Horned Frogs

No. 6 Boise State uses a 30-yard pass on a fake punt from its 33-yard line to set up a tie-breaking fourth-quarter touchdown and lead the Broncos to a 17-10 victory over No. 3 Texas Christian in a battle of unbeaten teams that were denied a spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game. Article, PG 14

Clyde Smith III hit a free throw with 9.4 seconds left and Brandon Venturini's 3-pointer at the buzzer went in and out as Big 12 member TCU held off the Navy men's basketball team, 47-45, Tuesday night in Fort Worth. The loss drops Navy to 2-3 overall, while TCU improved to 4-1. Navy led most of the game, but went just 3-of-11 from the free-throw line for the contest and shot 28.6 percent from the field in the second half. "It's important for us to grow as a program and this was a game that we need to figure out how to win," said Navy coach Ed DeChellis.

TCU is leaving the Mountain West Conference to join the Big East, effective July 1, 2012. "This decision is great for TCU," athletic director Chris Del Conte said Monday. "This is a great time to be a Frog. Today, we're going to the Big East. " While TCU will become a Big East member in all sports, the move will be extremely beneficial to both the school and conference in football. •Alabama has fired an employee who played songs aimed at Auburn quarterback Cam Newton before the Iron Bowl, including "Take the Money and Run" and "Son of a Preacher Man. " •Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon said he refuses to let speculation about Rich Rodriguez's future change his timetable to evaluate him. Rodriguez helped the Wolverines qualify for a bowl for the first time in his three seasons.

The Bowl Championship Series formula continued to gurgle toward an LSU-Alabama rematch for the national title. Yippee? LSU and Alabama were Nos. 1 and 2 in Sunday's next-to-last BCS standings, with a growing sense LSU might not even have to win Saturday's SEC championship game against Georgia to advance to the BCS title game. Alabama is in the BCS clubhouse, drinking an Arnold Palmer. Tigers coach Les Miles assured everyone his team will try to win Saturday, which is nice to know.

Joseph Turner's 17-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter gave No. 11 Texas Christian its first lead of the night, which the Horned Frogs preserved for a 17-16 victory over No. 9 and previously undefeated Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego. Boise State (12-1) was trying to finish 13-0 for the second time in three seasons. The Broncos took a 10-0 lead on Ian Johnson's 20-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter, but their high-scoring offense bogged down against TCU's fast, aggressive defense.

Brigham Young@Texas Christian 8 p.m. [Versus] No. 9 BYU (6-0), seeking to stay in the running for the Bowl Championship Series, is after its 17th straight victory, the nation's longest winning streak. TCU (6-1) might want to rethink scheduling games on Thursdays. The Horned Frogs have lost five in a row on this day of the week. TCU leads the nation with 27 sacks, but the Cougars have allowed only two - which surely has helped BYU's Max Hall (right) complete 71 percent of his passes.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Andy Dalton threw for a touchdown and ran for two more, including the go-ahead score in the third quarter, as sixth-ranked TCU downed No.24 Oregon State 30-21 on Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium. Dalton went 17-for-27 with 175 yards and two interceptions and had 15 carries for 64 yards for the Horned Frogs, who went 12-0 in the regular season last year but lost to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Dalton threw three interceptions in that game after throwing only five in the regular season.

1 Worst to Series: With a victory tonight in Boston (8:07, TBS), the Rays (left) would reach the World Series. It was dropping the "Devil" that did it. 2 Prime-time ACC: Florida State travels to North Carolina State for Thursday Night Football (7:30, ESPN). Sure, why not capitalize it? 3 Hoppin' for the best: Brigham Young takes its bowl aspirations to Fort Worth to face Texas Christian (8 p.m., Versus). TCU is the Horned Frogs. We just love that name. 4 Step lively: In Billy Elliot (2:45 p.m.

The last time the U.S. Naval Academy beat a ranked football team, most of its current players had yet to reach kindergarten. That has not kept this year's Midshipmen from believing that anything is possible, as Navy faces 25th-ranked Texas Christian University tonight in Fort Worth, Texas. The players talk about shaking up the college football world. They imagine a perfect Navy performance, coupled with a subpar showing by the Horned Frogs, combining to produce the upset of the year, if not the century.

Boise State had the most impressive weekend among the four remaining undefeated teams but stayed stuck at No. 4 in the latest Bowl Championship Series standings released Sunday. The Broncos, however, might not be No. 4 for long. Oregon, despite a two-point victory at California, remained No. 1 with a BCS average of .9753. Auburn remained No. 2 at .9687, and TCU remained third at .8966. Boise State is fourth at .863 but cut TCU's points lead in half. The Horned Frogs overtook Boise State last week with an emphatic victory at undefeated Utah but lost ground this week with a closer-than-expected win over San Diego State, coupled with Utah's blowout loss at Notre Dame.

TCU is leaving the Mountain West Conference to join the Big East, effective July 1, 2012. "This decision is great for TCU," athletic director Chris Del Conte said Monday. "This is a great time to be a Frog. Today, we're going to the Big East. " While TCU will become a Big East member in all sports, the move will be extremely beneficial to both the school and conference in football. •Alabama has fired an employee who played songs aimed at Auburn quarterback Cam Newton before the Iron Bowl, including "Take the Money and Run" and "Son of a Preacher Man. " •Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon said he refuses to let speculation about Rich Rodriguez's future change his timetable to evaluate him. Rodriguez helped the Wolverines qualify for a bowl for the first time in his three seasons.

Bear, if you're up there, "Mama's calling" again. When you coached at Kentucky in the 1940s and quarterback George Blanda first caught glimpse of you, he said, "This must be what God looks like. " It's time to warble another hymn. This is about Alabama and Auburn. It's about Friday, the 75th Iron Bowl, football's top rivalry in years when the Michigan-Ohio State winner likely determines whether Wisconsin or Michigan State goes to the Rose Bowl. Bear, college football needs Alabama to beat Auburn.

Boise State had the most impressive weekend among the four remaining undefeated teams but stayed stuck at No. 4 in the latest Bowl Championship Series standings released Sunday. The Broncos, however, might not be No. 4 for long. Oregon, despite a two-point victory at California, remained No. 1 with a BCS average of .9753. Auburn remained No. 2 at .9687, and TCU remained third at .8966. Boise State is fourth at .863 but cut TCU's points lead in half. The Horned Frogs overtook Boise State last week with an emphatic victory at undefeated Utah but lost ground this week with a closer-than-expected win over San Diego State, coupled with Utah's blowout loss at Notre Dame.

The top four teams in Sunday's release of the Bowl Championship Series standings did not change, but that didn't mean things stayed the same. Oregon is No. 1 for a second straight week with an average of .9638, followed by Auburn at .9611, Texas Christian at .9259 and Boise State at .8662. These are the last four unbeaten teams in major college football. If Oregon and Auburn win out, they will play Jan. 10 for the BCS title in Glendale, Ariz. What changed was TCU expanding its points lead over Boise State for third place, which is important in the national title race if Oregon or Auburn loses a game.

Boise, Oregon, TCU Chris Dufresne Los Angeles Times The first BCS standings got two of them right, but No. 1 is not Oklahoma — at least not yet. The Sooners are getting overpaid for an impressive win over Florida State and a victory against a Texas team that lost at home to UCLA, which just lost 35-7 to Cal, which had just lost 42-0 to USC. The Harris poll got the right teams — Oregon, Boise State and Texas...

ARLINGTON, Texas — Andy Dalton threw for a touchdown and ran for two more, including the go-ahead score in the third quarter, as sixth-ranked TCU downed No.24 Oregon State 30-21 on Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium. Dalton went 17-for-27 with 175 yards and two interceptions and had 15 carries for 64 yards for the Horned Frogs, who went 12-0 in the regular season last year but lost to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Dalton threw three interceptions in that game after throwing only five in the regular season.

COLLEGE PARK - The post-game celebration consisted of a few fist pumps and handshakes, and several satisfactory smiles, all as a muted chant of "Final Four" was barely audible at Comcast Center. It was the type of reaction you might expect from a Maryland team that did not want to be in this situation two weeks ago, but now is just happy to be winning basketball games again. Thanks to a tough defensive effort in the second half and the persistence of junior forward Nik Caner-Medley, the Terrapins put away Texas Christian, 85-73, yesterday afternoon before 10,608, advancing to Madison Square Garden and the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament for the first time since 1972.

The fans who descended on Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium expecting to watch a lot of flash and flamboyance from 16th-ranked Texas Christian and Heisman Trophy candidate LaDainian Tomlinson had to be disappointed yesterday Instead of electricity, the Horned Frogs employed a work-manlike performance and handed Navy its fourth consecutive defeat, 24 - 0, with quarterback Casey Printers, fullback George Layne and a near-impenetrable defense sharing the...

No. 6 Boise State uses a 30-yard pass on a fake punt from its 33-yard line to set up a tie-breaking fourth-quarter touchdown and lead the Broncos to a 17-10 victory over No. 3 Texas Christian in a battle of unbeaten teams that were denied a spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game. Article, PG 14