Currently: - Game info: 2:00 pm EST Sat Nov 21, 2009
After a shockingly lopsided victory in the team’s biggest game of the season, TCU’s biggest threat to a BCS bowl may be a letdown this weekend.
Wyoming certainly doesn’t appear capable of keeping up with the fourth-ranked Horned Frogs, who will look to rack up another dominating win as they play their final road game Saturday in Laramie.
Utah was supposed to be the biggest remaining hurdle to an undefeated regular season, but TCU (10-0, 6-0 Mountain West) rolled over the then-No. 16 Utes for a 55-28 win on Saturday - the team’s fifth straight victory by at least 27 points.
“I think we made a big statement,” Frogs quarterback Andy Dalton said. “We played a great team in Utah. They have won 22 of their last 23 games. For us to come out and have a big win like this just shows what this program and team is about.”
BYU was also ranked 16th when the Frogs won 38-7 in Provo on Oct. 24, and TCU’s dominance has prompted talk about whether the team belongs in the conversation along with Florida, Alabama and Texas for the BCS title game.
“Right now, the same. We’re undefeated,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “You’re not going to get me in to that (debate). I may end up playing one, so we’ll just leave it how it is. But it’s a good question.”
The Frogs likely need at least one major upset to play for the national championship. But barring a shocking loss to Wyoming or winless New Mexico on Nov. 28, TCU will almost certainly reach a BCS bowl for the first time—thanks in part to its blowout of Utah.
The Utes beat Alabama in last season’s Sugar Bowl to finish 13-0, and entered last weekend’s game at 8-1, but the Frogs racked up 549 total yards, including 342 on the ground - the highest totals Utah had allowed in more than six years.
“I was very humbled by the way our kids played. The biggest thing for us, we need to finish. There are two games left,” Patterson said. “I understand how big a win this is. I’ve been here. I’ve beaten Oklahoma and gotten beat by SMU. We’re going to finish, that’s what we need to do.”
That shouldn’t be a problem as long as TCU keeps up its current pace. The Frogs have outgained opponents 1,700-723 in their last three games.
Both the offense and defense rank fourth nationally, making TCU the only team in the top 15 on both sides of the ball. The Frogs have also come up with big plays on special teams, with a blocked punt leading to a touchdown against Utah.
“I really feel like they could be No. 1,” Utes linebacker Stevenson Sylvester said. “They’re a train that can’t be stopped right now.”
Wyoming (5-5, 3-3) will certainly try to prove otherwise as it looks to prevent the Frogs from locking up at least a share of their first Mountain West title since 2005.
The Cowboys beat TCU 24-21 the last time the Frogs visited Laramie on Oct. 6, 2007, and they hung close to then-No. 2 Texas there Sept. 12, trailing 13-10 at the half before falling 41-10.
There’s more reason to believe, though, Saturday’s game won’t be close. In addition to the loss to Texas, BYU won 52-0 on Nov. 7 in the Cowboys’ most recent home game.
Also, TCU beat Wyoming 54-7 in Fort Worth last year, with Dalton throwing for 334 yards and four touchdowns while wide receiver Jimmy Young had five catches for a school-record 226 yards and three scores.
The Cowboys have already improved on last season’s 4-8 mark, but they need to win one of their final two games to become bowl eligible. They snapped a three-game skid with a 30-27 win at San Diego State on Saturday, erasing a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit and winning on Ian Watts’ 43-yard field goal with 23 seconds left.
