No. 3 TCU Races Past SFA, 70-7
9/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
No. 3 TCU 70, Stephen F. Austin 7
Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, Texas
Records: SFA (0-2); TCU (2-0)
Up Next: vs. McNeese State • Saturday, Sept. 19 • 6:00 p.m.
FORT WORTH, Texas – Third-ranked TCU took control early and never let up, handing Stephen F. Austin a 70-7 loss at Amon G. Carter Stadium. The Lumberjacks fall to 0-2 on the year as it goes down as SFA’s worst loss in the Division I era and the largest margin of defeat since a 77-7 loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville in 1976.
"Obviously it was a tough day today for the Lumberjacks," said head coach Clint Conque. "They have a tremendous program here at TCU and we were out-manned from the get-go. We had our chances, especially early, but just couldn't capitalize. We also gifted them a few turnover, which you can't do against a great team. A handful of players saw their first collegiate experience, so we'll learn from this and move forward."
Little went right for the Lumberjacks from the opening kick as SFA was outgained 627-167 for the game with TCU holding a 328-37 edge in the first half. Known for its passing offense, SFA struggled against TCU’s pass rush the entire game, throwing for a total of 21 yards on 13-of-28 passing. The Lumberjacks also managed just eight first downs on the day, converting just two of its 16 third down conversions, compared to 11-of-14 for the Horned Frogs.
Zach Conque completed 11 of his 18 passes for just nine yards while registering negative-three rushing yards after being sacked four times. His day was done at halftime as he stood on the sideline in street clothes for the second half as Hunter Taylor went 2-of-10 for 12 yards. Both quarterbacks threw an interception.
The highlight of the day was freshman running back Loren Easly, who was playing in his first collegiate game. Easly broke a 75-yard touchdown run on his fourth carry and finished the game with 93 yards on six carries.
Fred Ford finished with 29 yards on seven carries for SFA as the Lumberjacks accumulated 146 yards on the ground. With just 21 receiving yards on the day, SFA’s receiver corps had little to show for their efforts as Piper caught five passes for just one yard on the day. Cole Carter was the top Lumberjack receiver, hauling in a 10-yard reception.
Playing the highest-ranked team in program history, SFA knew it had its work cut out for it and had some success early. After holding TCU to a three-and-out on its first possession, SFA had a key opportunity early after a 14-yard Horned Frog punt, giving the ‘Jacks the ball at the Horned Frog 36-yard line.
Conque had a pair of big rushes, giving SFA a first and goal inside the 10-yard line. But four attempts into the endzone came up empty as SFA turned the ball over on downs.
TCU took advantage of the miscue, covering the remaining 93 yards on eight plays, including a 51-yard pass from Trevone Boykin to Kolby Listenbee, then converted a two-yard touchdown punch to strike first. Another Horned Frog touchdown later in the quarter put the ‘Jacks in a 14-0, then Boykin and Listenbee connected from 61 yards out, putting SFA in a 21-0 hole after the first quarter.
SFA’s offense continued to struggle in the second quarter as the Lumberjacks had six-straight drives that resulted in a three-and-out, accumulating a total of one yard during that span. Meanwhile, Boykin and the TCU offense put two more touchdowns on the board as the Horned Frogs outgained the Lumberjacks 328-39 in the first half.
Things didn’t get much better for SFA in the second half as TCU scored on its first three possessions, including a pick-six off a throw from Taylor, racing out to a 56-0 lead midway through the third quarter.
After extending its lead to 63-0 early in the fourth quarter, SFA had its biggest bright spot of the day as Easly broke his 75-yard touchdown run up the middle, outrunning the TCU defense for his first collegiate score. TCU added another rushing touchdown late in the quarter to seal the 70-7 victory.
SFA’s margin of defeat is the most since the Lumberjacks made the jump to Division I in 1987, three points worse than SFA’s 67-7 loss to these same Horned Frogs in 2008. It goes down as the third-worst loss in program history behind a 77-7 defeat to Texas A&M-Kingsville in 1976 and an 88-0 loss to Bayor in 1929.
SFA now faces the challenge of putting this one behind it and focusing its sights on Southland Conference play as the Lumberjacks host McNeese State Saturday, September 19th at Homer Bryce Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
Head Coach Clint Conque's Press Conference Transcript
Opening Statement
“Obviously it was a tough day for the Lumberjacks. I want to thank coach (Gary) Patterson as he really took it easy on us there in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter. I guess right now the landscape in college football is these games are part of the deal for FCS schools. They have a tremendous program here at TCU and our kids competed the best they could. We’re pretty depleted right now, but at the end of the day, they’ve got an outstanding football team here. There are some terrific athletes, and you can’t say enough about what coach Patterson has done with this program. We were out-manned from the get-go, and we knew it would be a tough day. We had a couple of opportunities. We got in the red zone a couple of times and came away with no points. We have no kicker right now so that’s why we didn’t kick it there. We also gifted them a few turnovers and you can’t do that against a great team. A lot of kids today got their first collegiate experience and all we can do is move forward, take our check and go home.”
On the SFA injuries:
“Our starting kicker is back in Nacogdoches as he is recovering from an injury. Our punter, Nick Bruno, was handling the place kicking duties, and we were excited when he made the extra point. We have two non-scholarship kickers that we brought with us and (Caleb) Lewallen did the kickoffs. We came here with three cornerbacks as we lost one of our starters last week (Hipolito Corporan) and lost another today (Tre Rosser). It was just a tough day physically and emotionally for our football team.”
On if he expected more from his team:
“This is a great football team we just played. They play at a fast tempo, which they did in the first half. They have big offensive linemen, one of the top quarterbacks in the country, talented running backs and receivers. If we put too many in the box they’ll throw it, and they burned us quite a few times with that today. If you play the perimeter, they’ll beat you in the run game. There is a culture that has been established here since coach Patterson arrived here, and they did what they wanted to do today.”
On the play of freshman Loren Easly:
“It was exciting. Loren was a young man that in the recruiting process, we didn’t feel we had an opportunity to get him. Unfortunately for him, and probably fortunately for us, he hurt his knee in the playoffs his senior year and a lot of the bigger schools backed off. We stuck with Loren and he’s worked extremely hard coming back from a total knee reconstruction. We’ve brought him along the right way, I think, regarding his reps and his workload, and he certainly sees the opportunity. He’s a big, physical back that has speed and I think he has an extremely bright future here at SFA.”
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