Quarterbacks
TCU: Sophomore Andy Dalton has thrown just one interception so far this season but still has no touchdown passes. Dalton is, however, completing 71.1 percent of his passes and has rushed for 72 yards and three touchdowns on 20 attempts, showing better game management skills.
Stanford: Senior Tavita Pritchard has thrown two interceptions compared to just one touchdown and doesn’t run as much or as effectively as Dalton, with 32 yards on nine attempts and no scores. Pritchard completed just 12 of 27 passes for 171 yards, while Dalton was 23-34 with 344 yards and two scoring strikes.
Advantage: TCU
Runningbacks
TCU: The Frogs have had 10 different players rush the ball so far this season for a total of 491 yards and 10 touchdowns. While junior Ryan Christian has the most yards (107) and rushes (22), junior Joseph Turner has four touchdowns on just 17 rushes.
Stanford: Junior Toby Gerhart is averaging 107 yards per game this season and has all four of the Cardinal’s rushing touchdowns. Gerhart is averaging 6.1 yard per rushing attempt, ranking him No. 21 in the nation, No. 8 among juniors.
Advantage: Stanford
Wide Receivers
TCU: Sophomore Jimmy Young is leading all Frogs in wide outs with 11 catches and 148 yards. The other 10 Horned Frogs with catches are combined for 22 grabs and 177 yards. Redshirt freshman Jonathan Jones has the only receiving touchdown for TCU so far.
Stanford: Junior wide receiver Richard Sherman is one of three Stanford wide outs with four catches, but he leads the team with 68 yards. He doesn’t have a touchdown, however. Senior running back Anthony Kimble has the lone touchdown catch for the Cardinal.
Advantage: TCU
Offensive Line
TCU: The front five for the Frogs have done a good job of keeping Dalton and Marcus Jackson on their feet this season, allowing just three sacks for 24 yards lost. Senior center Blake Schlueter was part of the offensive line that allowed just two sacks against Stanford last season.
Stanford: The Cardinal’s offensive line has allowed four sacks this season for a total of 20 yards lost. Senior center Alex Fletcher was second team all-Pac 10 last season after moving from right guard to center because of injuries.
Advantage: TCU
Defensive Line
TCU: The Frogs’ defensive line has done a solid job penetrating the opponents’ offensive line and getting to the quarterback, achieving eight sacks for 39 yards lost. Junior defensive end Jerry Hughes leads the team with two sacks for 11 yards lost and is tied for 16th in the nation in that category.
Stanford: The Cardinal has reached the opposing quarterback just four times this season for a loss of 20 yards, however only one of those sacks has come from the defensive front.
Advantage: TCU
Linebackers
TCU: The trio of senior Robert Henson, senior Jason Phillips and junior Daryl Washington have a combined 29 tackles and 1.5 sacks in two games. Phillips sat out the majority of the game against Stephen F. Austin because of an injury, but he should be ready to play against Stanford.
Stanford: Seniors Pat Maynor and Clinton Snyder anchor the linebackers for Stanford. Maynor, Snyder and sophomore Chike Amajoyi have combined for 27 tackles, but Maynor leads the team with two sacks.
Advantage: TCU
Defensive Backs
TCU: Junior cornerback Nick Sanders has eight tackles, all solo, and four pass breakups to lead the secondary in both categories. Senior safety Steven Coleman leads the team with two interceptions and has 59 return yards on the two snags.
Stanford: Senior cornerback Kris Evans and senior safety Bo McNally have all three interceptions. Evans has two for the Cardinal. Evans also leads the team in tackles with 19, 17 of them solo.
Advantage: Stanford
Special Teams
TCU: Freshman Ross Evans has made three of his four field goal attempts and has connected on 10 of his 11 extra point attempts so far this season. Sophomore Jeremy Kerley has returned six punts for a total of 131 yards. Kerley has averaged 21.8 yards per return.
Stanford: Senior kicker Aaron Zagory is also 3-4 on field goals, but is a perfect 6-6 on extra points. Sophomore Jeremy Stewart is ranked 18th in the nation for average yards per kick-off return with 30. As a team, the Cardinal has a total of two punt returns for (-1) yards.
Advantage: TCU
Coaching
TCU: Head coach Gary Patterson’s team is 2-0 after a 67-7 victory over Stephen F. Austin. The Frogs have allowed just 10 points so far this season but has committed 19 penalties, tied for fourth most in the nation, for 214 yards, the second most in the nation.
Stanford: Head coach Jim Harbaugh is in his second year of coach the Stanford Cardinal. His team is 1-1 after facing two conference opponents, the Oregon State Beavers and the now-No.15 Arizona State Sun Devils. The Cardinal beat the Beavers 36-28 at home but lost to the Sun Devils 41-17 on the road.
Advantage: TCU
