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Purple reign: TCU rolls to New Mexico Bowl victory over Louisiana-Lafayette
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Picture-perfect conditions for a blowout.
That was the scenario for Saturday’s Isleta New Mexico Bowl as the TCU Horned Frogs had their way with Louisiana-Lafayette in a one-sided, 34-3 romp.
Quarterback Josh Hoover passed for 252 yards and four touchdowns to help the Horned Frogs cap their season with a fourth straight win. TCU outgained the Ragin’ Cajuns 367 yards to 209 overall.
Chamber-of-commerce Albuquerque weather for late December — blue skies, 50 degrees and only a light breeze — greeted an announced crowd of 22,827 at University Stadium for kickoff. Things remained pretty much idyllic for TCU and a large contingent of purple-clad fans.
“Tremendous experience,” Horned Frogs coach Sonny Dykes said. “Most of our guys had never spent any time in Albuquerque and they’ll never forget it. I can’t say enough about the way we were treated.”
It was certainly a memorable day for Hoover, who broke TCU’s single-season record for passing yards with 3,949 before heading to the bench with his team comfortably ahead in the fourth quarter. Hoover was named the game’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player.
“It means a lot,” Hoover said. “A lot of good quarterbacks have come through (TCU), so it’s a testament to our team to set a record like this. The offensive line, our receivers and running backs all played a part. A lot goes into it.”
TCU’s defense also had a big Saturday, limiting Louisiana to 209 total yards with many coming in the fourth quarter. It was the second-lowest yardage total in the New Mexico Bowl’s 19-year history.
“Tough day,” Cajuns coach Michael Desormeaux said. “(TCU has) a really good, physical defense. They have a great scheme and get a lot of guys to the ball. I also think we shot ourselves in the foot far too many times, which you can’t do against a team like this. But no excuses, we came up short.”
The Horned Frogs (9-4) set the tone immediately Saturday, marching 75 yards on 11 plays after receiving the opening kickoff. Hoover tossed a short pass to DJ Rodgers, who scampered in for a 3-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
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Louisiana (10-4) responded with a quick drive into TCU territory but opted for a 54-yard Kenneth Almendares field goal attempt on fourth-and-3. His kick banged off the left upright, snapping a streak of 15 straight made field goals by Almendares.
It was a sign of things to come for the Ragin’ Cajuns.
TCU followed up the missed kick with another long drive, going up 14-0 on a sparkling play by Hoover on fourth-and-goal from the Louisiana 1. Hoover twice spun away from pressure, backpedaling to the 17-yard line before firing a dart to Eric McAlister in the back of the end zone — officially a 1-yard TD pass.
The Ragin’ Cajuns’ defense managed to limit TCU to field goals on its next two possessions, but Louisiana’s offense could not sustain any momentum. Dropped passes, key penalties and a stout Frogs pass rush combined to hold the Cajuns to just three first downs in the first half.
“We had a good game plan,” said TCU edge rusher Devean Deal, the game’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player with five tackles, 1½ for losses, and a sack. “Guys all around me were making plays. We were locked in.”
When Hoover hit JP Richardson with a 20-yard TD pass, again on fourth down, to make it 27-0 with 1:27 left in the first half, the rout was officially on.
TCU scored on its first possession of the third quarter to make it 34-0. Louisiana avoided a shutout with a 22-yard Almendares field goal early in the fourth quarter, capitalizing on one of Hoover’s few mistakes, an interception by Jordan Lawson.
ULL actually outrushed TCU 114 yards to 110, but the Horned Frogs finished with a 257-95 advantage through the air.
TCU crushes Louisiana-Lafayette: Photos
horned frogs 34, ragin’ cajuns 3
Louisiana-Lafayette 0 0 0 3 — 3
TCU 14 13 7 0 — 34
First Quarter
TCU—Rogers 3 pass from Hoover (Lemmermann kick), 10:11.
TCU—McAlister 1 pass from Hoover (Lemmermann kick), 2:23.
Second Quarter
TCU—FG Lemmermann 45, 11:06.
TCU—FG Lemmermann 22, 5:34.
TCU—Richardson 20 pass from Hoover (Lemmermann kick), :57.
Third Quarter
TCU—Nowell 20 pass from Hoover (Lemmermann kick), 9:26.
Fourth Quarter
ULL—FG Almendares 24, 12:05.
A—22,827.
ULL TCU
First downs 13 20
Total Net Yards 209 367
Rushes-yards 33-114 33-110
Passing 95 257
Punt Returns 0-0 1-12
Kickoff Returns 2-37 1-23
Interceptions Ret. 1-23 2-4
Comp-Att-Int 11-26-2 21-34-1
Sacked-Yards Lost 3-24 2-14
Punts 6-37.667 3-43.667
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 6-60 5-45
Time of Possession 29:17 30:43
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Louisiana-Lafayette, Perry 11-49, Citizen 4-43, Davis 9-21, Winfield 5-19, Wooldridge 4-(minus 18). TCU, Battle 9-42, Payne 9-33, Palmer 10-30, Bailey 1-9, Hoover 4-(minus 4).
PASSING—Louisiana-Lafayette, Wooldridge 7-20-1-61, Beale 3-4-1-28, Winfield 1-2-0-6. TCU, Hoover 20-32-1-252, Seals 1-2-0-5.
RECEIVING—Louisiana-Lafayette, Cambre 3-24, R.Williams 2-10, Bernard 1-25, Jensen 1-12, LeGendre 1-12, Ward 1-9, Perry 1-6, Davis 1-(minus 3). TCU, McAlister 8-87, Richardson 5-53, Dabney 3-73, Rogers 2-11, Nowell 1-20, Payne 1-8, B.James 1-5.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Louisiana-Lafayette, Almendares 54.
