Rose Bowl Time

The TCU Sports Network will present a one hour TCU Rose Bowl Special Thursday at 8 p.m. CST on WBAP AM 820 and 96.7 FM as well as GoFrogs.com.

Hosted by Brian Estridge and John Denton, the TCU Rose Bowl Special features Horned Frog head coach Gary Patterson.

Saturday's game coverage will begin at 1 p.m. CST with a TCU Countdown to Kickoff on 88.7 FM KTCU and GoFrogs.com. The two-hour show includes interviews with Horned Frog players and coaches.

The pre-game show will begin at 3 p.m. CST on WBAP and the TCU Sports Network. Kickoff is set for 4:10 p.m. CST. A one hour network-wide post-game show will follow.

Finals are over

Congratulations to all of the girls for finishing another semester and a week of finals.

A big congratulations to Kelsey "Wally" Walters. She becomes an alumni tomorrow when she walks across the stage at graduation in her purple gown. Welcome to the club of Horned Frogs for Life.

We hope everyone has a great holiday season and enjoys time with family and friends.

Freshman All-Americans

CU wide receiver Josh Boyce and defensive end Stansly Maponga have been named Freshman All-Americans by CollegeFootballNews.com.

Maponga is a second-team pick. A native of Carrollton, Texas, who has added 31 pounds since arriving at TCU, Maponga was a second-team All-Mountain West Conference selection.

Maponga has started 10 games and places second on the TCU defensive line with 29 tackles, including three for loss. He has 2 1/2 sacks. Maponga recorded a season-high five stops in victories over SMU and Air Force. He has at least one tackle for loss in four games.

Boyce, an honorable-mention Freshman All-American, has set a TCU rookie record with his team-high 602 receiving yards. His 33 receptions are second on the Horned Frogs and the most by a TCU freshman since Cory Rodgers' 37 in 2003.

A native of Copperas Cove, Texas, Boyce topped 100 yards in receiving twice. He recorded a season-best eight catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-3 win over BYU. The 127 yards were the most by a TCU freshman since Rodgers had 171 on six grabs at Houston in 2003. It was also the highest total by a Horned Frog since Jimmy Young's school-record 226 yards versus Wyoming in 2008.

Boyce also had three receptions for 126 yards and a pair of scores, including a 93-yard strike fromAndy Dalton, in a 47-7 victory at Utah.

Boyce has started six games and has at least one reception in 11 of 12 contests.

TCU home of All-Americans

CBSSports.com selected TCU safety Tejay Johnson to its first-team All-America team with linebacker Tank Carder and center Jake Kirkpatrick second-team picks.

Five Horned Frogs (Johnson, Carder, Kirkpatrick, defensive end Wayne Daniels and kickoff returner Jeremy Kerley) have received first-team All-America honors this season.

Johnson was one of three finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, presented to the nation's top defensive back. He was also a first-team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation and Rivals.com.

Johnson ranks third on TCU with 56 tackles. The senior from Garland, Texas, tops the Horned Frogs with three interceptions while tying for the team lead with three forced fumbles. He also has three pass breakups.

A junior from Sweeny, Texas, Carder is fourth on the Horned Frogs with 54 tackles, including 6 1/2 for loss. He has 2 1/2 sacks. Carder is tied for second on TCU with five pass breakups while adding an interception and fumble recovery.

Johnson and Carder are keys to a TCU defense that leads the nation in total defense (215.4 yards) for the third straight season. The Horned Frogs also rank first in scoring defense (11.4 points), pass defense (126.3 yards), fewest first downs allowed per game (11.3), opponent third-down percentage (21.9) and three-and-outs forced per game (6.4). TCU is third in run defense (89.2 yards).

Carder was also a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association.

Kirkpatrick, recipient of the 2010 Rimington Trophy as the nation's top center, was also a first-team Walter Camp All-American.

Kirkpatrick sets the blocking scheme on each play for the third-ranked, undefeated and Rose Bowl-bound Horned Frogs.

Kirkpatrick, a senior from Tyler, Texas, is the anchor of a TCU offensive line that paves the way for the Horned Frogs to rank fourth nationally in scoring offense (43.3 points per game), eighth in rushing (261.2 yards per game) and ninth in total offense (491.5 yards per game).

TCU has allowed just nine sacks this season, tied for the seventh-lowest total in the nation.

Congrats to Jake Kirkpatrick

TCU's Jake Kirkpatrick has been named the winner of the 2010 Rimington Trophy, presented to the nation's most outstanding center.

Also a first-team Walter Camp All-American and the only offensive player in the last two years to be a Rotary Lombardi Award finalist, Kirkpatrick was announced as the winner Thursday night at The Home Depot College Football Awards Show televised on ESPN from Lake Buena Vista, Fla. He becomes the first center from TCU to win the award.

Dave Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus two-time first-team All-America center at Nebraska (1981-82). He also became the Outland Trophy's only double winner as the nation's best college interior lineman.

"Jake has been an instrumental part of the offensive line for TCU this season, and a major reason they still are undefeated," Rimington said. "We are extremely proud to name him the winner of the 2010 Rimington Trophy.

"Congratulations to Jake and all the watch list candidates and finalists."

Kirkpatrick sets the blocking scheme on each play for the third-ranked and Rose Bowl-bound Horned Frogs.

A 6-foot-3, 305-pound senior from Tyler, Texas, Kirkpatrick is the anchor of a TCU offensive line that paves the way for the Horned Frogs to rank fourth nationally in scoring offense (43.3 points per game), eighth in rushing (261.2 yards per game) and ninth in total offense (491.5 yards per game). The Horned Frogs have allowed just nine sacks this season, tied for the seventh-lowest total in the nation.

Kirkpatrick, a 2009 Rimington Trophy finalist, never played football until his senior year at Robert E. Lee High School. He was previously a first-team all-state selection in basketball. He also lettered in baseball and tennis in high school.

The 2010 Rimington Trophy presentation banquet is Jan. 15 at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Neb.

Rose Bowl

No. 3 TCU has accepted an invitation to face No. 5 Wisconsin Jan. 1 in the 97th Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO.

The "Granddaddy of Them All®" will kick off from Pasadena, Calif., at 2:10 p.m. PST with the game televised by ESPN.

The third-ranked Horned Frogs (12-0), having posted their second consecutive undefeated regular season, will be making their first appearance in the Rose Bowl. It's the second straight year TCU has played in a BCS game.

TCU is tied for the nation's second-longest current winning streak at 12 in a row and is one of three undefeated teams this season.

It's the first time TCU has played in a bowl game with the two teams having a combined ranking this high since the 1938 Sugar Bowl, when the top-ranked Horned Frogs defeated No. 5 Carnegie Tech, 15-7, to win the national championship. TCU is 5-5-1 when playing a bowl game with both teams ranked.

The Horned Frogs and Badgers (11-1) will be meeting for the first time since a 14-14 tie at Wisconsin in the 1970 campaign.

TCU is facing a Big Ten opponent for the first time since a 48-45 double-overtime victory over Northwestern in the 2004 season opener. Combined with a 48-24 win at Northwestern in 2002, the Horned Frogs are 2-0 versus Big Ten opponents under head coach Gary Patterson.

Outside of four games with Northwestern since 1999, TCU has not faced a Big Ten opponent since a 9-7 loss at Minnesota in 1974.

TCU is 15-3 in its last 18 games versus teams from conferences with automatic BCS bids, including a 6-2 mark versus the Big 12 and a 4-0 record against the Pac-10.

The Rose Bowl will mark the 26th bowl appearance in TCU's history. The Horned Frogs are 11-13-1 in bowl games.

TCU is 7-4 in bowl games with head coach Gary Patterson on its coaching staff and 5-4 with him as head coach. Prior to Patterson's arrival on campus in 1998, the Horned Frogs had just four bowl wins in their history.

The Horned Frogs will be making their 12th bowl appearance in the last 13 seasons. TCU is one of just 14 schools to play in at least 12 bowl games over the last 13 years.

With its trip to the Rose Bowl, TCU will have played in all four current bowl games (Rose, Fiesta, Orange, Sugar) that are part of the BCS.

TCU goes to Big East

TCU women's soccer head coach Dan Abdalla took time to talk with GoFrogs.com about the Horned Frogs' transition into the Big East Conference and updates fans on the offseason progress at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.

Abdalla also discusses what fans should expect from Big East soccer coming to Fort Worth and the excitement for TCU assistant coach Kerri Hanks, who was a Big East Conference standout at Notre Dame.

Please click on the link above to view the video interview with Abdalla.

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