2011 TCU Horned Frogs football team

Before the season

During the 2010–2011 campaign, the Horned Frogs finished the season undefeated, 13–0 and being voted #2 in the Coaches and AP polls. The Horned Frog's 2010 season was capped off with a 21–19 victory over Wisconsin in the 2011 Rose Bowl. During the off-season, quarterback Andy Dalton, who had won 43 games for TCU, left for the NFL, leading to Casey Pachall to take over as quarterback. At the Mountain West Conference media day, the Horned Frogs were picked to finish 2nd in the conference.

Recruiting

TCU's recruiting class was ranked #26 by Rivals.com and #28 by Scout.com. The top 10 recruits according to ESPN grades are listed below:

Schedule

|{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = l |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = l |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w

Regular season

TCU began the season being upset by then-former (and future) conference rival Baylor 48–50, ending the Horned Frogs' 25-regular-season-game winning streak. TCU then won their next three games against Air Force, Louisiana–Monroe and Portland State before losing in overtime 33–40 to SMU in Battle for the Iron Skillet.

After the loss against SMU, TCU won out the rest of its regular-season schedule to win its third straight Mountain West Conference championship. TCU's biggest victory was against #5 Boise State at Bronco Stadium. TCU won the game 36–35 on a two-point conversion. The victory ended Boise State's record 65-game regular-season home winning streak and 47-game conference home winning streak. After Houston lost the 2011 Conference USA Football Championship Game, there was a chance for TCU to reach a BCS game for a third straight year. However, TCU finished #18 in the BCS standings and missed out on attending a BCS bowl.

2011 Poinsettia Bowl

On December 4, 2011, the TCU Horned Frogs accepted an invite to represent the MWC. Their opponents were the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, the 2011 WAC champions. The game was played at Snapdragon Stadium.

TCU won the game 31-24. With the win, TCU coach Gary Patterson picked up his 109th victory, tying Dutch Meyer for the most wins in TCU history.

Rankings

References

References

1. [https://www.espn.com/dallas/ncf/story/_/id/7085749/big-12-vote-unanimous-allow-tcu-horned-frogs-2012-13 TCU joins Big 12 for 2012–13]. [[ESPN]]. October 11, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
2. Deitsch, Richard. [https://web.archive.org/web/20111109215427/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/richard_deitsch/08/25/gary.patterson/index.html Gary Patterson on winning, defense and replacing QB Andy Dalton]. [[Sports Illustrated]]. August 25, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
3. [http://www.themwc.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/072611aaf.html Boise State Picked to Win 2011 Mountain West Football Title] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-03-19 . themwc.com. July 26, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2011.)
4. [https://sports.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/teamrank/2011/all/all Rivals.com 2011 Team Recruiting Rankings]. [[Rivals.com]]. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
5. [http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=9&c=14&yr=2011 Football Recruiting 2011]. [[Scout.com]]. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
6. [http://gofrogs.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/tcu-m-footbl-sched.html 2011–2012 SCHEDULE]. Texas Christian University Horned Frogs. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
7. (October 28, 2011). "BYU Cougars vs. TCU Horned Frogs Box Score". ESPN.com.
8. (November 5, 2011). "TCU Horned Frogs vs. Wyoming Cowboys Box Score". ESPN.com.
9. [https://web.archive.org/web/20111007050320/http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=312450239 Baylor blows 24-point lead but recovers to edge No. 14 TCU]. [[ESPN]]. September 2, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
10. [https://web.archive.org/web/20111003172230/http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=312742628 SMU halts No. 20 TCU's 22-game home winning streak in OT]. [[ESPN]]. October 1, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
11. [https://web.archive.org/web/20111205115109/http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=313372628 Mountain West champ TCU eyes possible BCS bowl after routing UNLV]. [[ESPN]]. December 3, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
12. [https://web.archive.org/web/20111115225109/http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=313160068 TCU mars Boise State's perfect record after Broncos miss late field goal]. [[ESPN]]. November 12, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
13. Adelson, Andrea. [https://www.espn.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/54772/final-southern-miss-49-houston-28 Final: Southern Miss 49, Houston 28]. [[ESPN]]. December 3, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
14. Caplan, Jeff. [https://www.espn.com/dallas/ncf/story/_/id/7320940/no-bcs-year-to-feel-blue-tcu-horned-frogs Nothing to feel blue about for TCU]. [[ESPN]]. December 6, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
15. {{usurped
16. (November 26, 2011). "Louisiana Tech to Play in SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl". Poinsettia Bowl (poinsettiabowl.com).
17. Gemmell, Kevin. [https://www.espn.com/blog/dallas/colleges/post/_/id/4675828/instant-analysis-tcu-31-la-tech-24 Instant analysis: TCU 31, La. Tech 24]. [[ESPN]]. December 21, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2011.