Frogs jump to No. 4 in BCS after win over Aztecs
David Hall
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The Frogs (9-0, 5-0) took another step toward BCS paydirt Saturday with their convincing 55-12 win over the San Diego State Aztecs.
The team jumped from No. 6 in the BCS standing to No. 4 when the polls came out Sunday. The Frogs' jump was caused by then-No. 4 Iowa's 17-10 loss to Northwestern combined with No. 5 Cincinnati's narrow 47-45 win over Connecticut, which caused the Bearcats to remain stagnant in the rankings. TCU was also ranked at No. 4 in the AP and USA Today polls Sunday.
Junior quarterback Andy Dalton received the co-Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Week award for his performance versus the Aztecs. Dalton racked up 283 yards of total offense, going 14-for-20 through the air for 239 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 44 yards, including scoring charges of 7 and 13 yards.
Senior tailback Ryan Christian was on the receiving end of both of Dalton's touchdowns, with receptions of 29 and 44 yards.
TCU's defense has also been hot, allowing only two touchdowns total in its past four games.
Senior linebacker Daryl Washington led the defense with eight tackles, and sophomore linebacker Tank Carder totaled seven tackles on the day.
TCU ranks third in the nation in total defense, allowing an average of 240.56 yards per game.
Head coach Gary Patterson said after the game Saturday that he was pleased with his team's fast start to the game. The Frogs tallied 31 points by halftime.
"We've started faster in the last three ball games, ever since the BYU game," Patterson said. "That's what you have to do in the last half of the season. If you let people hang around anything can happen."
Dalton said he was similarly pleased with the Frogs' first half effort.
"We started fast ... that's the big thing we've been focusing on lately," Dalton said. "We went out and scored early and scored a lot."
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