Nov. 17, 2008
TCU-Air Force Game Notes
Game #12
No. 15 TCU (9-2, 6-1) vs. Air Force (8-3, 5-2)
Fort Worth, Texas -- Amon G. Carter Stadium (44,358)
Saturday, Nov. 22 -- 2:30 p.m.
Television: Versus [Joe Beninati (PBP), Glenn Parker (color), Tim Neverett (sideline)]
Radio: TCU/ISP Sports Network -- 103.3 ESPN, 88.7 KTCU, GoFrogs.com (Yahoo), Sirius Channel 140, [Brian Estridge (PBP), John Denton (color), Jeff Williams (sideline)]
ABOUT THE GAME
*No. 15 TCU closes the regular season Saturday at 2:30 p.m. with a home game against Air Force on Senior Day at Amon G. Carter Stadium. End zone and upper deck tickets are $15. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of those seats will go toward the Fisher House and Fleetwood Memorial Foundation in honor of Heroes Appreciation Day at TCU.
*A victory would give the Horned Frogs their third 10-win season in the last four years and the sixth since 2000. It would be the fifth in the last seven years under head coach Gary Patterson. Before 2000, TCU only had four 10-win seasons in its history.
*A TCU win and a loss by Utah to BYU would give the Frogs a share of the Mountain West Conference title.
*A win would also be TCU's 40th victory in the last four seasons, allowing this year's seniors to tie the 1932-35 period for the most wins over a four-year stretch at TCU. The 1935 team won the national championship.
*TCU leads the nation in run defense (39.5 yards per game), total defense (220.0), sacks (40) and time of possession (34:47). The Frogs are third in scoring defense (11.0 points per game) and 11th in turnover margin (+13, 1.2 per game).
*Since 1999, TCU is 49-6 in its last 55 home games at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
*This will be Patterson's 99th game as head coach of the Frogs. He is 71-27.
SENIOR HIGHLIGHTS (2005-08)
*Prior to the kickoff, TCU will honor 22 seniors playing their final home game: Aaron Brown, Walter Bryant, Andy Burrell, William Cage, Steven Coleman, Drew Combs, Kagen Elenburg, John Fonua, Austin Galifaro, James Gleaton, Robert Henson, Stephen Hodge, Giles Montgomery, Cody Moore, Matt Panfil, Jason Phillips, Preston Phillips, Heath Raetz, Shae Reagan, Blake Schlueter, James Vess and Justin Watts.
*The seniors have accomplished the following:
*Helped usher in the Frogs' Mountain West Conference era
*A 39-10 (.796) overall record and 20-7 (.741) conference mark
*The 39 victories are tied (1933-36) for the second-best win total in TCU history
over a four-year period, trailing only the 1932-35 squads (40)
*One victory shy of reaching 10 or more wins for the third time
*A 2005 MWC championship and the Frogs' first outright league title since 1958
*A bowl game each season (2005 Houston, 2006 Poinsettia, 2007 Texas, 2008 TBA) and a 3-0 record in those contests
*A 5-2 mark versus Big 12 opponents and a 7-2 overall record in games against teams from leagues with automatic BCS bids
*Two top-25 rankings in final polls with a total of 28 weeks being nationally ranked
*Twelve all-conference selections prior to this season
*A 20-2 record (.909) in home games at Amon G. Carter Stadium
FOR YOUR ALL-AMERICA BALLOT
*TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes tops the nation with an MWC-record 14 sacks. He's also in the top five nationally in tackles for loss (17.5), fumbles forced (5) and fumbles recovered (3). Hughes also has two interceptions, including one returned for a TD.
*Hughes is one of 15 players, including just five defensive, on the watch list for the Walter Camp Football Foundation's 2008 Player of the Year. He's also one of 15 semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Trophy as the nation's top defensive player.
SWEET 16
*This is the third consecutive year that TCU, after a Thursday game with Utah, has had a 16-day break in its schedule.
*The Frogs are looking to duplicate their success from the last two seasons after a 16-day layoff.
*In 2006, TCU took a 31-3 halftime lead at Army en route to a 31-17 win.
*Last season, the Frogs returned to action with a 37-0 victory over New Mexico.
THE SERIES
*TCU holds a 4-2-1 lead over Air Force in a series that began with a scoreless tie in the 1959 Cotton Bowl.
*The Frogs are 3-0 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 2-1 versus Air Force. The Falcons' 20-17 overtime win last season snapped TCU's 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 seven previous games between TCU and Air Force have seen the teams meet three 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).
