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The Rice Thresher
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by Jose Luis Cubria thresher editorial staff Everyone knew the final meeting between the Rice and TCU football teams would be intense. But nobody could have imagined that two single plays could cause so much controversy in what turned out to be a one-sided affair. LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 200 yards and two touchdowns as 11th-ranked Texas Christian University kept its Bowl Championship Series hopes alive with a 37-0 blowout win over the Owls at Amon Carter Stadium in Fort Worth Saturday. The win boosted the Horned Frogs to 7-0 and 4-0 in Western Athletic Conference play. Rice fell to just 2-6 on the year and 1-4 in the WAC. But the postgame talk wasn't about Tomlinson's Heisman Trophy candidacy or about TCU's quest for a perfect season. Instead, it was about two plays that stirred emotions on both sidelines. The first came during the game's opening drive. TCU began the game at its 20-yard line and promptly went three-and-out. The ensuing punt went out of bounds at the Rice 46, meaning an inspired defensive effort led to great field position and a chance for the Owls to draw first blood. Or so they thought. Instead, redshirt freshman linebacker Jeff Vanover was flagged for roughing the kicker, a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down. The Owls insisted that the contact was completely incidental and that Vanover, who said he slipped on the loose turf while trying to block the kick, should have been penalized for running into the kicker, a five-yard penalty. But the contact broke two bones in TCU punter Joey Biasatti's leg, an injury that will force him to miss the season. The call stood, and while some TCU players reportedly threatened Vanover with throat-slashing gestures, the Horned Frogs marched down the field to take a 7-0 lead. The Owls believe the play, despite taking place at such an early juncture, was the turning point in the game. "Our chance to win the game was to get ahead and make something happen early in the game," head coach Ken Hatfield said. "Unfortunately, the big play of the game was the roughing the kicker [penalty]. ... On that field there was not any way you could not rough him. Jeff tried to stop and did all he could. "At that time, we had held them for three downs and had the wind and good field position. We really had a chance to have something good happen. As it turned out, I think that ignited [TCU]." The other controversial play, while inconsequential in terms of the outcome, really ignited the Owls. Late in the fourth quarter, Rice punted the ball one last time. With the score already 30-0, the Owls expected the Horned Frogs to simply run out the clock. Instead, with less than 90 seconds left to go, TCU quarterback Casey Printers hit LaTarence Dunbar with a 33-yard touchdown pass, and the ensuing extra point stretched the lead to 37-0. As expected, the Owls weren't happy with the play. "It upset me," redshirt freshman quarterback Jeremy Hurd said. "I thought they had more class than that. I didn't think they'd try to run up the score just for the heck of it, just for a good laugh. I thought that was low." In a way, it's almost hard to blame TCU for relishing in the victory. After all, the Horned Frogs had gone four years without beating Rice, meaning nobody on their roster had ever defeated the Owls. And with TCU leaving the WAC for Conference USA next year, it was likely the Horned Frogs' last chance to break the Rice jinx. As a result, Hurd said he could tell that TCU was desperate not only to beat the Owls but also to rub it in. "Last year we whupped them pretty good," Hurd said. "And Tomlinson even said he didn't want to go out without beating Rice. I think they were more fired up for that game than any other this season. Just to beat us and to say they beat us and got the last laugh was huge. "There was animosity. They were talking a whole bunch of stuff, cursing and saying things about your momma and your sister. Even at the end of the game there was almost a scuffle. It was pretty bad."
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