The HLS Totally Non-Homer Top 25 - Preseason Edition: #21 - TCU
Read this to understand what the glorious HLSTNHT25-PE actually is. Then look up at the stars tonight and try to convince yourself that everything up there is bigger than everything down here. Even this…
It seems weird to be putting a MWC team in here. Seems even weirder to put a team that’s been in 4 different conferences in 10 years in here. Despite that inconsistency, the Horned Frogs are a very consistent team in terms of quality. At least recently. They’ve managed a seemingly incredible 5 top 25 finishes in the last 7 seasons. It’s as if they’ve always been around and we’re just now starting to notice. A look at their schedule doesn’t make you gasp in awe at their audacity - to either schedule an incredibly tough schedule or one full of cupcake games - at least not for a “mid major” team. They’re just a nice solid team with some very nice circumstances this year, despite having to replace more than half of their offensive starters.
Their head coach, Gary Patterson, is a fairly popular name every time the end-of-season coaching carousel gets spinning. So much so that the Horned Frogs had to buy themselves a bit of insurance in the form of a $1 million/year contract a year or two ago. So long as they keep a bigger program from poaching Patterson, I think TCU has a pretty good chance at continuing their solid trend of the last half-decade.
Offense: Like we said above, they’re going to have to replace 6 offensive starters this year. That could get rough. Their new QB is on the wrong side of a career 60% completion rate, and they lost their best wide receiver this year. They do get most of their offensive line back, which is nice, considering they gave up fewer sacks than anyone else in their conference in 2006 (along with gaining 4.5 ypc rushing).
Defense: They return 9 starters on a squad that only gave up a little over 12 points per game last year and haven’t allowed a 100 yard rusher for 20 consecutive games. A capable defense like that will make any team capable of winning on any given Saturday.
Special Teams: Pretty bland right now, but HC Patterson has a reputation for fielding excellent special teams units. They’ve lost several key guys this year, but Patterson is apparently capable of coaching this unit up, so look for a strong unit rather than a liability.
Facts:
- Dennis Franchione preceded Gary Patterson at TCU. We’re wondering if Texas A&M is sure they got the better deal over TCU.
- LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for more than 4000 yards at TCU during his last 2 years, but he doesn’t hold the freshman rushing record. That belongs to some guy named Lonta Hobbs.
- TCU has won 11 games 3 times in the last 4 seasons.
HLS Top 25 Meta:
- Highest spot on a HLS ballot: 19th
- Lowest spot on a HLS ballot: 25th
- Average rankings on HLS ballots: 21.75
- This is the first team on our HLSTNHT25-PE Countdown to receive a vote from all HLS pollsters.
Why Alex Trebek Loves Them:
- TCU’s 11 wins were the most by any D1 college football program in the state of Texas during the 2006 season.
Around The Web:
HLS Tracker 10 Forecast Technology Says:
Looking at the conference, and the TCU schedule, as long as they can figure out how to reinstall half their offense, they’ll be fine. Heck, who knows, maybe they’ll even jump on an unsuspecting Texas during week 2. Right? Right. Otherwise, not a single team on their schedule looks really primed to ruin this little 11 win season trend they seem to be enjoying.
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5 Comments
You write from the Girls’ computer lab.
Why wouldn’t I? Smells less like farts around here.
Personally, I’d really like to see TCU get up there in terms of recognition. They were dealt a crummy card when the Big XII was created, getting basically bullied out because of more Baylor alumns in the Texas congress. Think of the Cotton Bowl to the BCS, and that’s basically the same story. TCU has a lot of history, plays in a potentially huge market(Dallas-Fort Worth), and is the biggest private school in the state. I actually considered going here for my matriculation but realized I’d be better served using the 60,000 a year on beer. Best of luck to the Horned Frogs.
I agree. I find it hard to have anything against TCU, and despite playing pretty consistently, and against increasingly-difficult schedules (in general!), they don’t get much cred. But if they keep the program up, it will get there eventually.
As with any team I don’t hate, I wish them the highest spot in the poll possible, just below the Irish.
(All teams hated, of which there are several, are wished a 2-10 season. 0-12 if you are USC or Michigan.)
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