INSIDE SLANT

As TCU creeps into the BCS title game discussion, coach Gary Patterson is again being asked to play the role of politician.

While he says he won’t campaign for his team, he is also quick to rattle off the high points on the Horned Frogs’ resume, one that has taken the likely Mountain West Conference champs to No. 4 in the BCS, AP and USA Today coaches’ rankings.

“Through the years, we’ve played Texas, Oklahoma,” Patterson said. “This year we went to Clemson, which is a hard place to play. I’ve never felt like it did you any good to talk up your team. You have to talk on the field, but we’ve been highly competitive and I think we’ll be there in years to come with whoever we play.”

Patterson, and most college football pundits, seem to understand that leapfrogging the three teams in front of TCU in the rankings is only going to happen if there are some shocking results in the next few weeks.

While the knock on non-BCS conference programs usually revolves around a weak strength of schedule, TCU hasn’t had that. The Horned Frogs have road wins at nationally-ranked BYU and Clemson—two tough places to play—plus a win at Virginia and last week’s dominating home win over nationally-ranked Utah.

Some are beginning to argue that the three teams ranked ahead of TCU—Florida, Alabama and Texas—don’t exactly have a much better resume than that of the Horned Frogs.

Meanwhile, Patterson continues to spout the common non-BCS battle cry of a team nobody wants to play.

“We haven’t backed down from anybody,” Patterson said. “We try to schedule home and homes and a lot of schools will say, ‘You can come to our place.’”

NOTES, QUOTES

• Sophomore LB Tank Carder’s nine-tackle performance against Utah that included a second-quarter interception returned 15 yards for a touchdown earned him Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors. He also had a tackle for loss and a pass break up, his ninth of the season, which tops the team and ranks second in the MWC.

Carder is also a former world champion in BMX racing.

• With the nation’s No. 4 ranked offense (467.6 yards per game) and No. 4 ranked defense (244.9 yards per game), TCU is the only team in the nation to be ranked in the top 15 of both categories.

• A win Saturday at Wyoming would guarantee the Horned Frogs at least a share of the MWC title.

Series History:   TCU leads Wyoming 3-2 (last meeting, 2008, 54-7 TCU).

Scouting The Offense:   The nation is starting to take notice that TCU is more than just a defensive team. QB Andy Dalton, despite throwing an uncharacteristic interception in last week’s win over Utah, is now hearing his name thrown out in conversations for MWC honors and some national honors, too. The three-headed running attack of Joseph Turner, Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker hasn’t been contained yet this year, and the unheralded offensive line deserves a lot of the credit, as well.

Scouting The Defense:   Utah scored 28 points on TCU last week, but folks in Fort Worth aren’t exactly worried. The Frogs defense, ranked No. 4 in the country in total defense, is still firing on all cylinders with great play from the defensive line (namely DE Jerry Hughes), linebackers (Daryl Washington and Tank Carder) and in the secondary (Rafael Priest, Alex Ibiloye and Tejay Johnson). With games at Wyoming and vs. New Mexico to end the season, the defense will only be able to pad its already gaudy stats.

Quote To Note:   “The biggest thing for us, we need to finish. There are two games left.”—TCU head coach Gary Patterson.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

This Week  ‘S GAME: TCU at Wyoming, Nov. 21—Gary Patterson says he won’t let his team overlook either of its last two opponents—this week at Wyoming and its regular season finale against winless New Mexico. “Every week somebody gets upset,” Patterson said. Should TCU not fall flat on its face and lose at Wyoming, however, the Horned Frogs will ensure themselves at least a share of the Mountain West Conference title.

Keys To The Game:   TCU is way past adjusting its game plan based on who it plays. If the Horned Frogs are able to do their thing—a ball-control offense and high-pressure defense—it doesn’t matter who they’re playing.

Players To Watch:  

DE Jerry Hughes—Hughes has two regular-season games left to pad his sack total and make a case for postseason honors. Hughes’ 10.5 sacks ranks seventh in the nation. He led the country in that category in 2008.

RB Joseph Turner—The senior has graciously accepted what has essentially become an equal role in the backfield with a pair of freshmen—RB Ed Wesley and RB Matthew Tucker. Turner’s team-leading 622 rushing yards is down to just 24 yards better than Wesley. Still, as the senior, Turner is poised, and well rested enough, to go out with a bang in his final two regular-season games.

QB Andy Dalton—Playing his way into national conversations about postseason awards, Dalton still gets to play against two less-than-stellar defenses, so he could pad some stats against Wyoming and New Mexico. With a team looking to earn style points, Dalton could post some big numbers the next two weeks.

Roster Report:  

• Youth played a key role on special teams Saturday against Utah. Redshirt freshman Greg Burks blocked a Utah punt, which was recovered by redshirt freshman Tanner Brock. The exchange, toward the end of the first quarter, set up a 3-yard Jeremy Kerley rushing touchdown for a 21-7 TCU lead less than one minute into the second quarter.

• TCU isn’t a team full of seniors making a one-time BCS bowl run. Of the 22 starters on offense and defense listed on the team’s depth chart for this week’s game at Wyoming, just six—two on offense, four on defense—are seniors. And of those, starting RB Joseph Turner essentially shares the starting role with a pair of freshmen—RB Ed Wesley and RB Matthew Tucker.

• SS Colin Jones, who has missed the past two games, is listed atop the depth chart this week. Backup SS Tyler Luttrell has been playing well in his absence.