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GAME NOTES: The 15th-ranked TCU Horned Frogs took cake of business in their opener and they will now try to begin their home slate successfully, as they host the Texas State Bobcats in Fort Worth this weekend.

The Frogs picked up right where they left off from a season ago, scoring a 30-14 victory over Virginia this past weekend. It marked the seventh straight season opening win for TCU, its longest stretch since a school record 17 in a row from 1920-36.

"Crazy things can happen in first games, and this was our first game," said head coach Gary Patterson. "We didn't want to beat ourselves. Going on the road and beating an ACC team is a tough thing to do. We feel fortunate to go home with a victory."

The Frogs are now set to open their home schedule and they have fared well in Fort Worth, winning 50 of their last 56 games at Amon G. Carter Stadium, including eight in a row dating back to 2007.

As for Texas State, it had the week off following a 48-28 triumph over Angelo State in its season opener on September 5th.

"The most important stat of the game is that we won," said Texas State head coach Brad Wright. "I saw a lot of mistakes that can and will be fixed. We have lots of things to learn from when we look at film. We're 1-0, that's the bottom line."

The Bobcats are coming off an 8-5 showing in 2008 and they are one of the better teams at the FCS level.

This weekend's game marks the first-ever meeting between Texas State and TCU and on the gridiron.

In their opening win against Angelo State, Texas State rolled up 463 yards of total offense and received a kickoff return for a touchdown by Daren Dillard on an onside kick. Quarterback Bradley George led the way for the Bobcats, completing 18-of-27 tosses for 328 yards, with three touchdowns and two picks.

"I made a few mistakes tonight," said George, who moved up to second on the school's all-time career passing list. "It's our first game. It's the third year of our offense, but we'll watch film tomorrow and we have a lot of work to do."

Da'Marcus Griggs was his main target with five receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown. George did a nice job of spreading out the ball, as 10 Bobcat players caught a pass.

Texas State however, rushed for only 135 yards on 39 carries and it will need to do a better job this weekend to keep TCU's talented defense off balance.

Defensively, the Bobcats weren't that great in their opener, as the unit gave up 374 total yards, including 281 via the pass, to Angelo State. Still, for this defense, that effort wasn't that bad considering the unit allowed 443.1 total ypg in 2008. Texas State did record a pair of takeaways and held Angelo State to just a 3-of-13 effort on third downs, but failed to come up with a single sack.

Bryan Iwuji led the defense with 5.5 tackles, while Will Thompson had a fumble recovery and the team's lone interception.

The Frogs were able to move the ball enough in their opener last weekend, as they rushed for 203 yards and threw for 177 more in a win over Virginia. Quarterback Andy Dalton was efficient in the win and he completed 15-of-21 tosses for 177 yards and a touchdown.

"Offense, we were up and down, sometimes we'd come in and there were a few three and outs that you never want on offense, but you know, that's part of the game," said Dalton. "I really think we came in and bounced back and had some good plays."

Jimmy Young hauled in two of Dalton's passes for 60 yards and a score, while Joseph Turner paced the ground game with 66 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Young led the team in receiving last year and Turner was the club's top rusher, so these guys picked up right where they left off.

TCU's defense made the biggest difference last weekend and the unit held Virginia without a point until the final four-plus minutes of the game. Expected to be one of the premier defenses in 2009, the Frogs limited Virginia to just seven first downs and only 177 total yards. The defense, which led the nation against the run last season, held Virginia to only 57 yards on the ground. TCU also brought the pressure all game long and finished with eight sacks.

"We came in with a gameplan and we executed it," said linebacker Daryl Washington. "I give a lot of credit to d-line"

Jerry Hughes paced the defense with a career-high 11 stops and 1.5 sacks and that kind of performance in nothing new from the All-American end, who led the nation with 15 sacks in 2008.

The Frogs are simply the more talented team here and they should have no trouble moving the ball on offense and dominating on defense en route to a lopsided victory.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: TCU 49, Texas State 0