September 11, 2010

Golden Eagle turnovers help No. 4 TCU roll to 62-7 victory

The Golden Eagles lost five turnovers in their own half of the field and fourth-ranked TCU took full advantage, scoring off all five mistakes on the way to a 62-7 victory Saturday on a hot and steamy night in Fort Worth.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Tennessee Tech lost five turnovers in its own end of the field and No. 4 TCU took full advantage, turning all five mistake into touchdowns on the way to a 62-7 victory on a hot and steamy Saturday night in Amon G. Carter Stadium.

The Horned Frogs recovered four Tech fumbles also had a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter, giving the home team 35 of its 62 points of Tech mistakes.

The Golden Eagles scored their initial TD of the season when sophomore quarterback Tre Lamb tossed an 11-yard scoring pass to Tremaine Hudson in the second quartert the trimmed the difference to 21-7.

The win came in front of 37,117 purple-clad fans, the eighth-largest crowd in Tech history.

TCU compiled 452 yards of offense, including 270 on the ground on 41 carries. TCU quarterback Andy Dalton passed for 182 yards, going 15-for-21 with one touchdown. The Heisman candidate also rushed for one score.

Tech managed 150 yards of total offense on 55 plays, also rushing 41 times and gaining 92 yards. Tre Lamb and Cass Barnes combined to go 9-for-14 for 58 passing yards.

In all, Tech fumbled six times in the contest and lost four along with the interception for a total of five turnovers. TCU lost one fumble.

Ed Wesley topped TCU's ground game, rushing 11 times for 85 yards and one touchdown. Matthew Tucker had two touchdowns, gaining 53 yards on nine carries.

Tech's leading rusher was Dontey Gay with 38 yards in seven carries.

For the second straight week, Marty Jones led Tech's defensive charts with eight total tackles and a fumble recovery. Corbin Miles and Dustin Dillehay had seven tackles each.

The Golden Eagles (0-2) return home to host Lane College in just five days. The home opener is Thursday night in Tucker Stadium with kickoff on Communiversity Night at 7 p.m. The first home game is also First Tennessee Bank Poster Night.

First Quarter Notes

* After receiving the opening kickoff, the Golden Eagles ha a tough time on the game's first possession. A 10-yard holding penalty on first down was followed two plays later by a nine-yard sack at the TTU four. Tech had to call its first timeout with 13:06 remaining in the opening period facing a third-and-26. Dontey Gay was stopped for no gain and Nick Campbell punted from deep in his own end zone. He delivered a 50-yard kick.

* The Horned Frogs drove 44 yards in three plays as Andy Dalton fired a 24-yard TD pass to a striding Josh Boyce with 10:54 to play in the quarter, making it 7-0.

* After getting one first down, Tech was halted and forced to punt, and TCU was charged with a personal foul when they knocked down Campbell on the kick, giving Tech the ball first-and-10 at the TCU 48. The Golden Eagles still couldn't move and Campbell's punt went 53 yards into the end zone.

* Mixing up their plays from ground to air, the horned Frogs drove 80 yards in 11 plays (4:17 length of drive) as Matthew Tucker covered the final three yards for the score to make it 14-0 with 1:03 to play in the period.

* TCU tacked on another quick score with one second left in the period as Tre Lamb suffered his first interception of the season. Jason Teague made the pick at the Tech 29-yard line and took it across the field all the way for the score to make it 21-0.

Second Quarter Notes

* Early in the quarter, Tech's Jocques Crawford was stopped for no gain but fumbled the ball. It bounced loose to Demetrous Garrett, who picked it up and raced 25 yards to the TCU 23. The play was reviewed by officials, but the ruling on the field stood.

* Tre Lamb's first career TD pass went to Tremaine Hudson, an 11-yard toss over the top of the defense, that cut the TCU lead to 21-7 with 11:39 to go before halftime. Tim Benford made a big 12-yard reception on the previous play to keep the drive alive. Tech's first TD scoring drive of the season was eight plays and went 72 yards in 3:22.

* The Golden Eagle defense held TCU after on first down, forcing the Horned Frogs to punt. Henry Sailes made a fair catch at the Tech 39.

* Again the Tech defense held and forced a punt and Sailes made another fair catch at the TTU 31 with 3:46 toplay in the half. On the first play, Cass Barnes took over at quarterback. He rushed qround the right side for a gain of eight but fumbled, and TCU recovovered at the 39.

* On first down, Dalton found an open receiver for a gain to the five, but a holding penalty brought the ball all the way back to the TTU 49 for first-and-20. Dalton hit Boyce for a 22-yard catch-and-run to the TTU 17. Three plays later, Jeremy Kerley went five yards to paydirt to make it 28-7 with 1:26 remaining. It was a five-play, 39-yard scoring drive that lasted 2:14.

* Tech lost its third turnover of the half, and second in it's own territory, when Doug Page fumbled on second down at the Golden Eagle 20 with less than two minutes to go before halftime. Matthew Tucker bulled over from the one for a touchdown to make it 35-7.

Third Quarter Notes

* Tech yielded its fourth turnover of the game midway in the third quarter, and the fourth time on Tech's half of the field. This time it was a lost fumble at the TTU 36. Four plays later Andy Dalton broke free for a 19-yard TD run. A missed PAT kick made it 41-7.

Fourth Quarter Notes

* The Horned Frogs opened the final period by finishing off a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, engineered by Dalton. Ed Wesley went seven yards for the score to make it 48-7.

* On third-and-five, Dontey Gay lost a fumble that TCU recovered at the Tech 30. It marked the fifth turnover in their own end of the field by the Golden Eagles.

* With a 41-point lead, TCU sent in backup quarterback Casey Pachall. Waymon James scooted 15 yards up the middle for a touchdown, capping another short TCU scoring drive to make it 55-7. Following the turnover, the Horned Frogs went 30 yards in four plays and lasted 1:32.

* The final score of the game came on a 16-yard run by Ryan Hightower, capping a nine-play, 71-yard TD drive that chewed up 4:53 off the clock, the longest scoring drive of the game in length of time.

Pregame Notes

* Tennessee Tech and TCU will be greeted by mostly clear skies and warm, humid conditions Saturday when they meet in Amon. G. Carter Stadium on the edge of the sprawling campus.

* Temperatures are expected to reach 95 degrees and humidity will be high. At gametime (6 p.m. CDT), temps will be hovering in the mid- to upper-80s.

* The Golden Eagles won the coin toss and elected to receive the kickoff.

* The game will be played under partly cloudy skies. Temperature at kickoff is 92 degrees.

* The Golden Eagles are dressed in their road uniforms with white jersey and gold pants. TCU will be in purple jerseys with purple pants.

* The Horned Frogs are ranked No. 4 in the nation, the highest-ranked opponent ever faced by an Ohio Valley Conference team.

* Tech is only the fifth FCS opponent that TCU has faced in Gary Patterson's 10 years as head coach. The previous four were Northwestern State (2001), UC Davis (2006), Stephen F. Austin (2008) and Texas State (2009).

* TCU is 27-3 in their last 30 games. Seven of their last eight victories have nbeen by at least 27 points.

* TCU head coach Gary Patterson earned a master's degree in educational administation from Tech in 1984 while served as an assistant coach for the Golden Eagles.

* TCU brings a 14-game home winning streak into the contest with the Golden Eagles. Since 1999, the Horned Frogs are 56-6 (.903) in its 62 home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium.

* This game is the first-ever meeting between Tech and TCU. The Golden Eagles have played two opponents from the Mountain West Conference. Tech lost to UNLV in 1985 and dropped a game at Air Force Acadmy on Sept. 8, 2001.

* TCU quarterback Andy Dalton is mentioned among the preseason Heisman hopefuls, making the fifth player Tech has faced who was considered a top candidate for the Hiesman. The most recent was last week with Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett. Before that, Heisman foes included RB Michael Turner of Northern Illinois (2005), QB Seneca Wallace of Iowa State (2002) and Randall Cunningham of UNLV (1985).

* Henry Sailes needs 60 all-purpose yards to catch Craig Rolle for seventh on the career list.

* Tim Benfod is ninth in career receptions, needing four to move to eight and five to climb into seventh place. Benford can also cllimb into the career Top 10 for receiving yards if he has 11 yards against the Horned Frogs.

* The stadium at TCU holds nearly 45,000 fans, and the game is nearly a sellout. That means it will rank somewhere around sixth on the list of all-time largest crowds in Tech history. Last week's crowd of 69,596 at Arkansas was the third-largest in school history.

* Linebacker Will Johnson has moved up the depth chart and will start tonight at the "bandit" position, his first career collegiate start.