TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson dives into the end zone, dragging Rice's John White with him.(AP)

LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 200 yards and two touchdowns and TCU held Rice to just 186 total yards with its second shutout in four games as the Horned Frogs beat the Owls 37-0 on Saturday for their 12th consecutive victory.

TCU (7-0, 4-0 WAC) began play just as top-ranked Nebraska's 13-game winning streak was ending in a 31-14 loss at No. 3 Oklahoma.

"I don't think anybody could have dreamed this one up, 2½ years in having the longest winning streak in the nation, 7-0 for the first time since 1938 and all of those things," said third-year TCU coach Dennis Franchione. "As visionary as I try to be, I could never have perceived this in 2½ years."

Consider that when Franchione took over at TCU in December 1997, the Horned Frogs were coming off a 1-10 record that included a 10-game losing streak. This is their third consecutive winning season after just three such seasons the previous 13 years.

Rice (2-5, 1-4) was the last team to beat TCU, a 42-21 victory over the Frogs on Oct. 23, 1999. The Owls had won four in a row in the series.

"It was real sweet today. Three tries the three years I've been here, but for some reason I knew we were going to get it done this time," said Tomlinson, who hadn't scored against Rice before. "I've been waiting on this game for a long time."

Tomlinson, the nation's leading rusher with 1,293 yards (184.7 ypg), finished with 41 carries and had at least 200 yards for the third time this season. He has nine consecutive games with more than 100 yards rushing, and all of his 47 career TDs (14 this season) have come on the ground.

The Horned Frogs began the game with a 16-play scoring drive, their longest of the season in number of plays. Tomlinson's 4-yard TD run with 9:04 left in the game ended a 94-yard drive that was TCU's longest yardage-wise.

In between, Chris Kaylakie kicked three field goals for TCU -- two in the final five minutes of the second half to give the Horned Frogs a 20-0 lead.

"I know they are a good football team. They've gained an awful lot of confidence since last year," said Rice coach Ken Hatfield.

Rice only had 34 yards at halftime. The Owls went 61 and 78 yards on their only third-quarter possessions, giving the ball up on downs both times, at the TCU 20 and 6.

TCU scored on its opening possession of the game for the 17th time in 22 games, a drive kept alive when Rice was penalized for roughing the punter for a hit that left Frogs punter Joey Biasatti with a broken right leg.

Biasatti had just kicked the ball when linebacker Jeff Vanover made contact. The fibula and tibia bones in the punter's kicking leg both broke when he fell awkwardly to the ground.

"It was probably as big of a play as there was in the game," Hatfield said. "It was an unintentional thing that happened."

Instead of giving the ball away after four plays, the Frogs got 12 more after the 15-yard penalty. George Layne scored on a 1-yard run.

Tomlinson's 3-yard TD in the second quarter gave TCU a 14-0 lead, and ended a nine-play drive on which he ran seven times for 27 yards. Casey Printers threw passes of 35 and 15 yards to Tim Maiden the other two plays.

Printers threw a 33-yard TD to LaTarence Dunbar with just 1:20 left in the game.

When Rice reached the TCU 1 late in the third quarter, Jaime Tyler was stuffed for no gain on two plays before an option play on fourth-and-goal on the first play of the fourth quarter lost five yards. Eleven plays later, Tomlinson scored for the second time to make it 30-0.

"It feels good to get the monkey off our backs," TCU linebacker Shannon Brazzell said. "We just tried to stay calm. When they got to the 1, I said all it takes is one play. When we made that play, I said just one more."

Kaylakie's first two field goals came after TCU recovered fumbles by Rice freshman quarterback Jeremy Hurd inside the 20 in the second quarter. The field goals were from 24 and 22 yards, the second coming with just four seconds left in the half.

Kaylakie added a 34-yard field goal in the third quarter. That came 12 plays after Hurd's pass on fourth-and-5 from the TCU 19 was incomplete.

This was the last scheduled meeting between the instate rivals, who had played every year since 1923. TCU, moving from the WAC to Conference USA next season, leads the series 41-35-3.

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