Could TCU Ever Really Win It All?
by Steve Smith
Hey, TCU, nice No. 7 finish! In the days since college football folded up its tent after yet another implosion by the Crimson and Cream, you could have spent all of your spare time reading columnists opining about the inadequacies of NCAA’s current system of selecting a national champion. Yes, we know, the current system sucks. But a more relevant question for Fort Worth’s purple-clad warriors of the gridiron might be this: what would it take for the Horned Frogs to finish No. 1?
Well, I’ll tell you below, but let me first say this. TCU Coach Gary Patterson and I have something in common other than the fact that we both like the pigs in a blanket at Circle Donuts. We both think the Frogs could win the whole deal under the right circumstances. Unbeelievable? Maybe not.
Is the deck stacked against the BCS busters of the world like TCU and No. 2 Utah? Well, quite frankly, yes. But I still think that an outsider like the Horned Frogs could win a national championship under the current system. Here’s what TCU has going for it:
> The right attitude: Like I said, Patterson believes. To his credit, he doesn’t shrink from the challenge. He told JFlo last week: “What I know is, ‘Hey, I’ve got to play myself into those games.’” If Patterson believes, so will his players.
> A legit defense: It’s an old football truism: Defense wins championships. Patterson knows how to coach defense and, almost as importantly, he knows how to recruit top defensive players. He doesn’t have the same depth of talent as the elite teams, but he has first-teamers who can hang in there.
> The right schedule: Patterson keeps scheduling the Oklahomas and Texases. Good. He understands that being undefeated isn’t enough, he needs a signature win, too. Utah missed the boat when they backed out of a trip to Austin this year. And they missed it by thaaat much.
So, what does TCU need to do to finish first?
>Knock off one of the big kids: Patterson’s won in Norman during the Bob Stoops era, so he’s got his giant-killer bonafides established. But a better strategy might be to pick on a Bowl Subdivision team that everyone still believes is good but would be easier to beat than an OU or a Texas — say an Oregon or a Georgia or a Virginia Tech.
>Get a game changer on offense: LT, phone home. Not since LaDainian Tomlinson lined up in the backfield has TCU had a true difference maker on offense. It’s kind of a needle in a haystack thing, but until the Frogs have a truly exceptional QB or RB, an offensive player who can touch the ball on almost every snap and threaten to score, the defense can only take them so far.
>A little luck: Darrell Royal once said that luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity, which I’m pretty sure he stole from a fortune cookie. But luck does play a role in football. TCU needs to have one of those seasons where the ball bounces the right way for them. You can’t coach that. You just need players who believe.
Tags: college football, TCU
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6 Comments, Comments or Pings
JP
You’re right… having your schedule fall just right is key. You’ve got to beat other teams while they’re hot (like beating BYU this year) or catch over-hyped ranked teams early (I believe TCU opens next season at Virginia).
Hopefully, finishing this season at #7 will mean starting higher up in the polls next season. Also, a home game versus a highly ranked Utah team and the chance to still schedule a strong non-conference opponent could certainly help the Frogs’ chances.
Without a playoff system (or getting in a BCS conference), the Frogs really need a “perfect storm” to win it all.
Jan 14th, 2009
Chewy
Had the Frogs gone undefeated including a win over Big XII Champ OU then I think they would have been in the BCS Championship. Utah’s big problem was they didn’t have any marque wins thanks to a 4-8 Michigan.
TCU needs to keep scheduling OU or Texas every year because those teams are likely Top 10 teams and Patterson can easily motivate the kids by telling them those teams passed on offering them scholarships. Stick with the premier teams in the Big 12 or SEC.
Certainly the perfect storm has to happen but beating the likes of an Oregon or Va. Tech can make it that much more difficult as you never know what’s going to happen with those teams year in and year out.
Just imagine if the Michigan team Utah beat wound up winning the Big 10. I think it would have been really hard to keep Utah out of the BCS game.
It could happen for TCU provided they keep playing that killer opponent in out of conference play. After all, Nature Boy Ric Flair had it right when he said, “To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!”
Jan 14th, 2009
Paul C
It’s too bad TCU isn’t in the Big XII. They would most certainly be competitive, and I don’t see why we couldn’t swap them out for hapless Baylor, or shift a team to the North Division and get rid of Iowa State (a team that would fit nicely in the pillow-fighting Big 10).
For that matter, I think the separation of the Big XII into North and South Divisions is kinda stupid. Mizzou fans might be rankled by this, but it’s pretty obvious to everyone that the two best teams in the conference were Oklahoma and Texas, and the next best teams were Texas Tech and OSU, if you ask me … I’m all for a playoff, and I’m all for eliminating the Big XII championship game as it currently exists.
Jan 14th, 2009
Steve Smith
I’m giving Chewy bonus points for quoting Ric Flair.
Jan 14th, 2009
walton
I’m all for TCU but they won’t win it all because college football is the most screwed up major sport in the country. Thanks to the BCS only 2 teams are eligible for the national championship, those ranked 1 or 2. Everyone else is just not invited. Utah was undefeated (hard to ever improve on that) and only ranked 6th going into the Sugar Bowl. Its a long way from #6 to #1 or 2. Right or wrong the reason TCU won’t win it all is the Mountain West does not get the respect of a BCS conference.
Jan 14th, 2009
Chewy
I actually think TCU stands a better chance in winning it all with the current BCS system. As it stands now they’d only have to catch lightening in a bottle twice and that would be at the beginning of the season and at the end of the season.
If a playoff were in place then someone like TCU would have to beat teams like Florida, USC, Texas, OU, and the other insanely talented teams in back to back games at the end of the season.
What TCU has achieved is amazing but the reality is they don’t have the talent that those other teams have and it would just be really tough for them to get to the top in a true playoff system. College football is not like college basketball where a team can get hot over a couple of days and drop better talent. In college football it ultimately comes down to talent and TCU is just not there. Afterall, the Cinderella teams rarely win it all in College Basketball as the Final Four usually results in the most talented teams. Every now and then someone sneaks into the Final Four but rarely do they advance.
They can absolutely do it once but I just don’t see a team like TCU beating a USC and Florida within the span of two weeks. I really think the long time off and one game for broke really benefits these teams from the non-BCS conferences. Utah is a great story but I think they beat an overrated Alabama team and would REALLY struggle if they played USC, Texas, OU, or Florida.
Of course we’ll never know until we get a playoff but I still believe that schools like TCU or Utah benefit from the current BCS system. The cards have to fall right but I can almost guarantee you that if Utah’s out of conference win had been over Big 10 Champ Penn State then they would have played in the BCS Championship game. It would be tight to get there but I think they would have gotten there being the only undefeated team and having a marquee win over a BCS conference champ.
Jan 15th, 2009
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