TCU DESERVES TITLE SHOT

TCU Head coach Gary Patterson has his players' full attention with only one game standing between them and back-to-back undefeated seasons.

Following his team’s throttling of the Utes back on Nov. 6, TCU head coach Gary Patterson said he won’t campaign for the Horned Frogs to be included in the BCS national championship game until they beat their final two opponents.

After his highly touted team narrowly avoided a disastrous defeat to San Diego State on Saturday, Patterson better start preparing his soap box speech. The only team standing in TCU’s way of back-to-back undefeated regular seasons is the woeful New Mexico Lobos.

TCU currently sits at number three in the Bowl Championship Series rankings, behind Oregon and Auburn and one spot ahead of Boise State. All four teams remain undefeated and are poised to make their case to be included in the title game. Patterson may be able to wait until after Thanksgiving to give his stump speech, but the rest of the country isn’t that patient. We all want to know now: Are the Horned Frogs talented enough to play in, and perhaps win, the national championship?

Absolutely. Forget what you’ve heard about their numbers being inflated because they play in the Mountain West. Last year’s squad broke through to a BCS game for the first time in school history; this year’s team is even better. Just ask the Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham.

“This TCU team is easily, hands down, the best team we've played since I've been here. That includes Alabama,” said Whittingham.

Despite the loss of All-American defensive end Jerry Hughes, the defense has actually improved. The Frogs bolster the number one ranked defense in the country, allowing only 215 yards and an astounding 8.5 points per game. One stretch in October saw TCU shut out their opponents for nearly 11 straight quarters – not even the media anointed BCS-busting darling Boise State Broncos have done that.

Though the Frogs made their national reputation with that type of defense, quarterback Andy Dalton leads an offense that’s ranked in the top ten. The senior from Katy, Tex. has won more games than any other quarterback in school history and more than likely will highly considered for the Heisman Trophy at the end of the season.

But with all that talent on both sides of the football, will they get the chance to prove how talented they truly are?

If Oregon and Auburn each win their remaining games then the answer is no. The Ducks and Tigers would play in the national title game and the Horned Frogs would head to a BCS bowl for the second straight year – which is odd to think of as a consolation prize, but it is.

TCU must hope for a loss from one of those teams. Auburn seems like the most likely candidate, with controversy swirling around their star quarterback and a tougher schedule to close the regular season. The Tigers play at Alabama this upcoming Saturday and they will have to play an upstart South Carolina team in the SEC championship game.

But there’s a darker, more uncontrollable, scenario. TCU closes the season with little TV attention and no marquee matchups. Boise State plays two more nationally televised games in a row, including one against a Top 25 team. If the Broncos run the table with the whole country watching, that could be enough for them to move past TCU in the polls. Style points count, and because of the bowl system, the NCAA is littered with teams that deserved a shot but found themselves on the outside looking in (think Auburn in 2004).