 left in the third quarter when Max Hall scored on a 3-yard run on fourth-and-goal. The drive marked only the ninth time TCU had let an opponent into its red zone this season.

"This was tough," Hall said. "Anytime you lose a game like that it's tough, and I take a lot of responsibility for this game. We have got to improve and find out who we are."

Hall, who entered a Heisman candidate, finished 22-of-42 for 274 yards with two interceptions. Hall was sacked six times by a TCU defense that leads the nation in that category with 34.

"They were fast, and they got to me," Hall said. "The bottom-line is they were strong, and they forced me into some bad decisions. I thought that I had been fairly good at handling the pressure, but tonight it just got to me. TCU deserves a lot of credit for their performance."

Sophomore defensive end Jerry Hughes had four sacks.

"Coming here as a running back, I feel like I have a big advantage if I use my speed," Hughes said. "Their offensive line is (made up of) some big, physical guys and they pushed us hard all night long. Our secondary did a good job of buckling down behind us to give us time to get pressure on the quarterback."

The Horned Frogs responded with an 11-play, 76-yard march that was capped by Joseph Turner's 5-yard run. The PAT again was missed, leaving TCU up 32-7 entering the final quarter.

Nick Sanders had two interceptions for TCU.

The Horned Frogs outgained the Cougars, 410-297, overall and by a 240-23 advantage on the ground. They had lost five straight Thursday night games before toppling BYU.