TCU Horned Frogs @ Air Force Falcons Football Recap

TCU 35, Air Force 19

It’s not that complicated: TCU has a poor pass defense, but the Air Force Falcons can’t throw the ball very well. The Horned Frogs played the right opponent in their Mountain West Conference opener.

The final score in Colorado Springs showed a TCU victory over Air Force, but the win was much more convincing than the final score indicated. Air Force scored 10 points in the final quarter, including a touchdown with four seconds left, to mask the beating the Falcons had taken. TCU bounced back from its wild week one loss to dispatch of Air Force 35-19 on Saturday afternoon.

The biggest story for the 25 th-ranked Horned Frogs was the defense. After posting the nation’s best defense in 2010, the 50 points surrendered to Baylor was disconcerting, to say the least. Even with starting linebacker Tanner Brock out nursing an injury, TCU kept Air Force off the board until Parker Herrington knocked through a 37-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. Meanwhile, TCU had gone to work on offense, moving the ball almost at will. With running back Ed Wesley out with a hurt shoulder, Matthew Tucker and Waymon James carried the load for the Horned Frogs. The two combined to rush for 150 yards on 29 carries, and Tucker scored twice in the first half to aid in TCU’s 21-3 halftime lead.

TCU all but put the game away early in the third quarter when Casey Pachall connected with David Porter on a 21-yard strike. Pachall was an extremely efficient 20-25 for 206 yards and two touchdowns, having now silenced any worries that the offense would be set back after losing all-time TCU wins leader Andy Dalton. TCU extended its Mountain West in-conference winning streak to 18 games, its last conference defeat coming in a last-second loss on the road to Utah all the way back on November 6, 2008. TCU’s dominance of the Mountain West is keen: since losing at BYU in November, 2007, the Frogs are 26-1 in conference play.

Despite the point production, Air Force did finish the game outgaining TCU 416-410. But the ball security issues of last week continued for the Falcons, who lost two fumbles at key times. Air Force has already tallied five turnovers on the young season. To the Falcons’ credit, they showed fight in the fourth quarter as they racked up yards and closing the scoring margin. Mike DeWitt led all Air Force rushers with 48 yards, as the Falcons had seven different players with at least 20 rushing yards in the option attack. Quarterback Tim Jefferson completed 9 of 15 passes for 83 yards in the loss.

> Find a great selection of TCU Horned Frogs apparel & merchandise online as well as the MWC Football Scoreboard!

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer