East Carolina opened the scoring with a 58-yard touchdown pass from quarterback David Garrard to wide receiver Arnie Powell. TCU running back LaDainian Tomlinson scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7 after one quarter. Casey Printers threw a 21-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, and the Horned Frogs took a 14–7 lead. Tomlinson, who had 124 yards rushing in the game, scored on a 3-yard touchdown run before halftime, to give TCU a 21-7 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Jamie Wilson scored on a 13-yard touchdown run to bring East Carolina within a touchdown. Russell Gary scored on an interception return to give TCU a 28–14 lead. TCU, which alternated between the quarterbacks Casey and Patrick Batteaux, made it impossible for the Pirates to adjust to the variance of play styles between the drop back passer Printers and the option running Batteaux. The Frogs defense shut down the Pirates' running game, holding them to minus-16 yards. TCU held on to that lead to win the game by that margin.[1]
