TCU looked like a BCS-contending team.
The UNM football team spotted the third-ranked Horned Frogs an early 21-0 lead and fell 66-17 on Saturday at University Stadium. The Lobos mustered only 130 yards on offense compared to TCU’s 503.
“I am disappointed with this outcome,” head coach Mike Locksley said. “We did not play well today. We did not execute on offense, special teams or defense, and that starts with me.”
With the win, TCU is awaiting its BCS destiny. In the last few weeks it has been projected that the Frogs will play in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2011.
With one week of college football left and No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Auburn still left with one game apiece, TCU could jump into the No. 2 spot in the BCS if one of those two schools loses.
Wasting little time, quarterback Andy Dalton found receiver Antoine Hicks on a 14-yard touchdown pass that capped a four-play, 80-yard drive a little more than a minute into the game. Before leaving with an injury, Dalton tossed two more easy touchdowns, propelling the Horned Frogs to a 21-0 lead.
“It goes back to almost Boys and Girls Club football,” Locksley said. “When you play corner, you look outside, and you make sure no one is lined up out there, and we did not do that.”
Looking to respond, Lobo quarterback Stump Godfrey scored on a one-yard run, after Spence Merritt returned a TCU fumble to the 12-yard line. That made the score 21-7.
TCU tacked on a field goal and a touchdown to go up 31-7, but UNM forged its way back.
After a UNM field goal, defensive lineman Jacori Greer forced Dalton to fumble, and linebacker Joe Stoner returned the ball to the one-yard line where Godfrey ran it in for his second touchdown of the game, pulling the Lobos within 14 points at 31-17.
Dalton sustained an elbow injury and didn’t return. Backup Yogi Gallegos finished out the half.
Yet, the third quarter was much of the same for the Lobos.
B.R. Holbrook replaced Godfrey in the fourth quarter, but engineered a scoring drive.
Led by third-string quarterback Casey Pachall, TCU scored 35 unanswered points “We gave our seniors a bad ending,” said Godfrey, who finished 7-of-14 for 21 yards. “You want your seniors to go out on a great note. That’s why I am taking it hard. I did not give my guys a chance to win it and that’s the worst feeling I have.”
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In the fourth quarter, TCU ran the ball and wound down the clock, but the Lobos could not prevent short rushing touchdowns from Matthew Tucker and Aundre Dean.
“Obviously, this is not where I have envisioned it to be, but there have been factors that have played into it,” Locksley said. “Not enough to say we are on track to what we wanted for Year 2, but I do plan on doing whatever it takes to get it back and get it back quick for next year.”
