Readers! You’re questions have been heard and we have chosen a select few to answer. Alright, let’s cut right to it and jump in to this week’s mailbag:

What would you give for us to beat Ohio State?

I have provided a list:

• The naming rights to my first 5 kids, all free to be named by Gary Patterson
• 2 of the toes on my left foot
• I would give it away, by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
• I would give up Whataburger for a year...A YEAR
• I would give up drinking Tom Collins
• If it guaranteed TCU winning the big 12 and going to the playoffs, then probably 5 years off of my life
• I would quit watching Diners Drive-ins and Dives for the rest of my life (and I watch an obscene amount of Triple D)

But those are just a few of the things off the top of my head.

How would you compare the upcoming tOSU game with the last year OSU game in September?

You are very right to draw out these comparisons. Both are late September matchups between two ranked opponents. Just like the game against Ok State, both teams have something to prove in this one. I would argue that we are going to be in a hostile environment in this one since the Ohio State fan machine travels really well and we’re probably going to see a 60/40 crowd at best in favor of Ohio State this weekend. Both games the Frogs were underdogs and people were expecting us to lose by double digits. So yes there are plenty of similarities for sure.

At the same time, there are a lot of differences. The Buckeyes don’t have their starting offensive line at half strength, from a talent standpoint they are far deeper than that Ok State team, and the Ohio State secondary is going to be the toughest test our receivers face all year. I don’t expect the Buckeyes to make the mistakes that the Pokes made in our game, but hindsight is 20/20 and I didn’t expect the Pokes to play the way they did when we upset them on the road. Dwayne Haskins is good, I mean Ohio State fans (not sure how large a contingent) were clamoring for Haskins to replace JT Barrett last year (Big 10 player of the year, 2 time Big 10 champion, all time Big 10 touchdown record holder), so I don’t think he’s a bum.

Another big difference, and maybe the most important is the difference in the trenches. Ohio State has size AND speed. Nick Bosa is a bonafide M-A-N, and the rest of that D-line is like a bunch of jack knives taped to a pair of Velociraptors...so our relatively new offensive line, while talented, is going to have to play near perfect. The whole game more or less depends on them giving Shawn time and opening up lanes for number 6, 33, and 21. We didn’t play against that level of defensive talent in Stillwater last year and we had a very experienced group up front on the O-line.

Last thing, but pretty important, this game will be watched by significantly more pairs of eyes than the game last year against the Pokes. No disrespect to our colleagues up in Stillwater, but a primetime game against Ohio State at Jerry World is going to draw a lot of eyes. As much as I am sad that we aren’t doing a home and home with them, this game at the football equivalent of the Death Star is an opportunity to take the TCU brand to the next level. I’ll end on a similarity...if we win this game I will probably cry again.

What is your favorite Urban Meyer coached team?

The 2013 Ohio State team that lost to MSU in the Big 10 title game cause it gave us this:

Just kidding just kidding, relax internet. It’s easily the 2008/2009 Florida Gators team where Tim Tebow gave maybe the most inspirational performance - from a season perspective - and gave the now famous “You will never speech” and led the Gators to a national title win over Oklahoma. The world needs more people like Tim Tebow.

Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die. Without searching, what movie is that from? DON’T CHEAT!

It is INCONCEIVABLE that you would think I wouldn’t recognize the most iconic line from the Princess Bride. I may be a Millennial but that doesn’t mean I’m uncultured.

How will TCU’s D-Line will hold up? TCU’s D-Line play was pretty impressive last year. And then we played Oklahoma and looked like a completely different team.

This is a very good observation. I would say that first of all: you can’t spell get away with a hOld U, without OU. The Sooners last year had maybe one of the best O lines in the country, and in terms of size advantage...well let’s just say the scales tipped in favor of OU. To be honest, I’m a little afraid that it may be a similar result this year in terms of pressuring the QB up front. Ohio State has a better line than they did a couple of years ago, so I’m not entirely sure we’ll be able to beat them with pure size, and without Blacklock I don’t know how we are going to get pressure up the middle - which is crucial for stopping the run game as well as getting pressure on the QB.

However, this is where the chess game begins. People always talk about the importance of offensive play calling, but never bring up how critical it is to be a good defensive play caller...and we have maybe the best in the business. Also, Ohio State only really has vanilla tape on our defense (if we are talking about tape from strictly this year), so it gives me some hope that Gary will be able to make some magic happen with some good play calling in this one.

People should really appreciate GameDay being here 2 years in a row, explain more why?

Heck yes it is a blessing. In my four years at TCU, College GameDay was something that I begged for, I wrote hand written letters to the ESPN GameDay crew for them to come to Fort Worth for some of the big time matchups that happened in Fort Worth. TCU only had one GameDay appearance during those 4 years and it was when we played at West Virginia in 2014. Of course the year after I graduated, GameDay decides to come to Fort Worth. Now they’re coming back AGAIN less than one year later...I’m trying not to take it personally.

Considering that TCU is not a national power house/blue blood legacy program or plays in a conference that has Alabama, getting GameDay in back to back years is absolutely incredible. It is a true tip of the hat to everyone that has busted their but to build our athletics department to what it is now. The level of exposure that comes with GameDay is second to none. It is the only time that a University is able to show off as much as it’s football team that day. Hopefully we will become a regular and every student at TCU will get to experience what it is like to go to an ESPN GameDay.

Will our running game be effective? Who/How?

Again, it all depends on how our offensive line holds up. If they are able to create lanes for our RB’s to run through then I think we have a good chance of having a couple of big break away runs in us - especially you Darius Anderson back at 100%(?). My gut tells me that Robinson is going to have to be precise in the passing game in order for them to lay off our run game. I think any 3 of our running backs (Anderson, Olonilua, and DeMercado) all have it in them to make a play, but I think Robinson is going to be our leading rusher as time expires.

Who do the Little Sisters of the Poor want to win on Saturday?

The war on crime.

.

.

.

and heck yes they want the team in purple and black with a Horned lizard as their mascot to win.