Frogs projected to finish 4th in Big 12 preseason media poll

You can’t blame TCU Football for feeling a little disrespected this off-season.

After a year which saw them hold up a trophy for winning one of the most ridiculous bowl games in history, have their starting quarterback bolt amid a cloud of accusations, and cancel their spring game because there weren’t enough healthy players to field a team, there have been plenty of reasons to doubt what the Horned Frogs can or will accomplish in 2019. Not to mention the fact that Oklahoma has dominated the league for several years running, Texas may actually be close to resembling something akin to being BACK, Iowa State looks like a legit contender with an up-and-coming head coach, and even Baylor is better...

... it’s easy to wonder where TCU lies in the projected pecking order.

But, despite the uncertainty swirling around the program and the tidal wave of young coaching threatening to take over, there’s one thing that the program in Fort Worth has that no one else does.

And that’s Gary Patterson.

And that’s probably why the Horned Frogs finished fourth in the preseason media poll, released Wednesday.

Oklahoma, winners of the last four Big 12 titles, was picked to finish first for a fourth consecutive year. The Sooners have won an incredible 12 Big 12 titles since the formation of the conference in 1994. Texas, who lost to OU in last year’s Big 12 title game, is picked to finish second once again, with Iowa State behind them in a projected third place. Oklahoma garnered 68 of the 77 first place votes - Texas was the only other team to get any.

After the Frogs at four, Oklahoma State is surprisingly ahead of Baylor; the Bears have had a lot of positive momentum this off-season with many expecting them to be a dark-horse contender. Texas Tech, West Virginia, Kansas State, and Kansas round out the rest of the ten team conference. The bottom four also happen to be the four teams with new head coaches, in an interesting coincidence.

TCU holds the Big 12’s longest active winning streak at three games, and over the last five seasons, their 47-19 overall record and 30-15 conference mark rank second in the conference. The Frogs are one of just six programs nationally to finish with an Associated Press top-10 final ranking in at least three of the last five years (2014, 2015, 2017).

But, if you’re worried about TCU’s projected placement, don’t be; the always excellent Mark Cohen has reason for optimism:

TCU hits Media Days on Monday, Fall Camp starts August 1st, and the season kicks off on the 31st.

LFG.