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Frogs, Cards poised for title
runs
By The Associated Press
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Texas Christian helped change
the Bowl Championship Series, even though its season ended at home.
The Horned Frogs won their
first 10 games last season, and reached sixth in the BCS standings, the
highest ranking for a team not in one of the BCS conferences.
A loss at Southern Miss ended
TCU's bid of becoming the first BCS outsider to break into a big-money bowl
game. That also cost the Frogs the Conference USA title and sent them to the
inaugural Fort Worth Bowl.
"It leaves a bitter taste to
be that close to a perfect season," safety Marvin Godbolt said. "And we
didn't win the conference. You've got to win the conference first. That's
definitely a motivator."
But TCU's run helped prompt
pending changes in the BCS system that include a fifth game and more access
for smaller conferences by 2006.
"That's what everybody's
looking for ... a chance, that opening in the door," coach Gary Patterson
said.
Now TCU is about to be part of
big changes in its conference.
Five of the league's 11 teams
are going into their final C-USA seasons. TCU moves next year to the
Mountain West, while Louisville, South Florida and Cincinnati go to the Big
East. Army will be independent again.
Marshall, Rice, Southern
Methodist, Tulsa, Texas-El Paso and Central Florida join C-USA in 2005.
Louisville and TCU seemingly
have the best chances of leaving C-USA as champions.
"If this was not our last
year, that would still be one of our goals," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino
said. "There might be some hostility in some of the crowds we go into ... I
think the players feed off of that, get energy and excitement from it."
Nine offensive starters return
for the Cardinals, who set school and conference records last season with
6,355 yards of total offense, ranking fifth nationally with 488 yards per
game.
"Our goal is to be the No. 1
offense in the nation," said Cardinals quarterback Stefan LeFors, who threw
for 3,145 yards in his first season as the starter.
TCU quarterbacks Brandon
Hassell and Tye Gunn have a combined 15-2 record as starters.
Gunn is 8-0, with just four
games in each of his first two injury-plagued seasons. Hassell threw for
2,039 yards and 10 touchdowns in Gunn's place last year, then missed most of
the spring with a foot injury.
The Horned Frogs left the
Western Athletic Conference as champions four years ago. So they're not
ready to focus on moving yet.
"Right now, we're going to
take care of Conference USA and we're going to try to represent them in the
best way," Patterson said. "That's the way we've always done things, and
don't plan on changing."
Southern Miss, the defending
champion, has won or shared half of the eight league titles.
Team capsules in their
predicted order of finish:
LOUISVILLE: J.R. Russell
caught 75 passes more than twice as many as any other Louisville receiver
for 1,213 yards in '03. ... New defensive coordinator Mike Cassity
reverted to teaching fundamentals in hopes of improving a unit that allowed
37 points a game in the four losses. ... The Cardinals have the only
back-to-back outright C-USA titles, in 2000 and 2001.
TCU: Since going 1-10 in 1997,
TCU has six straight winning seasons and bowl appearances. Three 10-win
seasons the last four years matched the school total the previous 104 years.
... TCU has a pair of 1,000-yard rushers Robert Merrill and Lonta Hobbs.
Merrill's 1,107 yards last season broke the school freshman record set the
year before by Hobbs (1,029 yards), who had a nagging ankle injury last
year.
SOUTHERN MISS: Nine starters
return on offense, including QB Dustin Almond. The Eagles averaged 35 points
and nearly 400 yards in six regular-season games after Almond regained the
starting job. They averaged just 14 points and 300 yards the six games
before that. ... Southern Miss led C-USA in scoring defense last year, but
only four starters return.
MEMPHIS: Despite missing three
games with a knee injury, RB DeAngelo Williams set a school rushing record
with 1,430 yards and had a league-record 10 straight 100-yard games. ... QB
Danny Wimprine already holds 25 school records, and his top four receivers
are back.
HOUSTON: Kevin Kolb was the
nation's leading freshman passer last season with 25 touchdowns and six
interceptions. ... Houston averaged 35 points and 458 yards a game, and made
its first bowl appearance in seven years. ... But the Cougars gave up 36
points and 440 yards per game.
UAB: QB Darrell Hackney has
passed for 3,636 yards and 23 touchdowns in 14 starts, but his past two
seasons were shortened by injury. "He looks as good right now as I've seen
him," coach Watson Brown said. ... The Blazers return 18 starters - 10 on
defense, eight on offense.
SOUTH FLORIDA: The Bulls are
51-26 in their seven-year history, with at least seven wins every year since
going 5-6 their inaugural season. ... South Florida has 23 seniors, and its
starting offensive line is intact for the second straight year.
CINCINNATI: Record-setting QB
Gino Guidugli is among seven returning offensive starters. ... Five of the
Bearcats' seven losses were by seven points or less.
EAST CAROLINA: New coach John
Thompson tries to revive a team whose only win last season was against
winless Army. ... Pirates have two 1,000-yard rushers, Art Brown and Marvin
Townes.
TULANE: After sending three
straight quarterbacks to the NFL, the Green Wave have only one left that has
even thrown a pass. Sophomore Nick Cannon attempted just two passes last
season. There are also two transfers and a freshman.
ARMY: Bobby Ross took Georgia
Tech to a national championship and San Diego to its only Super Bowl. Now
he's coaching a team coming off the first 0-13 season in Division I-A
football.
Copyright 2004
The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bonesville.net
contributed to this report.
02/23/2007 10:40:28 AM
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