FORT WORTH, Texas — Andy Dalton matched a career high with four touchdown passes, two to Antoine Hicks in a 12-second span, as fourth-ranked TCU wrapped up its first undefeated regular season in 71 years with a 51-10 victory over New Mexico on Saturday.

That should finally make the Horned Frogs (12-0, 8-0 Mountain West) a BCS buster, though they will have to wait another week to find out for sure whether they will go to one of the big-money games. Representatives from the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls were in attendance.

Dalton threw three of his TDs over 2½ minutes early in the second quarter. He also ran for a score.

TCU went up 30-0 after Hicks made a 20-yard TD catch, which came immediately after New Mexico (1-11, 1-7) fumbled the kickoff following his 62-yard score when Dalton hit him in stride near the 30.

After some near-misses in the past, including a 10-0 start in 2003 and a one-loss season two years after that, TCU is higher in the Bowl Championship Series standings than any team from a conference without an automatic bid has ever been this late in the season. The Frogs are fourth behind Florida, Alabama and Texas.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, fans chanted "B-C-S! B-C-S!" They then stormed the field to celebrate, creating a sea of purple around a riser in the middle of the field where a celebratory cooler shower-drenched coach Gary Patterson was presented the Mountain West Conference championship trophy.

By clinching the outright Mountain West title, TCU has only the two upper boxes of its pyramid of goals still not colored in purple. The Frogs seem certain to get the opportunity to go to a BCS bowl, though the teams ahead of them will have to slip up for a chance at their loftiest goal: No. 1, national champions. Florida and Alabama do have to play each other in the SEC championship game next week, and Texas meets Nebraska in the Big 12 title game.

TCU has a 14-game winning streak, matching the school record set by the 1938 team led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Davey O'Brien that went 11-0 and clinched the team's only AP national championship. The school also claims a national title in 1935, the only other time the Frogs won 12 games.

Dalton, a junior and third-year starter, was 15 of 24 for 228 yards while earning his 29th career victory, matching the school record set by "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh (1934-36). Dalton pushed his career TD passing total to 43, three more than Baugh and six shy of Max Knake's school record.

After scoring on an 8-yard keeper late in the first quarter, Dalton threw TD passes on the next three possessions.

Bart Johnson had a 17-yard touchdown catch before New Mexico went three-and-out and Hicks scored on consecutive passes. Johnson caught a 24-yard TD on the first play of the fourth quarter before the Frogs returned two interceptions for TDs in 2:20 — Daryl Washington returning one 20 yards and Rafael Priest going 47 yards.

Hicks, who finished with five catches for 123 yards, has scored 10 touchdowns on 26 touches this season (six TDs on 19 catches and four TDs on seven rushing attempts).

More than six-touchdown favorites, the Frogs got off to a sluggish start. They missed a field goal attempt on their initial drive and lost a fumble on the second.

TCU still took a 2-0 lead, getting a safety between those drives. Erik Cook snapped the ball over Lobos quarterback Donovan Porterie's head from the 29. In the scramble for the ball, receiver Victor James kicked it in the end zone before swatting it out of bounds.

New Mexico, which wrapped up its first season under coach Mike Locksley a week after getting its only victory, scored all of its points in a span of 72 seconds and finished with only 172 yards on 74 plays.

The Lobos had lost 18 yards on 22 plays before their touchdown drive, 79 yards over 13 plays, the last freshman Demond Dennis' 5-yard TD run with 5:43 left in the first half.

TCU fumbled the ensuing kickoff, though it took a replay to determine Jeremy Kerley lost the ball. New Mexico didn't get a first down before James Aho's 31-yard field goal.