Friday, October 29, 1999
Like Jones,
Franchione has
worked wonders
But TCU's remarkable football
By Paul Arnett
turnaround last season
has faltered in '99
Star-BulletinDennis Franchione and June Jones are finders of lost football programs.
A season ago, Franchione stepped into a 1-10 pile of trouble left behind by Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan and quickly convinced the Texas Christian Horned Frogs that they were worthy.
So much so, the Frogs were able to do the improbable. Not only did they have a winning season at 7-5, they capped it all off with a stunning victory over Southern California at the Sun Bowl.
Along comes Jones this season to inherit an equally inept team that gave an 0-12 performance under the direction of former head coach Fred vonAppen. And while not all the precincts are in, Hawaii stands on the threshold of an equally impressive turnaround entering tomorrow night's important game at Aloha Stadium.
"I wasn't sure what June had because I hadn't seen the Rainbows on film,'' Franchione said. "Naturally, I expected he had a bad team, but after watching film of their loss against Rice, June definitely has some talent.
"Those two tackles up front on offense are NFL-caliber guys,'' Franchione said of UH linemen Adrian Klemm and Kaulana Noa. "When you realize June has 18 of of the 22 starters from a year ago and has put together a record like this, well, it's impressive.''
UH VS. TCU
When: 6:05 p.m. tomorrow
Unfortunately for Franchione, TCU hasn't been as impressive as the pundits predicted. Not that Franchione didn't enjoy the attention he received. But the veteran coach cautioned that Rice University and Fresno State were equally worthy of consideration, two teams that tripped up the Frogs in previous Western Athletic Conference games.
He also wondered how his team would live with winning. It's one thing to win as an underdog. Quite another to be the team with the target on its back.
"Last year, we were a 6-5 ballclub that got into a bowl game and had a major upset,'' Franchione said. "A lot of people's expectations went very high and certainly our football team has had high expectations. We've had a difficult schedule in some ways.
"Things have fallen in a tough way, making it a unique year. But our kids have played hard every week, prepared well every week and believe well every week. And quite frankly, our season hangs in the balance. We can still have a very good year.''
For that to happen, the Frogs need to win the remainder of their games to finish 7-4 for the season and 5-2 in league play. Granted, winning the WAC is unlikely. But going to the Mobile Bowl to face a second choice from Conference USA could still happen.
"I'm sure they're looking at this game as do or die,'' Jones said. "They're going to come in here with their backs against the wall, ready to play. And we'd better be able to match that level of intensity because this is a physically gifted football team.''
No argument there. Starting with talented tailback LaDainian Tomlinson, shifting to defensive end Aaron Schobel and winding up with all-everything punter Royce Huffman, TCU can beat you a lot of different ways.
First, the Horned Frogs' playbook is like a Sam Choy recipe: It has a little bit of this and a dash of that, and the result is a tasty delight. Tomlinson leads the nation in rushing, averaging 170.4 yards a game.
He has all the right moves for Franchione's speed option that the head coach will use at any time on the field out of every formation. Tomlinson not only has 1,193 yards, but 10 rushing touchdowns as well, three more than all of UH's ball carriers combined.
If you try to bottleneck the rush lanes with eight men in the box, the Frogs will back out of the option and employ an effective passing game. Freshman quarterback Casey Printers will start, but could give way to Patrick Batteaux if Franchione deems it necessary.
Printers has thrown for 766 yards and four touchdowns in six games. His favorite targets are wideouts Mike Scarborough and LaTarence Dunbar. They have combined to catch 38 passes for 516 yards and six touchdowns.
"We're not a one-dimensional team where I carry the football all the time,'' Tomlinson explained. "We do a lot of things that help open up the running game for me. We run multiple plays out of multiple sets.''
You don't have to tell that to UH coordinator Greg McMackin or anyone on the defensive team. They've spent the week watching film of a TCU offensive unit that is second in the league in scoring, averaging 28.6 points a game.
"This will be a very good test for our guys,'' said McMackin. "I'm sure they're coming in here ready to play. But so are we.''
Middle linebacker Jeff Ulbrich will be a key for the Rainbows on defense. He has to keep his eye trained on Tomlinson and know where he is at all times. By the same token, senior quarterback Dan Robinson has to offset the tough TCU pass rush that Schobel makes happen with quick looks against a solid secondary.
TCU is first in the league in sacks with 26. The Horned Frogs are also first in total defense (309.6 yards a game) and second in scoring defense (22.6 points points). Throw in the fact that Huffman averages 41.2 yards a punt and also averages eight yards a punt return, and it's easy to see why Jones picked TCU to win it all last summer.
"This is still one of the most physically gifted teams we've faced,'' Jones said. "They have a lot of team speed on both sides of the football. We need to come ready to play or it could be a long night.''
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