WACO, Texas – TCU didn't overlook its regular-season finale, even with a bowl berth already in hand and another Mountain West Conference title out of reach.
The Horned Frogs instead played keep-away and completely dominated Air Force. And it started with the opening coin toss.
After winning that toss, TCU took the ball to start the game instead of deferring as it normally would do. The Frogs scored on that opening drive – and all four of their first-half possessions – and beat Air Force 38-14 yesterday for their seventh straight victory.
“Fortunately for us, it turned out OK,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “We went out, scored and we stayed up.”
Jeff Ballard completed all 12 of his passes and ran for a touchdown in the first quarter to put TCU up 14-0 when Air Force had run only seven plays with one first down. The Horned Frogs held the ball for nearly 20½ minutes while building a 24-0 halftime lead.
The Falcons had only 128 total yards, 220 below their season average, and didn't go above their record low of 102 yards (against Notre Dame in 1977) until a late 74-yard drive when backup quarterback Jim Ollis scored on a 19-yard keeper.
“It was too much too soon. We dug ourselves into a 14-0 hole and couldn't get out of it,” Falcons coach Fisher DeBerry said.
Poinsettia Bowl-bound TCU has trailed only 17 minutes – just more than a quarter combined – since consecutive conference losses to MWC champion BYU and Utah. Those setbacks came after TCU's 13-game winning streak.
