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TCU Horned Frogs defeated by Boise State Broncos 31-34
Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2003
Preview | Boxscore

FORT WORTH, Texas (Ticker) -- Ryan Dinwiddie went out a winner.

The NCAA's all-time leader in passing efficiency, Dinwiddie threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns as 16th-ranked Boise State rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat No. 19 Texas Christian, 34-31, in the inaugural Fort Worth Bowl.

"This has been the best five years of my life and I wouldn't trade them for anything," said Dinwiddie, who passed for 9,809 yards in his career with 82 TDs and just 20 interceptions. "I've played with a lot of great guys and I'm going to miss them."

Boise State (13-1) rallied from a 21-7 first-half deficit to win a bowl game on the road for the first time in school history.

The winning score was set up when rover Chris Carr recovered Lonta Hobbs' fumble at the Horned Frogs' 29 early in the fourth quarter. Dinwiddie gave the Broncos a 34-31 lead with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Derek Schouman 2:17 into the final period.

"I will definitely be voting our team in the top 10," Boise State coach Don Hawkins said. "When you go 13-1, I don't care who you play, that's a pretty good season."

Playing at home after challenging for a BCS bid most of the season, the Horned Frogs (11-2) had a chance to tie, converting two fouth downs on their final drive, including a 28-yard completion to Reggie Harrell.

But with regular kicker Nick Browne hampered by a strained quadriceps muscle, Mike Wynn's 51-yard field goal attempt with seven seconds left was well short. Wynn handles TCU's kickoff chores.

The loss snapped TCU's school-record 13-game home winning streak.

"It was still hurting, but I wanted to play since this was my last game," Browne said. "I told my coach that 45 yards was probably as far as I was going to be able to kick tonight, so 50 yards was a little out of my range."

The teams combined for more than 600 yards in the first half while battling to a 24-24 tie. But Boise State blanked TCU after the Horned Frogs grabbed a 31-27 lead on Hobbs' seven-yard scamper 5 1/2 minutes into the third quarter.

"We've done a great job of competing all year and this was just a heck of a ballgame," TCU coach Gary Patterson said. "These are both top-20 football teams."

Boise State burned TCU with its quick-strike offense, needing less than four minutes combined on its four touchdown drives. In the first half, Dinwiddie threw TD passes of 27 yards to T.J. Acree and 54 yards to Jeff Carpenter.

But it was Boise State's defense that turned around the game in the second half, getting more pressure on Brandon Hassell. He completed 13-of-26 passes for 160 yards with a TD and interception and rushed for 117 yards and a score on 23 carries.

Hassell was not as sharp in the second half. After taking the 31-27 lead, the Horned Frogs picked up just one first down on their next five possessions, turning over the ball twice.

"To come down here and beat TCU on their own home field says a lot about our team," Dinwiddie said.



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