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Football:
Gary Patterson searches for an offense to match | Football Study Hall
This is an absolute must-read. Breaking down what GP has made work for nearly two decades on defense and figuring out how to translate that to offense.
It gets very complicated for the defense to match up to this without actively involving a safety and perhaps even both of them. The unblocked defensive end that the QB is reading will tend to step inside to take away the cutback lane and help spill the ball to the middle linebacker who's out in space. If he crashes too far inside though then the defense may struggle to corral the QB in space when he pulls the ball.
This is the simplest way to do offense these days if an offense can train a good athlete at QB to handle a few different reads in the run and pass and hit receivers down the field when they’re at advantage. Cumbie has proven he can do that and now TCU has a system that could help them unlock some of the spread-trained athletes in the region and gain an advantage over the rest of the conference with the QB run game.
And of course if those guys don't pan out, Patterson can always teach them to play defense.
Gary Patterson’s reaction to TCU being unranked makes sense | The Star-Telegram
Prove them wrong is a lot easier sell than prove them right, according to Gary Patterson.
His team unranked in both the Associated Press and coaches polls, TCU coach Gary Patterson might as well be writing thank-you notes.
“It makes my job a lot easier when people say that we’re not worth a darn,” he told reporters Thursday after practice. “Then I don’t have to tell them that.”
The Horned Frogs will start the season Sept. 2 against Jackson State outside of the AP and USA Today Coaches rankings. It’s just the third time in 13 years they are not in the AP Top 25 to start the season.
“You spend your whole life as a coach either proving them wrong or proving them right,” Patterson said of the pollsters. “It’s what we do.”
Big 12 fresh faces: Five freshmen who will have breakout seasons in 2017 | CBS Sports
TCU has not one, but two, names on the list. It looks like the rest of the nation is keyed into what we already know - that Jalen Reagor and Corey Bethley are REALLY good.
2. Corey Bethley, defensive tackle, TCU: Always sturdy on defense, Gary Patterson had to figure out the offensive piece at TCU. Now that he's done that, he needs to figure out the defense again. Bethley should help. He's an active powerful defensive tackle that hails from one of the top powerhouse programs in the state of Texas. Already he's climbed the depth chart above some other talented interior defenders, and he's going to be one of the most disruptive newcomers in the Big 12.
Big 12 B-Movies: TCU Horned Frogs | Viva the Matadors
It’s always interesting to see what other team’s think of yours... no mention of KaVontae Turpin, Kyle Hicks, or Nick Orr? Tech won’t know what hit them.
The passing game has a huge prominence in Patterson’s system and Hill will have a lot of weapons to use, including speedster Desmon White, 6-feet-4 Taj Williams, John Diarse, and junior Shaun Nixon.
With the loss of Carraway and defensive tackle Aaron Curry, the Horned Frogs need some pass rush and they hoped to get it from defensive ends Mat Boesen and Brandon Bowen. Unfortunately, Bowen, who was injured after three games in his junior season, reinjured his knee and will miss the entire season.
Senior Travis Howard, who led the team in tackles in 2016, is the best linebacker and will line up on the strong side. He’s a good run stopper with important athleticism, and he can cover a large portion of field. His main partner will be junior Montrel Wilson.
Despite the loss of strong safety Denzel Johnson, the secondary comes back strong and experienced. A normal occurrence for Patterson, who is recognized as one of the masters of the 4-2-5 defense. Cornerback Ranthony Texada is the leader of this unit that should be included among the best of the Big 12.
Your Family of 4 Probably Can't Afford to Go Watch These College Football Games | The Street
Interesting look at the market for college football - TCU isn’t at the top of the list, but we all know that tickets don’t come cheaply anymore. That being said... how are the Aggies averaging $153 for games after October?
The market tends to matter as well. The No. 7 University of Washington secured a playoff spot last year and came out atop the PAC-12 after years of futility and mediocrity, but its $120 average ticket price ranks just 37th thanks largely to a region that hasn't re-acclimated to a successful Huskies team. Meanwhile, unranked Texas A&M fetches $153 a ticket largely because it plays in a state that would pay for just about any form of organized football (which is how even unranked TCU manages $99 a ticket).