#12 Texas Christian (6-0, 2-0) ran off 44 unanswered points in three quarters against Colorado State (3-4, 0-3) on their way to a 44-6 victory. TCU showed up big in their conference home opener and should get a boost in the polls with four upsets happening. Colorado State, loser of 4 straight, actually has something to look forward to as they hit the softer part of their schedule the next 5 weeks to finish up.
The game was actually tight until Jeremy Kerley took a punt to the house for a touchdown with less than a minute left in the first half. It was a short punt off to the side and most of the coverage team had ran past him, if you only make Kerley beat six or seven guys he will do it easily. Kerley finished with 103 punt return yards on three attempts. After half time the Rams did their usual no show with a few missed coverages on defense and just overall sloppy play.
The Horned Frogs let everyone in the action in the ground game with 14 players getting at least one carry and no one getting more than eight. They lit up CSU for 275 yards on the ground with a 6 yard per carry average. Along with a successful run game they added 224 yards in the air for a game total of 499 yards. Andy Dalton threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns. However they did start slow, something they can't afford next week. TCU didn't get their 1st first down till the last play of the opening quarter. It was the expected game after that as TCU dominated at home.
The TCU defense showed up big only allowing two field goals, both in the first quarter. One of those came off a short field due to a turnover. The Rams only got 70 yards on the ground. Leonard Mason had 42 yards rushing on the Rams first two drives and then was taken out with a rib injury. The Rams never got the running game going after that. Colorado State finished with just 182 total yards on the day. It would be fair to say that the Horned Frogs were not looking past CSU to BYU.
Next week TCU travels to Brigham Young in a MWC powerhouse battle. If TCU wins they will hop up the rankings some more and almost be a shoe in for MWC champion as their only tough game remaining is Utah at home. Colorado State gets a break from their schedule as they face their first team, San Diego State, without a winning record since week 3 when Nevada (3-3) came to Fort Collins. The Rams opponents the last four weeks have a combined record of 23-3.