2011 TCU Horned Frogs football team

The 2011 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Horned Frogs were led by 11th-year head coach Gary Patterson and played their home games at Amon G. Carter Stadium. They were members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 11–2, 7–0 in Mountain West play to win their third straight conference championship. They were invited to the Poinsettia Bowl, where they defeated Western Athletic Conference champion Louisiana Tech, 31–24.

2011 TCU Horned Frogs football
Mountain West champion
Poinsettia Bowl champion
ConferenceMountain West Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 13
APNo. 14
2011 record11–2 (7–0 MW)
Head coach
Co-offensive coordinatorJarrett Anderson (3rd as coordinator, 14th overall season)
Co-offensive coordinatorJustin Fuente (3rd as coordinator, 4th overall season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorDick Bumpas (8th season)
Base defense4–2–5 defense
Home stadiumAmon G. Carter Stadium
(Capacity: 32,000)
2011 Mountain West Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 14 TCU $  7 –0     11 –2  
No. 8 Boise State  6 –1     12 –1  
Wyoming  5 –2     8 –5  
San Diego State  4 –3     8 –5  
Air Force  3 –4     7 –6  
Colorado State  1 –6     3 –9  
UNLV  1 –6     2 –10  
New Mexico  1 –6     1 –11  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

This was the Horned Frogs last year as a member of the Mountain West. They were originally set to become a member of the Big East Conference in the 2012 season. However, on October 10, they accepted a bid to join the Big 12 Conference.[1] The Big 12 has several other former members of the Southwest Conference, notably Baylor, one of TCU's most intense rivals in history.

Before the season

During the 2010–2011 campaign, the Horned Frogs finished the season undefeated, 13–0 and being voted #2 in the Coaches and AP polls. The Horned Frog's 2010 season was capped off with a 21–19 victory over Wisconsin in the 2011 Rose Bowl. During the off-season, quarterback Andy Dalton, who had won 43 games for TCU, left for the NFL, leading to Casey Pachall to take over as quarterback.[2] At the Mountain West Conference media day, the Horned Frogs were picked to finish 2nd in the conference.[3]

Recruiting

TCU's recruiting class was ranked #26 by Rivals.com and #28 by Scout.com.[4][5] The top 10 recruits according to ESPN grades are listed below:

Schedule

[6]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 27:00 p.m.at Baylor*No. 14
ESPNL 48–5043,753
September 102:30 p.m.at Air ForceNo. 25
VersusW 35–1942,107
September 171:00 p.m.Louisiana-Monroe*No. 23
Mtn.W 38–1732,719
September 246:00 p.m.Portland State*No. 20
  • Amon G. Carter Stadium
  • Fort Worth, TX
W 55–1333,825
October 12:30 p.m.SMU*No. 20
CBSSNL 33–40 OT35,632
October 89:30 p.m.at San Diego State
CBSSNW 27–1444,248
October 221:00 p.m.New Mexico
  • Amon G. Carter Stadium
  • Fort Worth, TX
Mtn.W 69–033,833
October 287:00 p.m.vs. BYU*
ESPNW 38–2850,094[7]
November 51:00 p.m.at Wyoming
Mtn.W 31–2017,673[8]
November 122:30 p.m.at No. 5 Boise State
VersusW 36–3534,146
November 192:30 p.m.Colorado StateNo. 19
  • Amon G. Carter Stadium
  • Fort Worth, TX
VersusW 34–1033,650
December 31:30 p.m.UNLVNo. 18
  • Amon G. Carter Stadium
  • Fort Worth, TX
VersusW 56–932,012
December 217:00 p.m.vs. Louisiana Tech*No. 16
ESPNW 31–2424,607
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Regular season

TCU began the season being upset by then-former (and future) conference rival Baylor 48–50, ending the Horned Frogs' 25-regular-season-game winning streak.[9] TCU then won their next three games against Air Force, Louisiana–Monroe and Portland State before losing in overtime 33–40 to SMU in Battle for the Iron Skillet.[10]

After the loss against SMU, TCU won out the rest of its regular-season schedule to win its third straight Mountain West Conference championship.[11] TCU's biggest victory was against #5 Boise State at Bronco Stadium. TCU won the game 36–35 on a two-point conversion. The victory ended Boise State's record 65-game regular-season home winning streak and 47-game conference home winning streak.[12] After Houston lost the 2011 Conference USA Football Championship Game, there was a chance for TCU to reach a BCS game for a third straight year.[13] However, TCU finished #18 in the BCS standings and missed out on attending a BCS bowl.[14]

2011 Poinsettia Bowl
See also: 2011 Poinsettia Bowl

On December 4, 2011, the TCU Horned Frogs accepted an invite to represent the MWC.[15] Their opponents were the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, the 2011 WAC champions.[16] The game was played at Snapdragon Stadium.

TCU won the game 31-24. With the win, TCU coach Gary Patterson picked up his 109th victory, tying Dutch Meyer for the most wins in TCU history.[17]

Rankings
See also: 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final 
AP 14 25 23 20 20 NR NR NR NR RV RV 19 19 18 16 14 
Coaches 15 25 23 20 20 NR RV RV RV RV 24 19 18 17 15 13 
Harris Not released RV RV RV RV 25 21 19 17 15 Not released 
BCS Not released NR NR NR NR 19 20 18 18 Not released

References
  1. TCU joins Big 12 for 2012–13. ESPN. October 11, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  2. Deitsch, Richard. Gary Patterson on winning, defense and replacing QB Andy Dalton. Sports Illustrated. August 25, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  3. Boise State Picked to Win 2011 Mountain West Football Title Archived 2012-03-19 at the Wayback Machine. themwc.com. July 26, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  4. Rivals.com 2011 Team Recruiting Rankings. Rivals.com. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  5. Football Recruiting 2011. Scout.com. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  6. 2011–2012 SCHEDULE. Texas Christian University Horned Frogs. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  7. "BYU Cougars vs. TCU Horned Frogs Box Score". ESPN.com. October 28, 2011.
  8. "TCU Horned Frogs vs. Wyoming Cowboys Box Score". ESPN.com. November 5, 2011.
  9. Baylor blows 24-point lead but recovers to edge No. 14 TCU. ESPN. September 2, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  10. SMU halts No. 20 TCU's 22-game home winning streak in OT. ESPN. October 1, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  11. Mountain West champ TCU eyes possible BCS bowl after routing UNLV. ESPN. December 3, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  12. TCU mars Boise State's perfect record after Broncos miss late field goal. ESPN. November 12, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  13. Adelson, Andrea. Final: Southern Miss 49, Houston 28. ESPN. December 3, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  14. Caplan, Jeff. Nothing to feel blue about for TCU. ESPN. December 6, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  15. TCU to Play Louisiana Tech in SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl Archived 2012-04-20 at the Wayback Machine. PoinsettiaBowl.com. December 4, 2011. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
  16. "Louisiana Tech to Play in SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl". Poinsettia Bowl (poinsettiabowl.com). November 26, 2011. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  17. Gemmell, Kevin. Instant analysis: TCU 31, La. Tech 24. ESPN. December 21, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
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