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Southern
Miss Succumbs to Invading Frogs
By RALPH D. RUSSO
AP Sports Writer
HATTIESBURG, MS (AP) � Texas
Christian's long season just keeps on going.
The Horned Frogs, who played
their first game in August, beat Southern Mississippi 14-12 in Division
I-A's second-to-last regular-season game Friday night to earn a bowl bid.
Between the early start and the
postponement and rescheduling of games due to the terrorist attacks in
September, TCU took 16 weeks to play 11 games.
The Horned Frogs finished with
two straight victories to gain a spot against Texas A&M in the
galleryfurniture.com Bowl in Houston on Dec. 28.
``They remember you in November
and December,'' first-year coach Gary Patterson said. ``This team is
special. They could have quit.''
Casey Printers threw for 274
yards and a touchdown and ran for another score for TCU (6-5, 4-3 Conference
USA).
The Golden Eagles (6-5, 4-3) lost
their final two games and will miss the postseason for the first time in
five years.
Printers was 15-for-31, ran for
28 yards and was at his best on third-and-long. Six times he converted on
third-and-5 or longer, four on passes and twice running. That helped the
Horned Frogs overcome 16 penalties for 118 yards.
``We wanted to play in another
bowl game,'' Printers said. ``We came out in front of a hostile crowd, on
national television, and did what needed to be done.''
Adrian Madise caught six passes
for a career-high 177 yards and a touchdown for the Horned Frogs, who beat
C-USA champ Louisville two weeks ago to keep their bowl hopes alive.
Madise finished what he called a
``crazy season'' with four straight 100-yard receiving games.
Jeff Kelly was 20-for-37 for 224
yards and a touchdown in his final game for Southern Miss, but threw three
second-half interceptions in TCU territory.
The final one came with 33
seconds left and the Golden Eagles driving. On a second-and-5 from the TCU
32, Kelly's wobbly pass sailed high over the middle and hit TCU's Kenneth
Hilliard in the chest. Hilliard bobbled the ball before catching it while
lying on his back at the 14.
Kelly was hit on the play, but
looked up just in time to see Hilliard's juggling catch.
``Your heart falls when you see
that,'' Kelly said.
Kelly's second pick came moments
after Southern Miss' Antoine Cash sacked Printers in the end zone for a
safety that made the score 14-12 late in the third.
``It seemed like he (Kelly) was
going to me a lot,'' said Hilliard, who had two interceptions.
After Jason Goss' interception
ended a Southern Miss drive at the TCU 14, Printers and Madise combined on
highlight-reel touchdown that gave the Horned Frogs their first lead early
in the third quarter. Printers fired a high spiral deep down the sideline to
a streaking Madise, who cradled the ball with his right hand, shed a
defender and cruised the distance for a 74-yard score that made it 14-10.
``It was pure luck,'' Madise
said. ``I just put my hand out there and it stuck.''
Brant Hanna had a chance to give
Southern Miss the lead with 3:11 left in the game, but his 45-yard field
goal fell short and to the right.
TCU avenged last season's 28-21
loss to Southern Miss in the GMAC Bowl and clinched its fourth straight
winning season. The last time the Horned Frogs had four straight winning
campaigns was in the 1950s.
``We didn't win a championship
but we learned how to beat some good teams,'' Patterson said.
The news wasn't all bad for
Kelly. He broke the Southern Miss single-season completion record of 206
held by Brett Favre. Kelly finished with 214 and threw his 51st touchdown
pass, one behind Favre and Lee Roberts' school record.
``I'm going to leave here with my
head up because we have been able to do some great things here,'' Kelly
said. ``Right now, though, it's pretty tough to take.''
The 4-3 conference mark knotted
the Frogs and USM in a tie for 5th place in C-USA's final regular season
standings � behind East Carolina, Cincinnati and UAB, which were grouped
together in a 2nd place logjam at 5-2, and league champion Louisville, which
finished 6-1.
By claiming the open slot in the
gallaryfurniture.com Bowl (December 28 in Houston vs. Texas A&M), TCU
rounded out C-USA's postseason line-up.
ECU will face Marshall in the
GMAC Bowl (December 19, Mobile, AL), the Bearcats will take on Toledo in the
Motor City Bowl (December 29, Pontiac, MI) and the Cardinals will tangle
with unbeaten Mountain West Conference champion Brigham Young in the Liberty
Bowl (December 31, Memphis, TN.)
AP-NY-12-07-01 2350EST
Copyright 2001
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 10:47:45 AM
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