Fort Worth, Texas – There was no second-half comeback Saturday night for the Colorado State football team. And there wasn’t much drama in Texas Christian’s inaugural Mountain West Conference championship.
The 20th-ranked Horned Frogs ran through the Rams and occasionally passed their way to a 33-6 victory that ended CSU’s hopes of a shared MWC crown.
Tailbacks Robert Merrill and Aaron Brown and quarterback Jeff Ballard combined for all but 19 of TCU’s 241 yards rushing.
TCU (9-1, 7-0 MWC) captured its third different conference crown since sharing the 1994 title in the now- defunct Southwest Conference, and it was the Frogs’ first outright title since ruling the SWC in 1958.
CSU (5-4, 4-2) had mastered second-half comebacks in recent weeks. But on a night when Rams quarterback Justin Holland threw four interceptions, the CSU defense improved only slightly after halftime while the offense remained stagnant.
“I reverted back to last year,” said Holland, who was sacked five times for minus-44 yards. “I haven’t played that bad since USC (when he also tossed four picks). We knew they’d be fast.
“We dug ourselves too big a hole. You can’t use the running game when you’re down by 30.”
While the TCU defense isn’t at the level of last year’s USC national champions, the Frogs lived up to their billing as the MWC’s quickest team.
“I can understand what the other coaches in the league were talking about,” CSU coach Sonny Lubick said.
Said CSU wide receiver David Anderson: “It’s not that they are faster than anyone we’ve seen, it’s the way they play together.”
For the first time since getting blanked 49-0 at USC in the second game of 2004, CSU failed to score a touchdown. And it was the fewest points yielded by TCU since the Frogs shut out Southern Methodist a year ago.
“When you can’t run, you can’t pass and you can’t pass protect, it’s tough to win,” said CSU offensive coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt.
TCU safety Brian Bonner, who came away with two of the interceptions, said, “We put pressure on the quarterback and the secondary made plays. We watched film and saw their comeback in the second half last week. We knew we had to step our game up after halftime.”
CSU had a chance to get in the game in the second quarter, but a penalty negated a first-and-goal situation at the 1 and the Rams settled for a Jason Smith field goal to trail 14-6.
“You can’t afford to do that, not against a team like that,” Lubick said.
The Rams are tied for second in the MWC with Brigham Young and need to split their remaining games with San Diego State and Nevada-Las Vegas to be eligible for a bowl.
But CSU hardly gave the Frogs a game, let alone a second half. CSU finished with only 253 total yards, including just 59 rushing.
With the help of a run out of a shotgun formation by Anderson, CSU sniffed the end zone to start the fourth quarter. But Holland threw his fourth interception.
It was the first time since the opener that Holland had been intercepted more than once. He came into the game ranked fourth nationally in passing efficiency but finished 22-of-38 for 194 yards.
There was no halftime magic speech for the Rams. Holland came out on the opening drive and threw his third pick, this time to safety Marvin White, who returned it to the Rams’ 31. The defense started to show some of the mettle that brought CSU back a week ago at New Mexico and forced the Frogs to punt.
Field position then paid off for TCU as Holland was sacked in the end zone by Bonner and Chase Ortiz, extending TCU’s lead to 26-6 with 10:48 left in the third quarter.
CSU sidelines
UNSUNG HERO
CSU senior wide receiver David Anderson caught seven passes for 96 yards and carried twice for 15, including taking a snap from center in the shotgun formation.
KEY PLAY
A TCU safety on CSU’s first possession of the second half set the tone for the Rams’ first lackluster second half in conference play this year.
TURNING POINT
Trailing 14-3 on the first series of the second quarter, CSU drove 69 yards to a first-and-goal situation at the TCU 1. Justin Holland threw an incomplete pass and CSU was flagged for an illegal formation. The Rams gained 1 yard in three plays and had to settle for a Jason Smith field goal.
KEY STATISTIC
4-1 – CSU-TCU turnover margin. The Rams had dominated the turnover margin 9-1 in their previous two games.
Staff writer Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-820-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
