Highlights of the TCU-Nicholls State game: here
Final Stats of the TCU-Nicholls-State game: here
TCU head coach Sonny Dykes talks about the win over Nicholls State: here
TCU quarterback Chandler Morris talks about the win over Nicholls State: here
TCU wide receiver Jaylon Robinson talks about the win over Nicholls State: here
TCU safety Mark Perry talks about the win over Nicholls State: here
By Tom C. (Midnite) Burke
For a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team, there’s nothing better than a lower-level Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) opponent to cure a hangover from a collegiate football season-opening loss the previous weekend, especially if you were entering the 2023 season fresh off a College Football Playoff National Championship Game appearance and ranked 17th in the nation.
This past Saturday, September 9, TCU took full advantage of such an opportunity by defeating Nicholls State, 41-6, in Amon G. Carter Stadium, before an announced crowd of 45,010 and an ESPN+ television audience.
Nicholls is an FCS team that plays in the Southland Conference.
Playing football since 1972, Nicholls State has an overall record of 231-317-4. It has lost eight straight games to FBS opponents.
Tom C. "Midnite" Burke |
With the win over Nicholls, TCU improved to 1-1.
The Frogs opened the season at home on September 2 with a 45-42 loss to then unranked Colorado, which now is 2-0 and ranked 22nd.
With the loss to TCU, Nicholls dropped to 0-2. The Colonels opened the season at home on August 31 with a 38-24 loss to Sacramento State, which was the then 10th-ranked FCS team in the nation.
This was the first meeting between the Horned Frogs and Colonels. And if you ask Nicholls State, it may be the last meeting because of the way TCU pushed around the Colonels, notwithstanding the reported $575,000 TCU paid Nicholls for being fed to the Frogs in The Carter.
The win over the Colonels may not completely do away with any lingering effects of the season-opening loss to Colorado, but at least the Horned Frogs will be on a one-game winning streaking when they open Big 12 Conference play against the University of Houston, in Houston, on Saturday, September 16.
The one-game winning streak is the first winning streak TCU has enjoyed since defeating the University of Michigan, 51-45, in the 2022 VRBO Fiesta Bowl, which was a 2023 College Football National Championship semifinal game.
The dominating win over the Colonels broke a two-game TCU losing streak (Georgia, in the national championship game, and Colorado).
In this week’s Associated Press top 25 poll, TCU is receiving votes, in 28th place, with 19 points.
In this week’s Coaches AFCA top 25 poll, TCU is receiving votes, in 28th place, with 26 overall points.
With back-to-back undefeated regular seasons not in the equation, TCU, against Nicholls State, was hoping not to start a season with back-to-back losses for the first time since 1999 (lost 35 to 31 to Arizona at home and 17-7 to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois).
Speaking of losing streaks, fellow Big 12 member Baylor’s 20-13 loss
on Saturday in Waco to then 10th-ranked Utah was the Bears’ sixth consecutive
loss, going back to last season.
No doubt Baylor (0-2) and its fans are looking forward to their Saturday, September 16, home game against the Long Island University Sharks.
Seriously. The Long Island University Sharks. Of Brooklyn, New York.
Long Island University is an FCS team that plays in the Northeast Conference. The Sharks are 0-2, with losses to Ohio University (no, not The Ohio State University) and Bryant University. Last Season, LIU was 4-7.
You can bet that this Friday night’s Popcorn Special in the Bill Daniel Student Center will not feature the movie “Jaws,” nor Long Island Tea, unless, of course, it is alcohol-free.
Utah made a statement with its last-second win over the Bears. This is Utah’s last season in the Pac-12 Conference. The Utes (2-0) are joining the Big 12 Conference in 2024.
Of course, this also is the University of Texas’ last season in the Big 12. The ‘Horns and the University of Oklahoma are joining the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 2024. The SEC may be regretting inviting those two heavyweights, particularly UT.
Saturday night, in the revered SEC football land of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the Longhorns (2-0) shocked Nick Saban and his University of Alabama Crimson Tide, 34-24. The loss ended Alabama’s 24-game home winning streak.
Other Big 12 winners this past weekend were Oklahoma (2-0), Kansas State (2-0), BYU (2-0), West Virginia (1-1), Cincinnati (2-0), UCF (2-0), Kansas (2-0) and Oklahoma State (2-0).
Big 12 teams joining Baylor in the loss column were Houston (1-1), Texas Tech (0-2), and Iowa State (1-1).
Despite being held scoreless in the third quarter and only leading 24-6 going into the fourth quarter, defeating Nicholls was never in doubt for the Frogs, basically because TCU's defense was able to perform better against an FCS team than it was the week prior against a re-engineered University of Colorado team.
The Horned Frogs held an opponent without an offensive touchdown for the first time since winning 17-10 at Texas on November 12 of last season.
The only points scored by the Colonels came via 40- and 47-yard field goals by kicker Gavin Lasseigne, whose performance against the Frogs earned him Southland Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Lasseigne is Nicholls State’s all-time scoring leader with 225 career points.
TCU’s defense limited Nicholls to 263 yards of offense; 177 passing yards, 86 rushing yards.
Colonels quarterback Pat McQuaide was held to 17 pass completions on 36 attempts. He threw no touchdown passes and was intercepted once.
Nicholls States' leading receiver was Neno Lemay, who had eight catches for 100 yards.
Nicholls receiver Quincy Brown, a transfer from TCU, was held to one reception for 15 yards.
Brown played in all 12 games for TCU as a freshman in 2021, starting the last nine. He had two touchdown catches in the Frogs’ home-opener last year before a season-ending ankle injury. Prior to the 2023 season, he transferred to Nicholls, which is about 40 miles from his hometown of St. Rose, Louisiana.
The Colonels’ leading rusher was Collin Guggenheim. He carried the football 14 times for 38 yards.
TCU recorded three sacks in the game against Nicholls State. The Frogs have seven sacks in two games.
Against the Colonels, sophomore defensive lineman Damonic Williams had a sack, giving him 2.5 sacks in his career. Senior defensive lineman D’Abreu, freshman defensive lineman Markis Deal and freshman defensive lineman Michael Ibukun-Okeyode took part in their first sacks as Horned Frogs.
True freshman cornerback Vernon Glover had his first career interception and first pick of the season for the Horned Frogs.
Senior cornerback Josh Newton had two pass breakups.
TCU had a block on special teams for the second straight game.
Sophomore Trent Battle blocked a Colonels punt that led to a 24-yard return for a touchdown by junior wide receiver Blake Nowell. It was TCU’s first blocked punt for a touchdown since Antonio Graves against New Mexico in 2011. The touchdown was Nowell’s second career score. He had a touchdown reception against Duquesne in 2021.
Junior linebacker Namdi Obiazor, who blocked a field goal in the Colorado game, had a team-best and career-high nine tackles against Nicholls State.
While TCU’s defense was holding the Colonels’ offense in check, the Horned Frogs’ offense was doing just enough, particularly through the air, to assure there would be no upset.
The Frogs have scored at least 40 points in their opening two games for the second time since 2004.
TCU sophomore starting quarterback Chandler Morris, making his fourth career start, completed 26-of-30 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns. The 86.7 completion percentage by Morris tied for third-best in a game at TCU.
Morris added 63 yards rushing on six carries, including a 32-yard rushing touchdown, which was a career-long run for Morris.
Backup quarterback Josh Hoover, a redshirt freshman, saw limited action against Nicholls. He completed two-of-three passes for 50 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown throw. He also lost a fumble and threw an interception.
Thirteen Horned Frogs had a reception against the Colonels.
Wide receiver Warren Thompson, a senior transfer from the University of Arkansas, had a career-high eight receptions for 92 yards, breaking his previous personal-best of four catches for 76 yards for Arkansas against Ole Miss in 2021.
Wide receiver Jaylon Robinson, a senior transfer from Ole Miss, had five receptions for 39 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown, for his first catches as a Horned Frog.
True freshman Jordyn Bailey, who is the younger brother of TCU running back Emani Bailey, had the first three receptions of his career for 61 yards, including a 34-yard fourth-quarter touchdown.
Emani was the Frogs' leading rusher in the game. He gained 67 net yards on 19 carries.
TCU senior kicker Griffin Kell’s 57-yard field goal on the final play of the
first half tied for the longest made kick in TCU history, joining Jaden
Oberkrom against West Virginia in 2015 and Michael Reeder versus UTEP in 1996. Kell
added a 42-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
The victory was a good tune-up for the Frogs and prevented TCU from losing to a
non-FBS team since a 27-24 overtime loss at home to the Northwestern State Demons on
September 22, 2001, which was then-coach Gary Patterson’s first home game.
That stunning loss, which caused some fans to question the hiring of Patterson as the Frogs’ head coach, was part of a 6-6 season that was interrupted by the terrorist attack on the United States on September 11 and included a canceled home game on September 15 against Marshall.
TCU’s next game is its 2023 Big 12 Conference opener, on the road, against Big 12-newcomer Houston, on Saturday, September 16.
Kickoff in TDECU Stadium, on the campus of the University of Houston, is scheduled for 7 pm (Central). Fox will televise the game.
TCU, which is beginning its 12th season in the Big 12 Conference, went 6-0 in road games last season. The Frogs’ six-game road winning streak is tied for second nationally.
Houston is coached by Dana Holgorsen, who formerly was West Virginia University's head football coach from 2011-18.
Holgorsen was at West Virginia when TCU and the Mountaineers joined the Big 12 Conference in 2012. Holgorsen compiled a 4-3 record against TCU while at West Virginia.
Dykes and Holgorsen are familiar with one another. They worked together for seven seasons (2000-06) as assistant coaches under Mike Leach when he was Texas Tech's head coach.
Dykes is 3-2 as a head coach against Houston. He was 2-1 versus the Cougars while at SMU and 1-1 during his time at Louisiana Tech.
Three other members of the TCU coaching staff have ties to the University of Houston.
Horned Frogs Associate Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Kendal Briles is a 2005 graduate of Houston. In his two seasons (2004-05) playing for the Cougars, Briles totaled 70 receptions for 680 yards and a touchdown. He returned to his alma mater in 2018 as Associate Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach.
TCU Assistant Head Coach/Outside Receivers Coach Malcolm Kelly was on the Houston staff in 2018 as an offensive analyst. He was a graduate assistant for the Cougars in 2017.
TCU Inside Receivers Coach Doug Meacham was Houston's offensive coordinator in 2013.
TCU sophomore quarterback Luke Pardee is the grandson of former Houston Head Coach Jack Pardee (1987-89) and son of Cougars' radio color analyst Ted Pardee, who was a three-year letterman (1988-90) at linebacker and long-snappper for UH.
Last season, the Cougars were 5-3 in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) and 8-5 overall, including a 23-16 victory over the University of Louisiana in the Independence Bowl.
Through their first two games of the 2023 season, Houston is 1-1.
The Cougars opened their season on Saturday, September 2, with a 17-14 home victory over the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).
On Saturday, September 9, Rice University claimed the Bayou Bucket by defeating Houston 43-41 in two overtimes. At one point, the Owls, playing at home, led the Cougars 28-0.
Rice rolled up 470 yards of offense; 401 yards passing, 69 yards rushing. The Owls had three touchdowns through the air and three rushing touchdowns.
Houston had 443 yards of offense; 260 yards passing, 183 yards rushing. The Cougars had two passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns.
Houston leads the all-time series with TCU, 13-12, although the Horned Frogs have won the last eight in a row. The Cougars' last victory in the series was a 49-46 win in Houston in 1992.
TCU is 5-7 all-time against the Cougars in Houston, 6-6 at home and 1-0 at neutral sites.
The first game in the series was a 49-21 Cougars win in Houston in 1976, their first year in the Southwest Conference.
The Frogs and Cougars had an annual rivalry between 1976-95 as Southwest Conference foes.
That rivalry included a game on November 3, 1990, in the Astrodome, in Houston, when TCU and Houston combined to make history in a contest won by the Cougars, 56-35.
Seven NCAA records were set, including a combined 1,563 yards of offense and the most combined passing yards in a game (1,253). There were 13 touchdown drives, with the longest one taking 99 seconds.
Backup TCU quarterback Matt Vogler, making his first start because starting quarterback Leon Clay was injured, completed 44-of-79 passes for 690 yards and five touchdowns.
Houston quarterback David Klingler completed 36-of-53 passes
for 563 yards and seven touchdowns.
When the SWC disbanded in 1996, Houston left for Conference USA. TCU resided in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) until 2001.
Between 2001-04, TCU and Houston again shared a conference rivalry (Conference USA), until the Frogs relocated to the Mountain West in 2005.
The Horned Frogs and Cougars have played one game since then, in 2007. TCU won 20-13, as the Frogs’ Andy Dalton outdueled the Cougars’ Case Keenum in the Texas Bowl, at Reliant Stadium, which now is NRG Stadium.
That Texas Bowl game was the last time TCU played in Houston. The Frogs were scheduled to face Arkansas in the 2020 Texas Bowl, but the game was canceled due to COVID.
Texas Tech transfer Donovan Smith leads the Cougars. As Houston's starting quarterback, Smith has completed 46-of-76 passes for 493 yards. He has thrown four touchdown passes and one interception. He has been sacked six times.
As a Red Raider, Smith played sparingly in the Horned Frogs’ 34-24 win over the Red Raiders last season, rushing for six yards on four carries. Smith led Texas Tech to ranked wins last season over Texas and Houston
West Virginia transfer running back Tony Mathis has led Houston in rushing in both of the Cougars’ games. He has carried the football 16 times for 98 net yards.
Receiver Samuel Brown has the eighth-most receiving yards in the country, with 138 and 106 receiving yards, respectively, in Houston’s two games. He averages 16 yards per catch. Ironically, he has no receiving touchdowns.
Wide receiver Matthew Golden has been on the receiving end of three of Smith's four touchdown passes.
Defensively, the Cougars have allowed 887 total yards; 610 passing yards, 277 rushing yards.
Linebacker Malik Robinson leads Houston with 13 tackles, including one tackle for loss and one fumble recovery.
Defensive back Malik Fleming picked off two passes in Houston's victory over UTSA.
Defensive back Isaiah Hamilton and linebacker Treylin Payne each have one interception.
Defensive lineman Nelson Caesar recorded a pair of sacks against Rice. He has three sacks and four tackles for loss on the season.
The Horned Frogs are favored to win the game by 6.5 points. The over/under is 61.5 points.
Dykes previews Houston: here
Holgerson previews TCU: here
Prior to kickoff, TCU head football coach Sonny Dykes (right) visits with Field Judge Rich Almeroth. |
Nicholls State head football coach Tim Rebowe (right) visits with TCU head football coach Sonny Dykes. |
TCU captains (from left to right) Andrew Coker (#74), Jared Wiley (#19) and Brandon Coleman (#77) |
(photos above and below) Here come the Colonels! |
(photos above and below) Here come Sonny Dykes and the Horned Frogs! |
TCU starting quarterback Chandler Morris (#4) ran six times for 63 yards and one touchdown against Nicholls State. He was not sacked. |
Against Nicholls State, TCU wide receiver Jaylon Robinson (#13) made his first start as a Horned Frog. He had five catches for 39 yards. The receptions were the first of Robinson's career. |
(photos above and below) In the second quarter against Nicholls State, TCU wide receiver Jaylon Robinson (#13) caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from TCU quarterback Chandler Morris. |
TCU wide receiver Jo Jo Earle (#11) celebrates his touchdown with TCU offensive lineman Brandon Coleman (#77). |
TCU
had a block on special teams for the second straight game as Trent Battle (#17) blocked a first-quarter punt by Nicholls State punter Kylan Dupre (#38). |
TCU defensive players celebrate a sack of Nicholls State quarterback Pat McQuaide (#7) by sophomore defensive lineman Damonic Williams (#52). Williams had three tackles in the game. |
TCU safeties Josh Foster (#15) and Mark Perry (#3) work to bring down Nicholls State wide receiver Quincy Brown, a transfer from TCU. Brown was held to one reception for 15 yards. |
TCU linebacker Namdi Obiazor (#4), safety Josh Foster (#15) and cornerback Avery Helm (#24) bring down Nicholls State wide receiver Neno Lemay (#0). |
TCU linebacker Namdi Obiazor (#4) was TCU's leading tackler in the game against Nicholls State. The junior was credited with nine tackles and one quarterback hurry. |
TCU defensive lineman Damonic Williams (#52) tackles Nicholls State running back Collin Guggenheim (#19). |
TCU's Damonic Williams (#52) and Paul Oyewale (#97) chase Nicholls quarterback Pat McQuaide (#7). |
(photos above and below) Nicholls State junior running back Collin Guggenheim (#19) was the Colonels' leading rusher against TCU with 38 yards on 14 carries. He had a long run of nine yards. |
Nicholls State sophomore wide receiver Neno Lemay (#0) was the Colonels' leading receiver against TCU. He caught eight passes for 100 yards. He had a long reception of 34 yards. |
Nicholls State wide receiver Quincy Brown (#8), who used to be a Horned Frog, scored a receiving touchdown against his former team, but it was nullified by a penalty against the Colonels. |
Nicholls State defenders deny TCU wide receiver Major Everhart (#22) a pass reception. |
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