Sunday was a very special day for TCU Horned Frog Forever LaDainian Tomlinson and his wife LaTorsha. And for … LaBaby? The San Diego Chargers running back moved past Thurman Thomas and Franco Harris on the NFL all-time rushing list, running his total to 12,145 yards.

Better yet, he passed Marcus Allen to now rank behind only Jerry Rice and Emmett Smith on the all-time touchdown list. He’s at 146. And counting.

Best of all, however, was the message LT received before the game. Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News tells the story:

When LaDainian Tomlinson arrived at the stadium for Sunday’s game between his San Diego Chargers and the Philadelphia Eagles, he found a small gift box on the stool in front of his locker.

It was from his wife LaTorsha with a note, “Open immediately.”

“I thought it was a necklace or something,” Tomlinson said.

It was something better – much better. It was a positive pregnancy test – LaTorsha’s way of telling her husband he was going to become a father for the first time.

“It was pretty emotional,” Tomlinson said. “Years ago we lost a child (in pregnancy). This was a blessing.”

LT, whose mother scrimped and saved to send him to the Emmett Smith football camp when he was growing up, described the feeling of being ranked behind only Rice and Smith as “surreal” and “mindboggling.”

Now the question is, with a dad named LaDainian and a mom named LaTorsha, what will the baby’s name be? LaBaby Tomlinson?

Even before TCU’s number four ranked football team dominated Utah Saturday night, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit was impressed. Especially with  TCU’s fans.

After finishing the broadcast of GameDay before a rabid TCU fan base, Herbstreit said the energy from the fans was “as good as we’ve had.,” according to Richard Durrett at espndallas.com.

Durrett provides a good view of how the fans reacted to having ESPN on campus for several days. And he has several nice video clips, including a profile of All American Jerry Hughes, who shows how he utilizes his former-running-back speed to dominate at defensive end.

ESPN GameDay finally decided it was time to highlight the TCU Horned Frogs, the team playing the best all around football in the NCAA. Nationally the Frogs are ranked 4th in every poll including the BCS.

Friend of The HornedBlog, Bob Goode, took some pix the day before the game as ESPN The Roadies were setting up their traveling city. Bob, a most valuable TCU alum and dedicated fan in good times and bad, runs the campus print shop, Frog Prints. The Frogs have been winning more games per month the past nine years than they won in Bob’s four undergraduate years — combined.

These are the days. Well, these days and those days, when Kilgore Trout III’s parents were TCU students and enjoyed two national championships.

ESPN GameDay at TCU

Unveiling the new TCU uniform.

ESPN The Bus

Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief

Jeremy Kerley confirmed his ticket to the NFL with this punt return for the Horned Frogs in their 44-6 win over Colorado State Saturday. This clip doesn’t show it, but a lot of Rams were looking around for their jocks after they pulled their embarrassed butts off the turf. Kerley’s moves are beautiful and he followed some excellent blocking by a bunch of guys who must have fun knowing what JK is capable of any time he gets the ball.

1,549 all-purpose yards; 99 points, 78 first downs; 106 passes, no INT’s

My nomination for Best Stats Game of the Day – without even reading about the other games: Goodbye BCS bowl possibilities for the 12th ranked Houston Cougars after they lost to the UTEP Miners, 58-41.

• The teams combined for 1,245 yards offense
• With 304 kick return yards, the all-purpose yards totaled 1,549
• 183 plays from scrimmage (counting five punts and four field goal attempts)
• 812 yards passing — 70-106, 7 TDs, 0 INTs
• 433 yards rushing on 68 carries
• 78 first downs
• 99 points on 12 TDs, 3 FG’s, and 12-13 PATs

• UH ran 105 plays from scrimmage
• Case Keenum completed 51 of 76 passes for 536 yards, 5 TDs
• UH: 42 first downs, 664 total yards from scrimmage, 812 all-purpose yards

• UTEP: 75 plays from scrimmage, 305 yards rushing and 276 passing
• UTEP: 26 first downs, 581 yards from scrimmage, 737 all-purpose yards
• Donald Buckram rushed for 262 yards on 32 carries, 4 TDs

Houston’s two lost fumbles were the only turnovers in the game, but one of those was returned 70 yards for a UTEP touchdown with 3:25 to play, giving them a 58-34 lead. There were only five total punts, but one was for 57 yards and another was 53 yards. The half-time score was 17-17.

]]> http://hornedblog.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/best-stats-game-utep-58-uh-41/feed/ 0 Kilgore Trout III http://hornedblog.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/horned-frogs-rise-to-11-ap-10-coaches-poll/ http://hornedblog.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/horned-frogs-rise-to-11-ap-10-coaches-poll/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:03:16 +0000 Kilgore Trout III http://hornedblog.wordpress.com/?p=118 Continue reading →]]> Once again, the nation, including The New York Times is taking notice of the TCU Horned Frogs and other possible BCS busters:

….In fact, Houston, Texas Christian and Boise State are not going anywhere. For the first time in the Bowl Championship Series era, teams from outside the six so-called power conferences can be considered legitimate threats for the national title.

Perhaps T.C.U. should lobby Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford for that league’s automatic spot in the B.C.S. The Horned Frogs have now defeated two A.C.C. teams on the road, with victories at Virginia and at Clemson.

The Horned Frogs’ victory at Clemson on Saturday was not televised nationally, further highlighting the Mountain West’s exposure issues. But folks should take notice of T.C.U., which beat Boise State in a bowl last season and has the nation’s No. 12 defense.

From this point on, T.C.U. has the biggest advantage in terms of scheduling and perception of the three non-B.C.S. programs. Thanks to Utah’s blowout of Alabama in the Sugar Bowl last year and Brigham Young’s upset of Oklahoma on the opening weekend of this season, the Horned Frogs — who will play B.Y.U. and Utah later this season — have a stronger schedule to gain points in the voters’ eyes. Boise State, thanks to its pedigree and domination of a very good Oregon team in its opener, is in the best spot to reach the national title game but has the worst finishing kick to prove its validity. Neither Houston nor Boise State will face a ranked team, which will put pressure on them not only to win, but also to win by wide margins.

A key stat: TCU held Clemson to 0-3 on fourth down conversions.

Clemson’s C.J. Spiller  (26-112) became the 19th player to rush for 100+ yards against the Horned Frogs — in nine years. Compare Spiller’s stats to Reggie Bush.

TCU defense fares well against Clemson’s speedsters

CLEMSON, S.C. — While preparing for Clemson earlier this week, Gary Patterson was concerned about thwarting big plays from speedsters C.J. Spiller and Jacoby Ford. The two seniors had combined for 23 scoring plays of 50 or more yards in their careers.

How good is Spiller? He became the second player in college football history to accumulate 2,500 yards rushing, 1,000 yards receiving, 1,500 yards in kickoff returns and 500 yards in punt returns. USC’s Reggie Bush is the only other player to accomplish the feat.

Here’s how the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Gil LeBreton saw it:

TCU not intimidated by Death Valley

CLEMSON, S.C. — As it was written, the home team came charging down the hill into a sea of orange.

And it was all very loud and very intimidating. And, as the second half began, very rainy. Almost Ark rainy.

But, yea, though the TCU Horned Frogs walked through the Clemson Tigers’ so-called valley of death Saturday, they feared nothing.

Need any more reasons to not like Urban Meyer? Or obsessed football coaches in general? Meyer is straightforward in stating that his job and career are more important than the health and safety of his players and coaches.

In a New York Times article about Tim Tebow going to the hospital in an ambulance after a hard hit to the head during the game yesterday, his flulike symptoms during the week, and as many as 35 players being ill recently, here’s how concerned Meyer was. Not.

Florida has been battling illnesses for the last three weeks, and Meyer estimated that more than 35 players have been sick during that stretch.

Running back Jeff Demps, defensive end Jermaine Cunningham, linebacker A.J. Jones and tight end Aaron Hernandez — all starters — were among the players isolated in the last 10 days because of flulike symptoms.

Haden and Wright missed practice Thursday, but Meyer said he expected both to play against the Wildcats. The person familiar with Florida’s travel plans said the health of all three has improved since arriving in Lexington.

The person said everyone on the team’s expected travel roster made the trip, including receivers coach Billy Gonzales. He was sent home early in the week, but he returned and wore gloves and a mask at practice.

Meyer said earlier in the week there was no chance he would rest sick players.

“That’d be one of the major errors in coaching history to go do that, because you’d go lose,” he said. “No. Absolutely not. We’re going to bring everything and go as hard as we can. That gets you out of the profession, those kind of thoughts. You go as hard as you can.

“The good thing is I’ve got a mature group. Not a whole lot of cheerleading going on this week. Got to get better and go play.”

The Gators beat Tennessee 23-13 last Saturday, a disappointing victory for the heavily favored Gators. Meyer partially blamed the conservative game plan on the illnesses. Volunteers coach Lane Kiffin indicated that Meyer was using the illnesses as an excuse to justify a less-than-dominating performance.

So, there you have it. Urban says in essence, Don’t jeopardize my multi-million-dollar job by getting sick or injured, because I’ll expect you to play anyway. You’re not even getting paid so why should I care about you? And I don’t even care about whether protecting your health will be better for the team in future weeks. All I care about is winning today. And you know how dangerous Kentucky is. I’ve got more than 100 players on scholarship so there’s always someone to replace you when I ruin your health.

With QB Andy Dalton carrying the Horned Frogs on his shoulders, TCU’s 14th-ranked Horned Frogs went into Clemson’s famed Death Valley, fought the Tigers in a driving rain, and came out with a big 14-10 victory.

Dalton was 17-26 passing for 226 yards and both TDs. He was also TCU’s leading rusher with 86 yards on 19 carries, a 4.5 yard average.

For the season, Dalton is 50-71 (70.4 %) for 625 yards, four TDs, and one interception. He has run the ball 35 times for 142 yards, an average of 4.1 for the season.

Both TCU touchdowns were scored by wide receivers making their first career touchdown catches. Junior Curtis Clay had two receptions for 24 yards as a freshman, nine for 98 yards as a sophomore, and now has six for 57 yards this year, with a six yard touchdown today, his only catch.

Antoine Hicks, a sophomore wide receiver from Arlington (yes, of course the one in Texas), now has 12 receptions in two years, with one today for 25 yards in the fourth quarter to regain the lead for the Frogs. He caught seven for 69 yards last year. And he now has five for 63 yards in three games this year. Last week he had his only rushing attempt of the year, going four yards for his first career TD.

Last week against Texas State, four Frogs had their first TDs in their college careers. Two were by freshmen, Matthew Tucker from Tyler and Ed Wesley from Irving. Two were by sophomores, Hicks and Jercell Fort a running back from Los Angeles, California.

Wesley also caught one pass today for 58 yards, his first college reception, giving him a 58 yard per catch average.

TCU is now 3-0 on the season and 3-0 against the oddsmakers’ spreads.

Also posted at SWAGLESS.

“Honey, I know you were planning on retiring to the farm eventually, but we might have a much bigger one by then, because I just bet it on the football game Saturday.

“The oddsmakers in Vegas have favored Clemson by three points over our Horned Frogs. I know the Clemson crowd can be tough on visitors, but Gary Patterson will have the Frogs spittin’ blood by game time.

“Yes, yes, I know, honey. But think about it. The RPI ratings have TCU at number 6 and Clemson at 42. Now how does that translate into a 3-point victory for Clemson?

“Yes, I know we’ve only beaten Virginia, ranked 118, and Texas State, a I-AA team. But Clemson has beaten 43 Boston College, and 102 Middle Tennessee State, and lost to 24 Georgia Tech.

“And yes, I know you’re going to have a headache from now till the game’s over. But have your Victoria’s Secret closet open and ready to go. I feel good about my Frogs and it’s gonna be Horny Toad Time Saturday night.”

BREAKING NEWS: TCU has rescinded the degree previously presented to Robert Henson, former All-MWC linebacker now on the Washington Redskins roster. The university cited Mr. Henson’s series of 52 Twitter postings following the Redskins’ “game” against the Rams Sunday as reported in this front page story in the Washington Post.

“TCU has been embarrassed too much by Mr. Henson’s behavior,” said Associate Chancellor Ben Downtoolong. “We can understand a lack of forethought by his tweeting disrespectfully to the fans who indirectly pay his salary — a salary which is already in excess of anyone on the TCU staff with the exception of the volleyball coach and all other coaches in our athletic department.

“And we understand that today’s youth can’t be expected to use proper English when tweeting and texting and talking and thinking. But when they shun punctuation especially the proper use of commas, to the point of reversing the meaning of their intended thoughts, that’s too much. Take this tweet from Mr. Henson:

“All you fake half hearted Skins fan can . . . I won’t go there, but I dislike you very strongly, don’t come to Fed Ex to boo dim wits!!”

“There should be a comma after ‘fake,’ a hyphen in ‘half hearted,’ an apostrophe before the S in ‘Skins,’  a period after ‘strongly,’ and the ‘d’ in ‘don’t’ should be capitalized. All of which can be excused in a tweet, because the meaning is still clear. But he also forgot to place a comma between ‘boo’ and ‘dim wits!!’ So, instead of calling the booing fans ‘dim wits,’ he unwittingly calls his teammates and himself ‘dim wits.’ And that is inexcusable.

“TCU, therefore, has withdrawn all of his credits in English,” Downtoolong said. “His philosophy credits have also been rescinded because he clearly didn’t learn anything about ethics and honesty, as evidenced in his repeated attempts to make people believe that his apology was sincere.

“And it goes without saying (but I’m saying it anyway aren’t I?) that his credits in public relations classes clearly were unearned, and must be withdrawn as well.

“While we appreciate Mr. Henson’s prowess on the football field and all he did for the TCU Horned Frogs, we now prefer to have the world think that we cheated and allowed him to graduate without the proper credits rather than let you think that our professors are so inadequate.”

For further developments, please see:

HensonSoldHisSoulBySigningWithARacist-NamedTeam.blogspot.com