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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Texas Christian already had the
nation's leading rusher and top-ranked defense.
|  | | TCU tailback LaDainian Tomlinson continued his Heisman pursuit with 200 yards rushing and two TDs. |
Now the 11th-ranked Horned Frogs have the longest winning streak
among major colleges.
LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 200 yards and two touchdowns and TCU
held Rice to just 186 total yards with its second shutout in four
games as the Horned Frogs beat the Owls 37-0 on Saturday for their
12th straight victory.
TCU (7-0, 4-0 WAC) began play just as top-ranked Nebraska's
13-game winning streak was ending in a 31-14 loss at No. 3
Oklahoma.
"I don't think anybody could have dreamed this one up, 2½ years
in having the longest winning streak in the nation, 7-0 for the
first time since 1938 and all of those things," said third-year
TCU coach Dennis Franchione. "As visionary as I try to be, I could
never have perceived this in 2½ years."
Consider that when Franchione took over at TCU in December 1997,
the Horned Frogs were coming off a 1-10 record that included a
10-game losing streak. This is their third straight winning season
after just three such seasons the previous 13 years.
Rice (2-5, 1-4) was the last team to beat TCU, a 42-21 victory
over the Frogs on Oct. 23, 1999. The Owls had won four straight in
the series.
"It was real sweet today. Three tries the three years I've been
here, but for some reason I knew we were going to get it done this
time," said Tomlinson, who hadn't scored against Rice before.
"I've been waiting on this game for a long time."
Tomlinson, the nation's leading rusher with 1,293 yards (184.7
ypg), finished with 41 carries and had at least 200 yards for the
third time this season. He has nine straight games with more than
100 yards rushing, and all of his 47 career TDs (14 this season)
have come on the ground.
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Sat, October 28
The season of upsets continues in college football and it will certainly help TCU in the polls. It helps them more against teams like Clemson, than it does against teams like Oklahoma or Nebraska, because when you lose to a good Top 10 team, you're not going to fall very far.
Clemson, with their loss today at the hands of Georgia Tech, will fall. And TCU will, in turn, move up a little bit. But with Oregon and Washington pulling out victories today, TCU is still fighting an uphill battle.
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The Horned Frogs began the game with a 16-play scoring drive,
their longest of the season in number of plays. Tomlinson's 4-yard
TD run with 9:04 left in the game ended a 94-yard drive that was
TCU's longest yardage-wise.
In between, Chris Kaylakie kicked three field goals for TCU --
two in the final five minutes of the second half to give the Horned
Frogs a 20-0 lead.
"I know they are a good football team. They've gained an awful
lot of confidence since last year," said Rice coach Ken Hatfield.
Rice only had 34 yards at halftime. The Owls went 61 and 78
yards on their only third-quarter possessions, giving the ball up
on downs both times, at the TCU 20 and 6.
TCU scored on its opening possession of the game for the 17th
time in 22 games, a drive kept alive when Rice was penalized for a
roughing the punter for a hit that left Frogs punter Joey Biasatti
with a broken right leg.
Biasatti had just kicked the ball when linebacker Jeff Vanover
made contact. The fibula and tibia bones in the punter's kicking
leg both broke when he fell awkwardly to the ground.
"It was probably as big of a play as there was in the game,"
Hatfield said. "It was an unintentional thing that happened."
Instead of giving the ball away after four plays, the Frogs got
12 more after the 15-yard penalty. George Layne scored on a 1-yard
run.
Tomlinson's 3-yard TD in the second quarter gave TCU a 14-0
lead, and ended a nine-play drive on which he ran seven times for
27 yards. Casey Printers threw passes of 35 and 15 yards to Tim
Maiden the other two plays.
Printers threw a 33-yard TD to LaTarence Dunbar with just 1:20
left in the game.
When Rice reached the TCU 1 late in the third quarter, Jaime
Tyler was stuffed for no gain on two straight plays before an
option play on fourth-and-goal on the first play of the fourth
quarter lost five yards. Eleven plays later, Tomlinson scored for
the second time to make it 30-0.
"It feels good to get the monkey off our backs," TCU
linebacker Shannon Brazzell said. "We just tried to stay calm.
When they got to the 1, I said all it takes is one play. When we
made that play, I said just one more."
Kaylakie's first two field goals came after TCU recovered
fumbles by Rice freshman quarterback Jeremy Hurd inside the 20 in
the second quarter. The field goals were from 24 and 22 yards, the
second coming with just four seconds left in the half.
Kaylakie added 34-yard field goal in the third quarter. That
came 12 plays after Hurd's pass on fourth-and-5 from the TCU 19 was
incomplete.
This was the last scheduled meeting between the instate rivals,
who had played every year since 1923. TCU, moving from the WAC to
Conference USA next season, leads the series 41-35-3.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Rice Clubhouse
TCU Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson rams his way into the end zone 3 yards against Rice.
avi: 1390 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson uses the swiftness of his feet to handle Rice's defensive attack.
avi: 1053 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
TCU's George Layne leaps over a very strong Rice defense for the 1-yard TD.
avi: 1196 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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