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Saturday, Sep. 23 7:05pm ET Tomlinson runs for 140 yards for TCU | |||
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BOX SCORE
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Casey Printers was looking to even the score with his cousin and former high school teammate, Arkansas State free safety Les Echols. Echols intercepted a pass by Printers on the game's first possession, but Printers got his revenge on a 74-yard touchdown pass to receiver LaTarence Dunbar early in the third quarter. Dunbar sprinted by Echols on the play, leaving Printers' cousin sprawled on the turf. It would be one of three touchdown throws by Printers in a 52-3 blowout victory for TCU (No. 19 ESPN/USA Today, No. 18 AP) over Arkansas State on Saturday. "I guess we're even now," Printers said jokingly after the game. "They were just giving us the pass tonight, so we had no choice." Printers completed 11 of 15 passes for 204 yards and shifted some of the postgame focus from Heisman Trophy hopeful LaDainian Tomlinson, who finished with 140 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Tomlinson, who came into the game as the nation's leading rusher, had 125 yards at halftime and didn't play much in the fourth quarter. "Defenses are going to have to respect our passing game," Tomlinson said. "It'll make it a little easier for the running game down the road." Tomlinson and Printers helped the Horned Frogs (3-0) score on all but two of their offensive possessions in the first three quarters. TCU has now won eight straight games, its longest winning streak since 1938 -- the last year it won a national championship -- and the third longest streak in the country. Arkansas State is now 0-4. Tomlinson opened the scoring nearly six minutes into the first quarter, streaking down through the heart of the Arkansas State defense for a 64-yard touchdown run. He also added a 1-yard touchdown run later in the second quarter. Arkansas State struggled on offense all evening, except for a 20-play, 78-yard drive that took almost nine minutes off the clock in the second quarter. But the drive stalled at the TCU 2, and the Indians had to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Nick Gatto. "Our guys kept battling and kept them out of the end zone," said TCU head coach Dennis Franchione. "When you've got the kind of defense we have, you can be offensively patient." TCU was able to score 10 points in the final 1:29 of the first half -- which essentially put the game out of reach. Printers found Dunbar open in the corner of the end zone on a 1-yard touchdown pass to push TCU's lead to 28-3. Dunbar finished the game with four receptions for 91 yards. On the ensuing possession, Arkansas State quarterback Cleo Lemon fumbled after being sacked by TCU defensive end Joe Hill at the Arkansas State 19. TCU's Robert Pollard recovered the fumble. Four plays later, TCU kicker Chris Kaylakie kicked a 39-yard field goal with two seconds left on the clock, giving the Horned Frogs a 31-3 lead. "Not to take anything away from TCU, but at times we were our own worst enemy," said Arkansas State head coach Joe Hollis. "The ball game got completely out of hand at the end of the first half." The Indians' passing attack was limited with the absence of leading receiver Robert Kilow. Lemon finished 8-of-17 for 65 yards, and was sacked four times -- twice by TCU defensive end Aaron Schobel. Kilow, who has 20 receptions for 323 yards and one touchdown this season, suffered a concussion against Memphis last week and was held out of all but one practice leading up to Saturday's game. TCU was so offensively dominant that it didn't punt until there was 3:31 left to play in the third quarter. The Horned Frogs finished with 466 yards of offense. "(Printers) threw just about every kind of pass tonight and had good touch on the ball," TCU head coach Dennis Franchione said. "I liked the fact that we came out to finish the game in the third quarter. To our credit, we put them away." Arkansas State only crossed midfield twice in the game. In all, the Indians sputtered to 151 yards of offense on 61 plays. The Indians were held to 86 rushing yards on 43 attempts. Jonathan Adams was Arkansas State's leading rusher with 93 yards on 23 carries. |
ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Arkansas State Clubhouse TCU Clubhouse | ||
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