Oct. 22, 2001
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The TCU Horned Frogs play at home for the second straight time and for the only time
this season when they host the East Carolina Pirates in a 7:00 p.m. contest on Tuesday, October 30. This Conference USA matchup will be nationally televised by ESPN2.
TCU, newcomers to Conference USA, is 4-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The Horned Frogs won their conference lidlifter at Houston on September 29 by a 34-17 score, dropped a 48-22 decision at Tulane on October 13, but came back with a 38-20 victory over Army on October 20.
The Horned Frogs spent the past five years in the Western Athletic Conference, recording back-to-back conference titles in 1999 and 2000. The Frogs prepared for conference play by posting a 2-2 non-conference slate.
After a season-opening 21-7 loss at fourth-ranked Nebraska in the Pigskin Classic, TCU logged consecutive wins at North Texas (19-5) and at SMU (38-10) before falling by a 27-24 count in overtime to Division I-AA Northwestern State in their home opener. The Frogs had their September 15 game vs. Marshall cancelled due to the national tragedies and will not reschedule that game this season. The Frogs are playing in their 105th season of intercollegiate football. They own an all-time record of 488-488-57.
PATTERSON'S POINTS:
On the Army game: "Our kids did a great job in the locker room. They didn't need me to get them ready - they got themselves ready. Defensively, we have to stay away from giving up the big plays. I think we had six plays of more than 20 yards against us. Offensively, the key was no turnovers and 11-of-18 on third down. I think Army was surprised they didn't beat us. I think they were surprised with the kind of team we have when we come ready to play."
On the quarterback situation: "Casey (Printers) could have played on Saturday. I think we'll see Sean Stilley more. We'll have confidence to put him in the game."
On the Homecoming crowd: "I can give credit to the fans. We had a great crowd and our kids appreciated that. It was uplifting to know that a lot of people were still behind us. You have to remember that that was just our second home game in seven games this season. It was nice to have a home field advantage."
On the extra time to prepare for East Carolina: "This is an extended week - not an off week. We've talked to teams that have played on a Tuesday to get an understanding of how they handled it."
On East Carolina: "They have a very explosive offense. They are a very athletic football team. You have to be able to run the football to beat them. For us to play well, we have to play with high emotion and play at a different tempo."
