Both phases dominant in TCU's 41-0 win over UNLV

Tank Carder and the TCU defense stifled UNLV on Saturday at Amon Carter Stadium, holding the Rebels to just 160 yards of total offense while recording the Frogs' first shutout since 2007. GoFrogs.com

By Tony Eierdam / Killerfrogs.com Staff Writer

It may have been Halloween at Amon Carter Stadium, but there were no tricks to a productive TCU offense, only treats in the form of a smothering TCU defense that may have found its identity in a 41-0 whitewashing of UNLV in a Mountain West Conference contest on a sun-splashed Saturday before a crowd of 33,541.

Not respected early by pollsters who listened to head Coach Gary Patterson's coach speak on how the defense would have to "find its identity," the Frogs' defense actually overshadowed its offense that produced 578 total yards.

The TCU defense, led by the linebacker duo of Tank Carder and Daryl Washington, who combined for 10 tackles - five each - forced 11 Rebel punts and held the UNLV offense to a paltry seven first downs. Tanner Brock led the Frogs with six stops.

Another Frog with five tackles was All-American defensive end Jerry Hughes, despite the fact that UNLV spent most of the afternoon running the ball in the opposite direction of Hughes, who was constantly double-teamed.

Vegas crossed the 50-yard line just three times - twice to just the TCU 48 - and its deepest penetration came to the Frogs' 34 where it once again was forced to punt.
Patterson enjoyed the solid efforts of both sides of the ball, including a quick 10-0 lead in the opening period.

“I thought we had more energy coming into this ball game than we did against Colorado State," he said. "We talked about starting fast. I told them that if you want to win a championship, you’ve got to get on a roll. In the second half of the season, you have to get stronger and get ready to play.

"We still have to be able to play on the road; we’ve got two of those games left. We have to get those things done. We are excited about the win. I liked the way we did things. For some reason, we keep turning the ball over early in the game at home, which I wish we would get over. I like the shutout that’s hard to do, and now it’s time to get ready for San Diego State."

Safety Tejay Johnson was all smiles after the contest as the defense celebrated its first shutout of the season. The Frogs have given up just 13 points in their last three conference games.

"It feels really good to pitch a shutout against a talented UNLV team that has a lot of offensive talent," he said. "I think our defensive line deserves a lot of the credit because their quarterbacks didn’t get a chance to pass much with the pressure that we were able to have.”

UNLV head coach Mike Sanford was impressed with the No. 6 Frogs.

“This is by-far the best defense we’ve faced all season," he said. "We were obviously not productive on offense, and we’ve got to be able to score points and move the ball. We didn’t convert on third downs, and you have got to be able to go that.

“I think TCU is obviously an excellent football team, and they are deserving of their rankings. Although we wanted to beat them today, I wish them the best of luck the rest of the season. We just didn’t do the things you need to do to win a game.  We didn’t tackle well enough, and we didn’t block well enough."

Junior quarterback Andy Dalton completed 13 of 22 passes for an efficient 188 yards, but basically turned the offense over to his running game. The Frogs wore down the Rebels with 48 rushes for a season-high 390 yards

Redshirt freshman Ed Wesley led the Frogs with 86 yards on just seven carries, including a touchdown run of 59 yards in the second quarter that extended the TCU advantage to 17-0 after Ross Evans' extra point. Wesley also got in the passing game act with a TD grab of 21 yards in the fourth period.

Senior Joseph Turner, who added 64 yards to the ground attack on 10 totes, said the three-headed attack of himself, Wesley and Matthew Tucker (nine carries for 59 yards) keeps the Frogs' backs fresh at the end of the game.

“I like to think that as hard as we practice and as hard as we push each other, we get a lot of rest out there," he said. "We get to come in fresh and full speed.”

TCU's first drive stalled deep in Rebel territory but was salvaged by a 29-yard field goal by Evans. Later in the opening period, Dalton connected with Antoine Hicks on a 75-yard play for the game' first touchdown.

Dalton's play-action fake on the play froze the Vegas secondary, allowing Hicks one-on-one coverage. Hicks caught Dalton's pass at the Rebel 48, wrestled away from Vegas defensive back Alex De Giacomo and sprinted the rest of the way for a touchdown. Evans' kick increased the TCU lead to 10-0.

The Frogs duplicated their 10-point effort in the second quarter. Just a minute and a half into the second period, Wesley reached the end zone on his 59-yard sprint down the right sideline on a play that began off left tackle.

Wesley spun out of one would-be tackler's arms, and seeing a wall of white jerseys, reversed his field and picked up huge blocks from receiver Jimmy Young and Dalton to find his way to the end zone down the right sideline. Evans' boot gave TCU a 17-0 cushion.

Evans closed the first-half scoring on a 42-yard field goal as TCU took a 20-0 lead into the locker room at the break.

With UNLV properly concerned with the Frogs' rushing attack, Dalton found room in the Rebel secondary and torched the visitors for three second-half touchdown flings,

The three-year starting quarterback's first came in the third quarter on a 14-yard strike to junior receiver Jeremy Kerley. Dalton threw a rocket to Kerley in the middle of the field at the Rebel 4 between a pair of Vegas defenders as the receiver danced into the end zone for a 27-0 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Wesley grabbed a short pass near the left sideline at the Vegas 15, spun out of the arms of a Rebel defender, momentarily lost his balance but waltzed untouched down the sideline an into the end zone to complete a 21-yard score.

Officials reviewed the play but concluded that Wesley's knee never hit the ground, and Evans followed with a PAT boot to extend the lead to 34-0.

TCU closed the scoring on a 10-yard pass from backup quarterback Marcus Jackson to seldom-used junior receiver Billy Pizor.

The Frogs will continue their path to the MWC title and at least a BCS bowl on Saturday when they travel to San Diego State to take on the Aztecs. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. CST and can be seen on Versus.

“We are excited about the win," Patterson said. "I liked the way we did things. For some reason, we keep turning the ball over early in the game at home, which I wish we would get over. I like the shutout that’s hard to do, and now it’s time to get ready for San Diego State.”

Turner is excited to play on the field that former Frog great LaDainian Tomlinson graces every other Sunday for the hometown Chargers.

“I love that field," Turner said. "I had a good game there my sophomore year then I scored the game winning touchdown there in the bowl game last year. I don’t know why I feel so comfortable there, but I just love it. It’s almost like Oklahoma’s field. It’s a little hard and fast. I think I might play good on it because LT plays there."