Frogs look for perfection in regular season finale

Andy Dalton and the TCU Horned Frogs hope to finish the regular season undefeated, then await its BCS fate.

By Tony Eierdam / KillerFrogs.com Staff Writer

No. 4 TCU's magical, BCS-climbing season comes to an end Saturday at home against 1-10 New Mexico, and the stakes are the highest they have been in at least four decades.

The Frogs hope to end the season at 12-0, which would break a school record for most wins in the regular season, but more importantly, a win would keep TCU in not only the hunt for a BCS bowl, but for the national championship as well while also clinching the outright Mountain West Conference championship for the second time since joining the conference in 2005.

Kickoff is noon at Amon Carter Stadium. The game will be televised on the Mtn.

Skeptical Frog fans will point to the 2000, 2003 and 2005 seasons where TCU's BCS bowl hopes were crushed by upset losses. But head coach Gray Patterson, in his ninth year as the Frogs' top boss, feels the 2009 Horned Frogs are of a different breed compared to the past TCU teams who reached up to grab the brass ring, only to tumble in surprise upsets.

"I think they have done a good job of being very mature and just going about their business,” Patterson said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “This group has been like this all year. They haven't gotten too high or too low and I think that is why we have been able to play so well on the road, because we carried our own energy there.

“This is the year we have really been able to carry our emotions, and that's how you win championships and stay undefeated. The hardest games you have are on the road. It doesn't matter who you play on the road, you've got to go take those games."

Patterson understands the national significance of the contest, but put a local spin on why he feels this is an important game.

"A lot of Texas kids play on New Mexico's team,” he said. “That is why this game is played at the end of the year. It's kind of a rivalry game. We understand what we have to do and that we have to be ready to play. They don't have anything to lose. We are trying to win 12 ball games for the first time in over 70 years."

To keep the Frogs focused and grounded, Patterson told a story of how the shoe was on the other foot at a past coaching stop.

"I'm going to tell you a story,” he recalled. “I was at Tennessee Tech and we were 0-10. We played Middle Tennessee who was 10-0. It was the last game of the season. They had all the hats and shirts printed up, and we beat them 12-8. We won one game that year, and they lost one and didn't go to the playoffs. If you think I'm going to overlook the things we need to get done this week, you're wrong.

“The last three or four games, New Mexico has come into its own. They lost 24-19 to BYU and missed three field goals. They played Utah tough and came back to beat Colorado State last week. We've got to be ready to play."

Not to be overlooked is the record-setting TCU offense, led by three-year starter and junior Andy Dalton. The red-headed signal caller has completed 159 of 255 passes for 2,256 yards. His most impressive statistic is his touchdown-to-interception ratio. Dalton has passed for 18 touchdowns with just five interceptions.

If New Mexico is thinking upset, the Lobos will have to contend with the Frogs' potent running game and its three-headed monster of Joseph Turner, Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker. Turner has carried 129 times for 702 yards, with Wesley adding 624 yards on 92 totes and Tucker contributing 608 yards on 93 carries. Dalton is the team's fourth-leading rusher with 545 yards on 98 tries.

"This will be the third time in five years we have broken the school scoring record,” Patterson pointed out. “This is not the first year we have decided to become good on offense. It's just one of those deals where it has finally all clicked. It really started last spring.

“The team was really excited with some of the changes we made. You also need to have some surprises. Matthew Tucker was a true freshman coming in and everyone knew he was good, but no one knew he would play at this level. The same goes for Ed Wesley as a redshirt freshman. You also add a guy like Antoine Hicks, who has touched the ball 20 times and scored eight touchdowns. With all of the other names everyone already knows about, it makes a difference.

"Our bread and butter has been that we don't hang our hat on anything. It hasn't been like in the past when we have only one receiver, like Jimmy Young a year ago. He had nearly 60 catches. Now he is one of six guys out there. I think it makes it a lot tougher when you don't know who they are going to. Instead of having one running back who carries the ball 30 times a game and is hurt by the fifth game, you have three to five guys who can carry the ball."

New Mexico head coach Mike Locksley looks at the game as an opportunity to make national news. The Lobos' confidence is high after defeating Colorado State, 29-27, last week for the squad's first win.

"We have a great opportunity this week, facing a top five team and a team that is in the national championship hunt,” he said. “As I told the team yesterday, if we can't get excited about this opportunity, then we're in this for the wrong reasons. It's our intention to go play for four quarters, prepare this week as we've prepared every week, to find a way to make the critical plays when the opportunities present themselves, and to find a way to come away with a big signature win for our program.

“It would be a great ending to a tough year, to go out and compete with one of the best teams in the country, and try to come away with a victory. We know we have a tough challenge on our hands, as (TCU head coach) Gary Patterson has done a great job with the TCU program. He has playmakers in all three phases of the team. In the kicking game they have weapons returning kicks and punts.

“They've really developed their offense into a very powerful, high-scoring offense, and they've found a way to get (quarterback) Andy Dalton action in the running game, which should be a great challenge for us defensively. The defense they've been known to play the last eight years is one of the top-10 defenses in the country year in and year out, and that hasn't changed. But if I know our team, they'll meet the challenge with great effort."

Patterson feels a win to go to 12-0, even if the Frogs are left out of the mythical BCS title game, that the program is headed in the desired direction.

"In a lot of ways, whether we play for a national championship or not, we have already won because our name has been mentioned. Twelve years ago, maybe even five years ago, we would have never thought that we could be in a situation where TCU is mentioned in the same breath as a Florida, Alabama or Texas. I think I am most proud that we have done it the right way. We have built it slowly and with a great foundation.”