October 17, 2009

Associated Press

FORT WORTH, Texas(AP) Jeremy Kerley tiptoed the sideline, then came to a near stop before finding an open lane to the end zone for his second punt return for a touchdown in three games and No. 12 TCU remained undefeated with a 44-6 victory over Colorado State on Saturday.

Kerley's electrifying 69-yard return just before halftime made it 17-6, and came less than 2 1/2 minutes after TCU (6-0, 2-0 Mountain West) had finally taken the lead on Joseph Turner's 2-yard touchdown run.

The BCS buster hopeful Horned Frogs carried the momentum into the second half, scoring touchdowns on their first four drives after halftime. Andy Dalton threw two touchdown passes, ran twice for 28 yards to set up Antoine Hicks' 3-yard TD run, and Luke Shivers scored on a 4-yard run.

Colorado State (3-4, 0-3) lost its fourth straight game. The previous three were to No. 18 BYU, No. 24 Utah and Idaho - a trio that entered Saturday with a combined 14-3 record.

Boise State is the only non-BCS team ranked higher in the polls than the Frogs, whose convincing victory came three days after the fifth-ranked Broncos held on to win 28-21 at Tulsa and before TCU plays at BYU next weekend. The first Bowl Championship Series rankings of the season come out Sunday.

The Horned Frogs have won eight consecutive games overall, and 11 in a row at home.

TCU had gone 89 games without returning a punt for a score - since the 2002 season opener - until Kerley's 71-yarder just before halftime two weeks ago against SMU put the Frogs ahead to stay in their last home game.

This time, Kerley fielded the punt and sprinted down the right sideline in front of the TCU bench. He was almost pushed out of bounds near the 25, but kept his balance and then avoided another defender before suddenly putting on the brakes near the 15. He backtracked a couple of steps, then curled back to an open gap for a final sprint to the end zone.

Colorado State had punted after being pushed back by Jerry Hughes' seventh sack of the season. Hughes, the national leader with 15 last season, added his eighth after halftime.

Dalton finished 15-of-23 passing for 211 yards for his 23rd career victory. Sammy Baugh (29 victories from 1934-36) is the only TCU quarterback who has won more, and the junior Dalton still has 1 1/2 seasons left.

Curtis Clay was wide open over the middle when he caught a 47-yard TD pass from Dalton on the opening drive of the second half. Dalton then dumped a short pass to Ed Wesley, who broke three tackles and turned that into a 39-yard touchdown.

The Rams went ahead 6-0 when Ben DeLine kicked field goals (31 and 47 yards) on their first two drives.

Leonard Mason had five consecutive carries for 37 yards to set up the first Colorado State field goal, then gained 5 yards on the first play of the next drive. But he sustained a rib injury on that play and never returned.

TCU didn't get a first down until the final play of the first quarter, part of a drive when the Frogs needed 11 plays to gain 26 yards before Ross Evans kicked a 36-yard field goal to make it 6-3. The Frogs had first-and-goal from the 9 before a holding penalty.