And now onto the best program in Texas. All the way up at, um, #17? How strong is this ale?
Let’s make this one easier to digest by excerpting the TCU synopsis from a very good preview of TCU over at Pre-Snap Read:
A healthy Oregon State, then ranked No. 24 in the nation, hung around for most of three quarters in the season opener. San Diego State made things interesting with 14 early points and 14 late points in November. Wisconsin came within a two-point conversion of overtime in the Rose Bowl. No one else sniffed T.C.U.; no one else seemed to be in the same stratosphere at the Horned Frogs, winners of 27 of their last 28 games, winners of 98 games over the last decade. Like a wind-up doll, pull their string and watch the Horned Frogs go to work: they’ll run down your throat, hit you deep, dominate on special teams, not let you do squat on the ground, intercept your attempts, break your back, break your heart
TCU has made a habit of beating opponents in ways that would make us write like excited little tweens lavishing praise upon Justin Bieber if it were happening at Notre Dame. And that’s saying something, because despite the last decade where TCU won 98 games and Notre Dame won only 69 , we somehow still “expect” Notre Dame to win huge numbers of games by massive margins. And yet somehow, in Gary Patterson’s tenure, without most of the general public noticing until fairly late last year, winning huge swaths of games by embarrassingly large numbers has almost become passé for TCU.
The key element that keeps us from trying to let TCU float right up into the top 5 is the loss of starters from 2010. As Pre-Snap Read and anyone else is quick to point out, the Horned Frogs only have 18 players on the roster with any previous starts under their belt. Compare that to the 16 full-time starters who were returning for the 2010 season a year ago, and you realize there’s real gravity to that situation. Still, TCU has, over the last 10 years, truly established a tradition of winning not as a team in a season, but as a program over time, and we wont be surprised to see Coach Patterson really show off his coaching chops with a much younger squad in 2011.
…
17. TCU (DMQ)
18. Georgia (Biscuit)
19. Michigan State (PootND)
20. Texas (DMQ)
21. Ole Miss (Biscuit)
22. Mississippi State (PootND)
23. South Carolina (DMQ)
24. Ohio State (Biscuit)
25. Arizona State (PootND)
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“…best program in Texas”
I’d be surprised if none of y’all pick the Aggies at some point in this top 25. If you don’t, then someone seriously overlooked SOMETHING.
“…in Gary Patterson’s tenure, without most of the general public noticing until fairly late last year, winning huge swaths of games by embarrassingly large numbers has almost become passé for TCU.”
This is going to sound like sacrilege and it’s not as strong now as it was two years ago, but this is exactly why I was hoping against all hope that we had hired Patterson over BK. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with what Brian has been doing and Im 100% behind him now, but boy Patterson has been damn impressive on a big-time scale.
The reason that TCU will end up ranked higher and the reason that they shouldn’t is the same: their schedule is ridiculously weak.
Baylor, Air Force, Louisiana-Monroe, Portland State, Southern Methodist, San Diego State, New Mexico, Brigham Young, Wyoming, Boise State, Colorado State, UNLV
What would ND’s record be against this schedule? Less than 11 wins would be a huge disappointment. But they will get big kudos and people will want us to hire their coach. If you want their results, we need to hire the AD.
For the record I don’t want their coach or their AD. I want to do it the old fashion way – to eeeearn it.
p.s. Florida State’s schedule is almost as easy and Virginia Tech’s is easier.
That’s fairly weak overall, but AF, BYU, and Boise wont be pushovers. I’d feel 10 wins for ND against that.
Then you should be feeling 8 wins against our schedule I’d guess, yes?
Ive said 9-3 regular season, so yes