Hearing the acronym TCU can cause Big 12 coaches to loosen their collars. They know they’re going to be in for a tough week. The Mountain West Conference team has a history of dowsing the fires of Big 12 teams.
Its last six meetings against Big 12 teams have resulted in five TCU victories. It’s gone 11-2 against BCS conference teams during that span as well.
“We understand that it’s a big challenge again,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. “We understand that we have to be at our best.”
But what makes the Horned Frogs so dangerous?
They don’t tend to put a bunch of players in the NFL every season and a decent amount of the roster they’ll bring to Owen Field at 6 p.m. Saturday night wasn’t recruited by Big 12 schools.
TCU is the perfect example that it doesn’t take first-round draft picks or five-star recruits to win college football games.
The Horned Frogs are 12th nationally with 249 rushing yards per game, but their top rusher is Ryan Christian with 189 in four games. Three others — Andy Dalton, Joseph Turner and Marcus Jackson — have at least 162 yards. Dalton, the starting quarterback, still doesn’t have a touchdown. His backup, Jackson, has thrown the team’s only two TD passes.
On defense, seven players have combined for the 14 sacks, and five have interceptions. The closest thing TCU has to stars is on that side off the ball. Linebacker Jason Phillips is an All-American candidate, so is safety Stephen Hodge. Both were on the field for the victory over OU in 2005.
“The only thing we have control over is TCU,” Horned Frog coach Gary Patterson said. “That’s how we won the game in 2005. We didn’t know what kind of football team we had. We just went out and played with heart. We got a couple of turnovers and breaks and had a chance to win the game. That’s all you can worry about.”
The 24th-ranked Horned Frogs (4-0) worry about the little things it takes to win and little else. They’re one of the nation’s best in turnover ratio with 13 takeaways against one giveaway. They boast, statistically, the best defense in college football.
“One of the things I said back in the spring was that I really liked the chemistry on this team and how the kids work,” Patterson said. “Even our guys on watch lists don’t act differently. Everyday when they’re supposed to be in the weight room, they can be found there.
“It’s fun to come to the office every day. I’ve been part of undefeated teams before and not had any fun coming to the office. Everyone is on the same page and has the same goals.”
OU has seen the philosophy firsthand.
The only loss it’s suffered at Owen Field over the last six seasons was a 17-10 loss to the Horned Frogs in 2005. This year’s version of TCU is a lot like the 2005 version. Great defense, great special teams and a ball-control offense.
There’s little doubt the second-ranked Sooners (3-0) are about to face a better team than any it’s faced thus far.
“We wouldn’t overlook TCU no matter what, but the fact that they are a strong, ranked team makes them even more of a threat,” OU cornerback Lendy Holmes said.
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
Horned Frogs can really play
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