TCU News: “Bring it, right? Bring it.”

Football:

Undefeated TCU football flying under the radar | WFAA

I don’t care what you say GP, you can’t convince me that you don’t like being the underdog. But his comments on the changes that he’s made as a play-caller are interesting - the Frogs called two corner blitzes Saturday, one that led to a touchdown for the Eers that had him lamenting the choice Saturday night.

"You know, I don't really like being the underdog," Patterson says. But - "I think it fits TCU in the state of Texas."

For example:

"What was Texas' record a year ago?" Patterson asked. "And they got a new head coach... but they still started out the season in the Top 25.

"And we didn't."

Despite that, it's Patterson's team that is 5-0, and ranked #6 in the country. In part, that's because TCU is running the ball well.

"We've got older offensive linemen," Patterson said, "good tailbacks."

And it's in part because the Horned Frogs are playing outstanding defense -- allowing just 19 points per game, and ranked 15th in the nation in rush defense.

But Patterson thinks he's lost his nerve as a defensive playcaller.

"Sometimes it's frustrating to me that I've become a sissy," he joked. But then added "bring it, right? Bring it."

This is why TCU is right to think big about the College Football Playoff | The Star-Telegram

The road is long. And dark. And scary. It’s way tooooooooo early to start thinking playoffs, even at 5-0.

“We don’t even try to really look at it like that,” Hill said about gauging the quality of the two league victories. “It’s going to the next game and trying to get a win. But it definitely does feel good to get those wins. It definitely does.”

Next for the Frogs is an 11 a.m. Saturday game at Kansas State, a preseason Top 25 team that is no longer ranked, and is coming off a double-overtime loss at Texas.

Potentially, the Frogs do not see a ranked team again until Nov. 11 at Oklahoma.

The next three opponents for TCU — Kansas State, Kansas and Iowa State — are a combined 7-8. If the Frogs can take all three games, they would set themselves up for a high debut spot in the first set of CFP committee rankings on Oct. 31.

College football rankings: TCU up to No. 3 | NewsOK

Berry Tramel is the voice of reason in College Football. God help us all.

In the AP poll, Washington is ranked fifth and Wisconsin is ranked seventh. Both are unbeaten. And you’d have to swallow hard to make a case for either IF YOU COMBINED their resumes’.

Washington has three road wins, which is always cool, but UW’s victims are Rutgers, Oregon State and Colorado. The first two are easily among the worst teams in Power 5 conferences, and Colorado is 0-3 in the Pac-12.

Wisconsin has wins over Brigham Young, Northwestern and Nebraska, the latter on the road. Three name programs. But that name in 2017 is mediocre (that’s being kind to BYU).

Look, I think Washington and Wisconsin are good teams. For all I know, they’ll meet in the Rose Bowl with the winner going to the national championship. But the key word is think. Anyone, including me, who gets excited about the Huskies or the Badgers, is projecting.

3. TCU 5-0: The Horned Frogs keep rolling against quality competition, West Virginia being the latest example.

With noise tuned out, TCU's Hill thrives | Cleburne Times-Review

Hill is completing 69% of his passes (nice) and moving the ball for the Frogs, especially on third down. Get off his back, y’all.

The trickery obscures what Hill is doing with his arm. While he is not immune to the occasional errant throw, Hill is 10th nationally with a 69 percent completion percentage, which, if sustained, would set a single-season school record.

Last season, TCU couldn’t control the clock, couldn’t always catch the ball or find consistency with its quarterback. This season, the Horned Frogs run the ball on nearly 60 percent of their snaps, and improvement can be seen on many fronts.

“That constant improvement,” said Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, whose Wildcats host TCU on Saturday. “I think that’s what you see from TCU … Kenny Hill’s playing awfully well. The quarterback has made a lot of positive things happen for them.”

No. 6 TCU tries to keep Kansas State down | Lindy’s Sports

It doesn’t matter what the records are, K State is always a well-coached team that doesn’t beat themselves. TCU will need to go to Manhattan ready for a battle.

Both teams are still in control of their own destiny for playing in the Big 12 championship game. TCU also has realistic aspirations of reaching the College Football Playoff.

The Horned Frogs have to maintain focus on each week’s game to keep that goal in front of them. And the Wildcats must do the same to get the season back on track. The team that does that best is the one likely to come out on top Saturday.

“I think for players it truly does make a difference,” Snyder said of playing a ranked team.

“From a coaches’ standpoint, they are all good. People talk so much about the balance and you look across the league and see the things that are happening. It just makes sense that there are a lot of good football teams in this conference. I would like to think that everybody would be highly motivated no matter who you were playing.

“The way I look at it, they (Big 12 teams) are all Top 25 teams. I guess it is hard for people to understand that, but that is what makes college football so great. Just look at Iowa State and Oklahoma. Obviously anybody can beat anybody on any given day. It is all about the same thing — who prepares the best, who plays the best and who coaches the best. That will never change.”

College football ‘imperialism map’ shows TCU purple spreading | The Star-Telegram

If you haven’t seen this on twitter or R/CFB, you’re missing out on one of the most fun things of this college football season.

It’s the brainchild of 20-year-old University of Tennessee student Nathan Bingham. He is a Volunteers fan, so that could explain the time and dedication he has shown in building and maintaining the map. You know, because the Volunteers are 3-2 and 0-2 in the Southeastern Conference and haven’t won more than nine games in a season in a decade. So he had to do something with all that angst. But big props on the map! It’s pretty cool.

“I have been a Tennessee fan my whole life (even though we haven’t been all that great over most of my life),” Bingham said via email. “I really didn’t [take] any inspiration from Risk directly, but it certainly fits the game well.”