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Football
3-point stance: TCU, Gary Patterson know how to follow through | ESPN
Interesting stat from Ivan Maisel this morning. Hopefully it comes true again.
The last two times that TCU won its league preseason poll (2009-10 in the Mountain West), the Horned Frogs blew through the regular season undefeated. TCU, which opens at Minnesota, is the Big 12 preseason pick.
TCU Notes: Offense could call on several freshman wide receivers | Fort Worth Star Telegram
Mulling over some kick return options with CEL out of the picture.
Jaelan Austin from South Grand Prairie High School and Jarrison Stewart from Mesquite Horn were two players mentioned by Patterson, along with KaVontae Turpin, who Patterson had previously mentioned through fall camp as a kick return option.
Several folks, including former TCU coach Dennis Franchione, comment on what has caused the shift in power in the Big 12.
“It’s not an easy answer; it’s a complicated answer,” said Dennis Franchione, the former coach at TCU, Alabama and Texas A&M, and the current coach at Texas State. “There are a lot of things that go into this happening. TCU, Baylor, they have great coaches. They have continuity. They got known for very dynamic, imaginative offenses, Baylor before and TCU last year, with lots of points and high tempo, and when Texas and Oklahoma slipped a little bit, it started opening some doors.”
TCU-Baylor debate ready to return to fever pitch | Fort Worth Star Telegram
I am ready for this, are you?
Both of last year’s Big 12 co-champions project to be back in this year’s national championship race because they return several starters and established stars. Both the Horned Frogs and Bears received top-five rankings in the preseason polls and placed second (TCU) and fourth (Baylor) in a consensus survey of seven national magazines that identified the nation’s top 25 teams.
Three Frogs on Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Watch List | GoFrogs.com
Boykin, Doctson, and Green are all on the watch list. Boykin won the award last season.
The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award is presented annually to the nation's top player who was either born in Texas, graduated from a state high school or plays at a Texas-based university. Boykin was the 2014 recipient.
TCU Duo Added to Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List | GoFrogs.com
Joey Hunt and Halapoulivaati Vaitai join Davion Pierson on the list, which was originally released last month.
Hunt and Vaitai are two of 10 returning starters on a TCU offensive unit that finished second in the nation in scoring (46.5 points per game) and tied for fifth in total offense (533.0 yards per game). The Horned Frogs set single-season school records for points (604), passing yards (4,240), total yards (6,929), first downs (331) and plays (1,038).
Football and symbolism go hand and hand in Texas | Fort Worth Star Telegram
Hand signs, yells, etc.
During midnight yell practice the night before Texas A&M’s game with the Horned Frogs in 1930, A&M board member Pinky Downs was said to have shouted, “What are we going to do to those Horned Frogs?”
Minnesota Gophers News
Leidner looking to erase TCU memories | Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Mitch Leidner didn't play well against TCU in 2014, and is looking to rebound.
“It’s hard to watch the film,” Leidner said Wednesday. “But it’s good at the same time to see how far we’ve come as a team and I’ve come as a quarterback. So it’s definitely encouraging to look at what we’re going to do this year against them.”
Minnesota feeling more confident this time around | FOX Sports
Glad they're ready for a throwdown. Should be a good game.
"If we are sharp and on our game, I expect ourselves to have a chance to win in the fourth quarter," defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys said to twin cities.com.
Gophers am to keep pace and beat TCU in 4th quarter | TwinCities.com
Giving away your strategy isn't a good plan, Gophers.
The Gophers could use one defender as a "spy" who mirrors Boykin in the pocket and becomes first in pursuit if and when Boykin breaks free.
Minnesota QB Mitch Leidner ready to take on greater burden | Chicago Tribune
If the QB really has improved in the passing game, he will be a good challenge for the TCU defense.
The Gophers are considered a sleeper pick out of the Big Ten's West Division after recording back-to-back eight-win seasons and playing in the Citrus Bowl last season. How far they go may largely depend on Leidner, whose toughness is undoubted but whose throwing ability leaves more to prove.