Horned Frogs Pound Bulldogs

#49 Fresno State – 0

#16 TCU – 21

FORT WORTH, Texas - In front of a packed house at Amon G. Carter Stadium, the Horned Frogs of TCU easily dismantled the normally pesky Fresno State Bulldogs. Ryan (Texas) Christian (University) carried the load scoring all three TCU touchdowns, while piling up 131 yards on his 21 touches.

Behind an aggressive offensive line, TCU was simply able to exert its will on the Fresno State defense. The Horned Frogs ran off 27 offensive plays, but more importantly were able hold on to the ball for over 10 minutes of the game - keeping the Bulldogs defense on the field and wearing them down under the Texas heat.

After trading turnovers on the opening three possessions of the game, TCU got back to basics churning out a 10-play, 48-yard touchdown drive that took up nearly the entire second quarter (3:19). Christian capped it off with a 2-yard scamper with just a second remaining to give the Horned Frogs a 7-0 lead at the break.

He picked up right where he left off, opening the third quarter with a 57-yard touchdown burst to make it a two-score game.

With the deficit, Fresno State was never able to get its own vaunted rushing attack on track. Impact HB's Lonyae Miller and Ryan Matthews were largely quiet, and Fresno finished the day with -11 rushing yards and was only able to muster 16 yards of offense. Six different Horned Frogs recorded sacks and the defense picked up three turnovers.

After a Tank Carder interception, Christian salted things away on a 6-play, 34-yard TD drive.

The win sets up arguably the best, or at least most intriguing (and evenly matched, by seed) second-round matchup as the Horned Frogs will play host to fellow 'mid-major' powerhouse #17 Boise State.