FWST: TCU will drop in polls but bigger goals still intact

Four quarters and one harrowing victory into the season, No. 13 TCU can count on vacating its title as the top-ranked college football team in Texas when the new polls surface Tuesday.

That distinction soon will belong to No. 15 Houston based on the Cougars’ double-digit takedown of No. 3 Oklahoma on the same day the Horned Frogs struggled to outlast South Dakota State, an FCS opponent, by a 59-41 count in Saturday’s opener at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

But this much remains true for the Horned Frogs: The road to a Big 12 championship still runs through Fort Worth, where TCU (1-0) will face Oklahoma (0-1), the defending league champion, on Oct. 1 in a battle of teams projected to finish in the top two spots in the league standings.

Also true: Despite several glaring defensive issues that surfaced against SDSU, the No. 8 team in the preseason FCS rankings, TCU remains just as much in control of its College Football Playoff destiny as it did before Saturday’s kickoff. TCU still gets its shot at Oklahoma, which fell 33-23 to Houston in its opener, and will have a chance to trump the good vibes currently flowing in the Cougars’ direction by taking care of business against the Sooners.