Casey Pachall’s 42-yard touchdown pass to Skye Dawson with 4:26 remaining gave TCU their second straight bowl victory on the west coast as the TCU Horned Frogs found a way to win against an upset-minded Louisiana Tech, 31-24.
TCU started off slowly and Louisiana Tech took advantage. Louisiana Tech out-gained TCU in the first half, 266-144 but failed to take a lead in to the half. Down 10-3 with a minute to play in the first half, TCU’s Ed Wesley’s 7-yard touchdown run let TCU tie the game and swing the momentum in their favor heading to the break. Wesley’s touchdown was set up a few plays earlier when TCU cornerback Greg McCoy picked off Colby Cameron and returned it 25 yards for a short field.
TCU took the lead in the third quarter with a short run by Matthew Tucker but the Bulldogs took the lead in to the final quarter after a short touchdown run by Hunter Lee tied the game on the ensuring possession and Cameron connected with a streaking Myles White down the middle of the field for a stunning 61-yard touchdown pass.
“I tracked the ball late,” Myles said of his touchdown play. “I reached out and by the grace of God it kind of fell into my body. I thought we were going to bust the game open from that point.”
TCU tied things up with a short touchdown run by Luke Shivers midway through the fourth quarter and needed six plays on their next possession to take the lead and score the final points in the game. Starting on their own 31-yard line, TCU picked up a quick first down on the ground with a pair of long runs by Wesley and Brandon Carter and converted on a 3rd and 6 for the 42-yard strike to Dawson for the eventual win.
TCU wraps up their fourth straight season with at least 11 wins, and ninth season since 2000 with at least 10 wins. TCU has now won six bowl games since 2000 and they hope to continue this level of success as they make the move to the Big 12 next season. TCU will return a large part of this year’s team when they begin Big 12 next season, and they could be considered one of the favorites in their new home.
“It feels great because it’s going to give us a lot of momentum,” Pachall said of the Poinsettia Bowl win. “As a young team, no one expected us to get this far.”
TCU was expected to be one of the top-two teams in the Mountain West Conference but new member Boise State was tabbed as a favorite by many. TCU stunned Boise State in Boise earlier this season when a Broncos field goal attempt failed as the game clock expired. The loss ended up keeping Boise State out of the BCS mix while TCU want on to capture the outright conference championship.
TCU head coach Gary Patterson tied Dutch Meyer for the most wins in TCU history, with 109 victories. He now owns a record of 190-30, the fourth-best among active coaches. That mark includes seven bowl victories. TCU had four bowl wins prior to the Patterson era.
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