Dalton, Watts lead TCU to 20-13 win over Houston in Texas Bowl
Andy Dalton's performance was good enough to earn MVP honors in the Texas Bowl.
However, he didn't avoid the ire of TCU coach Gary Patterson.
Dalton ran for a touchdown and Justin Watts had the go-ahead score to help TCU to a 20-13 win over Houston on Friday night.
"He was the MVP, but I was mad at him," Patterson said. "One time it was third and I assumed he would run and he didn't. But he is a freshman and we had some mistakes in this game."
It is TCU's third bowl victory in three years, the first time since 1936-39 the Horned Frogs have achieved the feat. They started their bowl winning streak with a win over Iowa State in this bowl in 2005 when it was known as the Houston Bowl.
Dalton was 21-of-30 for 249 yards with one interception. Watts and Christian combined for 88 yards rushing on 12 carries.
Patterson eased up on his quarterback later and said he is looking forward to having Dalton and sophomore backup Marcus Jackson for the next couple of seasons.
"Tremendous job tonight by Andy Dalton," Patterson said. "I am really excited about him and Marcus. To know that they will be here for the next three years. Now, we have two guys we can recruit around."
Dalton, who grew up in nearby Katy, was ecstatic to finish the season with a big game so close to home.
"Playing in front of family and friends, it's just a great opportunity for me and it's exciting to get this award," he said.
Watts wove through the defense and danced into the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown run that made it 17-10 and gave TCU (8-5) its first lead of the game against its old Southwest Conference rival.
It was the second touchdown of the junior's career.
"I was pretty excited considering I hadn't scored since the first game of the season," a beaming Watts said. "It feels good to score a touchdown, it's like hitting a home run."
He and Ryan Christian split carries against Houston (8-5) after starter Joseph Turner injured his knee in the first quarter and didn't return.
A 15-yard leaping reception by Jimmy Young on third down kept the drive that ended in Watts' touchdown going. Young outjumped Carson Blackmon to grab the ball and managed to keep his left leg in bounds as he landed.
It was initially ruled an incomplete pass, but the call was overturned after a review by officials.
The Cougars had a chance to tie it with less than 30 seconds to play but Case Keenum's pass sailed just beyond the fingertips of Jeron Harvey in the end zone. He had two more shots at the end zone, but the ball fell short on the first one and Chase Ortiz hit him as he threw the second one to end the game.
Keenum was hurried and harassed by TCU most of the night and was sacked five times. He was 23-of-38 for 335 yards. Donnie Avery had 10 receptions for 120 yards.
Playing without coach Art Briles, who left in late November to coach at Baylor, the Cougars extended their bowl losing streak to eight games. Their last bowl win came in the 1980 Garden State Bowl.
Interim coach Chris Thurmond led a Houston team that often looked confused and shaky against TCU.
"What these kids have done in the last 30 days in unbelievable," Thurmond said. "They have lost their leadership, they had to adjust to new leadership but they never missed a beat. ... There was a couple of things that could have got easy for them to get frustrated during the game but they didn't, they just kept playing.
"So please when you write the story of this game, the story is the effort and the heart of these guys because what they have been through in the last 30 days was tough," he said.
Houston running back Anthony Alridge said it was difficult to play this game without Briles.
"Not seeing your own head coach on the sideline was probably more intimidating than anything else," Alridge said. "You're used to seeing a face that calls all the plays but it was something different this time."
The Horned Frogs got to the Houston 2 later in the fourth quarter, but had to settle for a 35-yard field goal after a holding penalty followed by a 6-yard loss by Christian on third down.
Houston made it 20-13 with a 32-yard field goal by T.J. Lawrence with 1:57 remaining.
TCU's Chris Manfredini hit a 29-yard field goal with 6:30 remaining in the third quarter to tie the game at 10-all.
The Horned Frogs shut down Alridge, who entered the game with 1,568 yards rushing for the season and managed just 28 yards on 15 carries Friday.
A 39-yard field goal by T.J. Lawrence 10 seconds before halftime put Houston ahead 10-7.
TCU's Dalton capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter that tied the game at 7-all.
Dalton broke TCU's single-season record for completions with 208 when he found Shae Reagan for a 9-yard reception later in the second quarter. The previous mark of 207 was set by Max Knake in 1993.
Andre Kohn's 67-yard catch and run near the end of the first quarter put Houston ahead 7-0. Keenum had to scramble away from Ortiz to get the ball off, giving Kohn time to get down the field and ahead of the defense.
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