TCU Runs Past Bulldogs in Regular-Season FInale

Saturday, December 12

Fort Worth, Texas

6 p.m.

Louisiana Tech University

5-4 , 4-2

TCU

6-4 , 5-4

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Louisiana Tech	0	0	3	7	10
TCU	10	21	14	7	52

Photo by: Tom Morris

TCU Runs Past Bulldogs in Regular-Season FInale

12/12/2020 10:50:00 PM | Football

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By: Tyler Hotz

FORT WORTH, Texas – TCU running backs Zach Evans and Kendre Miller combined for four of the team's six rushing touchdowns as the Horned Frogs ran past Louisiana Tech 52-10 at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

After LA Tech forced TCU to settle for just three points on its first two red zone possessions, TCU quarterback Max Duggan punched it in from 5 yards out to give the Horned Frogs a 10-0 lead. TCU added three touchdowns in the second quarter to extend its lead to 31-0 heading into halftime.

The Bulldogs (5-4) scored 10 of the game's final 17 points. After long snapper Reeves Blankenship recovered a muffed punt earlier in the drive, Jacob Barnes got LA Tech on the board with a 34-yard field goal with 5:48 remaining in the third quarter. The freshman moved to 11-for-13 on the season as his third-quarter try sailed through the uprights.

Quarterback Luke Anthony hit wide receiver Griffin Hebert for a 13-yard touchdown with 11:13 remaining in the fourth quarter. Hebert's third receiving touchdown of the season was his first since his game-winning TD grab at Southern Miss in Tech's season opener.

"It was a very uncharacteristic performance, and sometimes you get into these games and think you'll do well, but you press and you make some uncharacteristic mistakes," head coach Skip Holtz said. "We had seven penalties in the first half, and I believe our average starting field position was our 10-yard line where you thought you were starting in the shadow of your own end zone all night.

"We dropped a number of passes that were in our hands. We had two turnovers, and we gave up a lot of big plays defensively. I give TCU a lot of credit. They're a very good football team, but this certainly wasn't our best effort."

Jaiden Cole and Tyler Grubbs denied the Horned Frogs a scoring chance on their first possession on a fourth-down stand inside Tech's 5-yard line, combining to drop TCU's Chase Curtis for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-2. The Bulldogs stood tall once again on the Horned Frogs' next possession, making TCU convert a 22-yard field goal attempt to take a 3-0 lead.

Following a Tech turnover, Duggan's rushing touchdown extended TCU's lead to 10-0 before a 76-yard pass from Duggan to wideout Quentin Johnston busted the game wide open early in the second quarter. Evans plunged it in from 4 yards out before Johnston recorded his second touchdown of the quarter on a 1-yard run to cap off a 21-point second quarter for the Horned Frogs.

Poor starting field position plagued the Bulldogs throughout the evening, starting all but one drive inside their own 30-yard line. LA Tech's first three drives of the game all came inside of the 10-yard line, which all eventually resulted in red zone opportunities for the Horned Frogs.

Tyler Grubbs paced the Bulldogs with nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss. Five different Bulldogs recorded at least half a tackle for a loss or more in Saturday's contest, including Trey Baldwin, who finished with eight total stops and one tackle for a loss.

On offense, LA Tech converted all three of its fourth-down tries, moving to 16-for-18 on the pivotal down this season. Isaiah Graham led LA Tech with 44 receiving yards, while Anthony paced the Bulldogs with 161 yards passing and a touchdown.