TCU Horned Frogs @ UNLV Rebels Football Recap

TCU 48, UNLV 6

The young men who represent Texas Christian University were not distracted on Saturday night in Sin City.

A bunch of (Texas) Christian men, lured to one of America’s epicenters of temptation, greed and lust, were not deterred on their journey to the famous Nevada gaming mecca. This was no pleasure trip for the outfit from Fort Worth, Texas, and the people who don the purple for the Mountain West’s highest-ranked football squad simply went about their business against the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels.

The results were patently clear.

The fourth-ranked Horned Frogs could have looked ahead to this game last Saturday night in Las Vegas, but Coach Gary Patterson’s team didn’t miss a beat. TCU hammered UNLV, 48-6, in yet another standout performance by the Horned Frogs’ elite defense. There’s no question that TCU has a national-championship-caliber gang of 11 on that side of the line of scrimmage. The Frogs have allowed just 10 total touchdowns in nine games this season, and they’ve allowed more than one touchdown in only two of their nine outings. TCU’s defense has allowed just two touchdowns in its last five games and has held each of its last five opponents to seven points or fewer. It was just another very impressive performance for a team that not only avoided the temptation to play around in Vegas, but to dream about next Saturday’s matchup against top-10 rival Utah. The Utes took care of Air Force earlier on Oct. 30 to hold up their end of the bargain in advance of the Mountain West’s super showdown. It was left to TCU to formally ensure an all-unbeaten matchup in Salt Lake City, and this 42-point thumping of Coach Bobby Hauck’s Rebels certainly fit the bill.

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The domination displayed by TCU was indeed reflected in the game flow and the stats. The Frogs jumped all over UNLV from start to finish, grabbing a 21-0 lead just 63 seconds into the second quarter on a pick-six from safety Colin Jones, who stepped in front of a pass thrown by UNLV quarterback Omar Clayton and raced 30 yards to the house for a touchdown. TCU rolled up 530 yards to just 197 for Vegas. The Horned Frogs were terrifically balanced, posting 273 rushing yards and 257 passing yards, all while UNLV was limited to a paltry 69 yards on the ground.

One of the more encouraging developments for TCU was the fact that quarterback Andy Dalton – who is this team’s barometer, for better or worse – did not throw an interception. If Dalton can keep a clean sheet against Utah, the Frogs might be jumping for joy. They certainly smiled on their way out of Vegas. Now, they simply have to rest up for the biggest game of their season.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer