TCU Football Preview
7/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 20, 2004
The 2004 TCU Horned Frogs feature one of the most high-powered offensive units in the nation. There are not many programs in the country which can boast:
* Two returning quarterbacks who have combined to post a 15-2 record as starters.
* Two tailbacks who have each gained over 1,000 yards rushing in a single season.
* The return of their top two wide receivers, including the first 1,000-yard receiver in school history.
* Two experienced tight ends who combined for over 20 receptions in 2003.
* Four of five starters returning on an offensive line that helped TCU finish as just one of six schools to gain an average of 200 yards rushing and 200 yards passing per game in 2003.
* A return specialist who logged a school record for return yardage in a season, breaking a mark set by Heisman Trophy winner Davey O'Brien in 1937.
Yet, when pressed as to how TCU will win football games in 2004, the modus operandi is expected to remain the same as it has over the past several seasons - by controlling the ball with a good running game, using an aggressive defense that flies to the ball and creates havoc, solid special teams play, winning the battle of field position and making fewer mistakes than its opponents.
That formula has proved to be a winning one. Since going 1-10 in 1997, TCU has:
* Tasted victory 52 times in 73 games, a 71 percent winning clip.
* Reeled off a school record six consecutive bowl appearances (a streak only 16 other schools can currently claim).
* Put together three 10-win seasons in the last four years (after having just four in the previous 104 years combined).
* Finished the season ranked in the nation's top 25 three times in the past four years, including back-to-back seasons in 2002 and 2003 for the first time since the 1950s.
In 2003, TCU had arguably the most talked about college football program in the land. The Horned Frogs opened the season for the second straight year on Labor Day in front of a hostile crowd with a national television audience tuning in. Unlike in 2002 when the Frogs fell short in an overtime decision at Cincinnati, TCU escaped from the New Orleans Superdome with a three-point win over the Tulane Green Wave, 38-35.
The Purple and White were home for their next two contests and showed the Horned Frog faithful the strong defense that they had become accustomed to with a 17-3 win over Navy, followed by a 30-14 rout of Vanderbilt.
The Frogs took a 3-0 record to the Tucson desert for a late September Saturday night tilt with the Arizona Wildcats. With rumors of the imminent firing of their head coach swirling, the 'Cats were anything but mild. But thanks to a Nick Browne field goal with just over a minute left in regulation and another in the first overtime after a Jeremy Modkins' interception, the Frogs came away with a 13-10 victory and a perfect mark in the non-conference portion of the schedule.
The TCU defense was at its best over the next two games, blanking Army by a 27-0 count in Fort Worth, then ending USF's 21-game home winning streak with a 13-10 triumph in Tampa. Over a three-game stretch, the Horned Frog defense surrendered just 20 points and had allowed just 37 points over a five-game stretch after giving up 35 in the season opener at Tulane.
The Frogs had their hands full the next week at home when they took on the UAB Blazers. The Frogs fell behind 24-16 in the third quarter, but rallied for a 27-24 victory, their fourth three-point win of the season.
The late rally by the offense against UAB may have been a little foreshadowing of the explosiveness they possessed, but no one could have anticipated what would happen the next week in Houston. In the highest scoring game in school history, TCU outlasted the rival Cougars by a 62-55 score in a game that was entertaining for everyone except the defensive coaches. The Frogs rushed for 407 yards in the game and threw for another 375, giving them a school record 782 yards of total offense. Houston was nearly equal to the task, shredding the TCU defense for 684 total yards. After the dust had cleared, the Frogs were 8-0, ranked 13th in the nation and headed home for a date with the Louisville Cardinals.
The Frogs and Cardinals did not disappoint the ESPN crew or the national television audience tuning in for what would have to be considered the most exciting finish of the Frogs' 2003 season. When Nate Smith's 44-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the game bounced off the crossbar and fell harmlessly away, TCU survived with a 31-28 victory to remain undefeated at 9-0 and kept the debate about whether it deserved to be part of the Bowl Championship Series alive for another week. It was the cardiac Frogs' fifth win of the season by exactly three points.
The BCS debate would continue for one more week after the 10th-ranked Horned Frogs disposed of Cincinnati by a 43-10 count on Senior Day in Fort Worth, setting up a Thursday night clash at Southern Miss for the Conference USA title. By this time, the talk shows and columnists across the country debated daily the merits of the sixth-ranked team in the BCS standings, the highest ranking ever attained for a non-BCS school. But with officials from the Fiesta and Orange bowls in attendance, TCU ran out of miracles in Hattiesburg. But even in defeat, the Frogs showed the heart and determination that this program has become known. After falling behind by a 31-6 margin after three quarters, TCU put together a frantic rally, scoring 22 unanswered points to cut the lead to 31-28, before succumbing to the Golden Eagles by a 40-28 margin. With the win, Southern Miss earned the right to represent Conference USA in the AXA Liberty Bowl as the league champion.
Despite reeling from the loss at Southern Miss, the TCU squad still had one more regular season game to play, defeating crosstown rival SMU, 20-13 in a lackluster performance. The Frogs' fifth straight victory over the Mustangs for the "Iron Skillet" kept the Ponies winless for the season and gave TCU its seventh victory of the season by a touchdown or less.
The Frogs' sixth consecutive bowl game came in their own backyard as they took part in the inaugural PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl against 18th ranked Boise State. The offenses dominated the first half with the teams heading into the lockerrooms for the intermission tied at 24. The defenses restored order in the second half with the Broncos pulling out a 34-31 win. The victory wasn't secured until Mike Wynn's first career field goal attempt fell short with seven seconds remaining in the contest.
Despite losing two of their final three contests, TCU finished the season ranked 24th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll and 25th in the final Associated Press poll. Now the question that presents itself is an obvious one: "What do you do for an encore?"
"We didn't win the conference championship," fourth year head coach Gary Patterson reminds those who question the Frogs' mindset entering 2004. "You're only as good as your last game, and that was a loss for us. We have two bowl teams (Northwestern and Texas Tech) along with our crosstown rival (SMU) on our non-conference schedule. The conference race will be competitive again with tough road games at UAB, Cincinnati and Louisville on the schedule. This is also the final go-around in this conference," continued Patterson. "I'm sure that will add a little something to some of those games. Last year's team was able to find a way to win the close games. This team will have to find its own identity. We're talented enough to make another run, but we also know our margin of error is very slim."
As always, the Frogs used their spring drills to grow up some of their younger players who will be asked to step up and fill the big shoes left by the 2003 senior class which posted 37 wins, the most in a four-year stretch since 1936.
"That was a great group, but now it's time for someone else to step up and keep the tradition going," said Patterson.
"We start over every spring," he continued. "We treat the spring as just the first 15 of 44 practices we have to get ready for Northwestern. We had something like 21 surgeries last year that we have people coming back from, but came out of spring with only one major injury (offensive lineman Wade Sisk's torn ACL). We had some guys fight through some nagging things and we were able to grow some guys up. I think that's a big key for us," Patterson added.
"It always comes down to chemistry and becoming the best football team we can be. We have a lot of big-play players returning on both sides of the ball and with the number of returning regulars we have, our strength should be on offense. The biggest question I have for this team is, 'How bad do they want it?'"
If things work out as Patterson hopes, look for the Frogs to: control the ball with a good running game, use an aggressive defense that flies to the ball and creates havoc, have solid special teams play, win the battle of field position, and make fewer mistakes than its opponents.
If those things happen, that model for success should have the Frogs bidding for their seventh straight bowl game, challenging for another conference title, ranked in the nation's top 25 for the third straight year and, with a little luck, making another run to become the first non-BCS school to break the stranglehold held by the BCS leagues for a spot in one of the four major bowl games.
"It still comes down to winning by one point," said Patterson.
But with a high-octane offense that Fort Worth hasn't seen since a guy named LaDainian Tomlinson ran wild in 2000, maybe the Horned Frogs' margin of victory will be just a little greater in 2004.
OFFENSE
Gary Patterson SAYS: "Offensively, we have a lot of people coming back who played a lot of football with the exception of fullback. We have our quarterbacks and our tailbacks back. We have our top two tight ends. We have nearly all of our wide receivers coming back, plus those who redshirted last year. We lost a couple offensive linemen, but we have our three best coming back, plus the young guys are growing up. We should be able to be productive and put points on the board this season, we just need to get everyone healthy and going again."
On paper, the Frogs appear to be loaded on the offensive side of the ball. Eight starters return from a team that averaged nearly 30 points per game last season. Many college coaches talk about having a balanced attack, but the Frogs prove it on the field. They were one of just six schools to average over 200 yards per game both rushing and passing a year ago.
As is the case in most seasons, the success of the offense starts with the guys up front. The Frogs feature three offensive linemen who could receive all-conference accolades, including returning first team all-league tackle Anthony Alabi, second team all-league center Chase Johnson and senior guard Zach Bray. In addition, Herbert Taylor earned a spot on the league's all-Freshman team a year ago.
Health is the key throughout the skill positions. Quarterbacks Tye Gunn (8-0) and Brandon Hassell (7-2) are proven winners with a combined 15-2 record as starters, but both have been hampered by injuries. Senior wide receiver Reggie Harrell, the school's first 1,000 yard receiver, missed all of spring after undergoing ankle surgery. Several of the younger receivers were limited in the spring as well due to nagging injuries. Tailback Lonta Hobbs was limited in 2003 with an ankle injury after producing a 1,000-yard season as a freshman in 2002, paving the way for Robert Merrill to step up with a 1,000-yard season of his own.
With the tight end position in the capable hands of Cody McCarty and Chad Andrus, the only question mark on offense is at the fullback position.
DEFENSE
Gary Patterson SAYS: "I think the strength of this football team defensively is the back seven. (Linebacker) Martin Patterson is playing at a level that (C-USA Defensive Player of the Year) LaMarcus McDonald did a couple of years ago. Our corners and safeties played well in the spring. I think our corner position may be as athletic as any group in the six years I've been here. (Safety) Marvin Godbolt should be a pre-season All-American. He was leading the country in interceptions when he got hurt last year. He brings a presence to the secondary. Overall, we are probably faster as a football team defensively than we were a year ago. We have a lot more players on defense coming out of the spring that can make plays, compared to what we had a year ago."
The TCU defense will certainly have a different look to it this year. Gone are Bo Schobel, Chad Pugh and Robert Pollard, a trio of stalwarts who controlled the line of scrimmage over the past couple of seasons. But don't mistake a different look as a sign of weakness. While last year's defensive strength was along the defensive line, this year's defensive strength will be in the secondary. And Patterson believes this secondary may be as good as any he's had since coming to Fort Worth.
Although last year's defense admittedly struggled at times, especially against the pass, it still finished ranked 38th in the country in total defense and in the high 20s in the nation in scoring defense, rankings that many schools would happily accept. Those who follow such things closely however, acknowledge that at TCU, the bar is set at a higher level. While the defensive line takes some time to gain its identity, the linebacker play, led by senior Martin Patterson, should be solid, while the secondary play, especially at the corner position, is expected to be much improved. The return of senior Marvin Godbolt to the safety position may be the single biggest factor to the Frogs getting the swagger back.
Those closely associated with the Frog football program acknowledge that the biggest question mark entering the 2004 season is the defensive line. Gone are all-conference performers in Bo Schobel, Chad Pugh and Robert Pollard, with Schobel and Pollard getting a chance to take their abilities to the next level. In addition, the Frogs may be without the lone returning starter with eligibility remaining in Brandon Johnson, who missed all of the spring after undergoing knee surgery and his future status is certainly in doubt. Any help from Johnson this fall would be an unexpected bonus.
