Oct. 5, 2009
TCU-Air Force Game Notes
Game #5
No. 9 TCU (4-0, 0-0) at Air Force (3-2, 2-0)
U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. -- Falcon Stadium (46,692)
Saturday, Oct. 10 -- 6:30 p.m. CDT
Television: CBS College Sports -- [Tom Hart (PBP), Aaron Taylor (color)]
Radio: TCU/ISP Sports Network -- 103.3 ESPN, 88.7 KTCU, 1070 AM KNTH (Houston), GoFrogs.com (Yahoo) [Brian Estridge (PBP), John Denton (color), Jeff Williams (sideline)]
ABOUT THE GAME
*No. 9 TCU opens its fifth season of Mountain West Conference play when it travels to Air Force.
*The Horned Frogs are beginning league play with the same opponent they closed against last year. TCU defeated the Falcons, 44-10, in the 2008 regular-season finale in Fort Worth.
*TCU is opening MWC play at Air Force for the second time in three seasons. The Falcons won 20-17 in overtime in the 2007 league opener for both teams.
*Beginning with Air Force, TCU's final eight contests of the 2009 regular season are conference games. It's the first time since 2004 that the Frogs completed non-conference play and had only league games remaining.
GOOD STARTS
*TCU has opened with a 4-0 record for the second straight year and third time in the last seven seasons. On the two previous occasions (2003, 2008), the Frogs went on to win 11 games.
*Dating back to last season, TCU has won six in a row to tie for the nation's fourth-longest current winning streak (Florida 14, Iowa 9, Texas 8, Kansas 6, LSU 6, South Florida 6).
*Last week's 39-14 win over SMU moved TCU head coach Gary Patterson's record to 50 games over .500 (77-27, .740).
ROAD WARRIORS
*Since 2003, TCU's 28-13 (.683) road record ranks eighth nationally.
SERIES NOTES
*TCU holds a 5-2-1 lead over Air Force in a series that began with a scoreless tie in the 1959 Cotton Bowl.
*The Frogs are 4-0 versus Air Force in Fort Worth, 1-2 in Colorado Springs and 0-0-1 at neutral sites (Dallas).
*Since beginning Mountain West Conference play, TCU is 3-1 versus Air Force. The Falcons' lone victory came in the Frogs' last visit to Colorado Springs, a 20-17 overtime decision in 2007 to snap a TCU four-game winning streak in the series.
*In 1998, when both teams were members of the Western Athletic Conference, the Frogs posted a 35-34 victory over the 23rd-ranked Falcons in Fort Worth.
*The eight previous games between TCU and Air Force have seen the teams meet four times as MWC rivals (2005-07), once as WAC opponents (1998), twice in non-conference play (1987, 1989) and once in a bowl game (1959).
FAMILIAR FACES
*TCU defensive coordinator/defensive line coach Dick Bumpas was Air Force's defensive line coach in the 1979-80 campaigns. It was Ken Hatfield's first two years as the Falcons' head coach. Hatfield replaced Bill Parcells following the 1978 season.
ALL-AMERICA WATCH
*Jerry Hughes, a 2008 consensus All-American and one of five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation's top defensive player, is making a bid to repeat his postseason honors.
*Through four games, Hughes has 7 1/2 tackles for loss with six sacks. He is second on the Frogs with 26 tackles.
