College Career
Andy Dalton committed to Texas Christian University. He was redshirted his freshman year, but he traveled with the team to every road game and was listed as the Horned Frogs' third-string quarterback behind senior Jeff Ballard and redshirt freshman Marcus Jackson.
Entering the 2007 season, Dalton was in competition with Jackson to be the starting quarterback. Two weeks before the season opener against Baylor, TCU head coach Gary Patterson named Dalton the starter. Dalton was named the 2007 Texas Bowl MVP in TCU's 20-13 victory over Houston. After going 8-5 as a freshman, he accumulated a record of 34-3 as a starter for the rest of his career at TCU.
In the 2008 season, Dalton led TCU to an 11-2 record, finishing in second place in the Mountain West Conference and seventh in the national AP Poll. He was named the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl MVP in the Horned Frogs' 17-16 win over Boise State.
In the 2009 season, Dalton led the Horned Frogs to a perfect 12-0 regular season, a Mountain West Conference Championship, a #6 ranking in the AP Poll, and a BCS berth. The Horned Frogs lost 17-10 in the Fiesta Bowl to Boise State.
On September 4, 2010, Andy Dalton recorded his thirtieth victory as the Horned Frogs starting quarterback, passing Sammy Baugh as TCU's all-time wins leader. Against Baylor, Dalton completed 21 of 23 pass attempts (a career-best 91.3%) for 267 yards and two touchdowns. His team won a second consecutive Mountain West Conference Championship. On January 1, 2011, Dalton, who completed 194 of 293 passes for 2638 yards for 26 touchdowns during his senior season, led his team to a 21-19 victory in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. His TCU football team finished the season with a perfect 13-0 record and #2 ranking in the AP Poll, just one of two teams with a perfect record along with Auburn.
Dalton holds school career records for wins (42), touchdown passes (71), passing yards (10,314), pass attempts (1,317), completions (812), and completion percentage (61.6). He also holds single-season records for touchdown passes (27), set in the 2010 season; and attempts (371), set in the 2007 season. He also holds the single game record for highest completion percentage, 91.3 percent, which was set against Baylor in 2010. Dalton is also the MWC career leader in total offense (11,925 yards) and plays from scrimmage (1,730).
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