TCU Football
Photo by Michael Clements/Ellman Photography
It’s amazing how expectations change. To begin the season, most TCU faithful were seeking a simple sense of improvement over last year’s 5-7 debacle, which saw the mutual uncoupling of 21st-year head coach Gary Patterson and the Horned Frogs. Fans wanted to beat SMU, show Texas and Oklahoma we’re still a formidable opponent — even if it amounted to a couple losses — and snag a bowl game. Few thought this year’s iteration, under the tutelage of first-year head coach Sonny Dykes, would become bowl eligible six games into the season. Few thought TCU would demolish the Sooners and erase a 17-point deficit to the Cowboys on their way to defeating four straight ranked opponents. And no one, I mean no one, thought they would do all of this with the back-up quarterback taking the snaps.
But here we are, with the schedule’s biggest gauntlet in the rearview, wondering if this team has what it takes to keep this unbelievable streak alive. Wondering, even if silently, if this team can sneak into the College Football Playoff.
"No one talked about us before the season," Max Duggan, the current starting quarter for the Frogs, said following their latest win over Kansas State. "We never listened to them. I think now when people start talking about you, you do the same thing. You don't listen to them."
Well, Duggan, you might want to cover your ears for what I’m about to say: The Horned Frogs should be ranked higher than No. 7.
Few TCU fans feel comfortable wading into the debate over the AP Poll, Coaches Poll, and College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings. After all, following last year’s embarrassing season, the faithful are happy to have any number between one and 25 prefixed to the school’s name. However, if the team’s ceiling is as high as I suspect, the fans need to become more ambitious with their expectations.
The process to decide which teams should and shouldn’t make the College Football Playoff is one that is completely subjective. It’s decided on by a committee. And, like all subjective decisions, their conclusions can be swayed. And, with the committee convening for the first time after this weekend’s games (they’re set to announce their first set of rankings Nov. 2) it’s high time for TCU to become a bit of a nag — to get in the ear of those on the committee.
To speak frankly, the Crimson Tide, Buckeyes, Clemson Tigers, and Georgia Bulldogs TCU is not. All of the above schools have that quintessential pedigree that will earn high marks regardless of on-field performance. I mean, those four schools — each having won a College Football Playoff — would make one hell of a marquee. It’d be akin to a quadruple feature of "Citizen Kane," "The Godfather," "Casablanca," and "Gone with the Wind."
For the sake of this article, I’m going to get well ahead of myself and make some irresponsible prognostications. As has become customary, one can presume the SEC will receive two slots (Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama will duke it out), and the Big 10 champ (one of either Michigan or Ohio State) will receive the other. Clemson, if they go undefeated despite a soft schedule, will no doubt receive the fourth slot. Point being, even if TCU goes undefeated the rest of the way, they might still miss out on the CFP and be Sugar Bowl-bound.
And it’s not as if TCU doesn’t have a solid case.
What TCU has in its favor:
- Only team to defeat four ranked opponents in a row
- Only team in the top 20 in both passing and rushing yards
- A conference with a lot of parity (top-to-bottom good teams)
- Ranked seventh in total offense, ahead of Alabama, Clemson, Michigan, and Georgia
- Oh, yeah, and they’re doing all of this with a first-year head coach and back-up quarterback. That’s one hell of a story.
What TCU has going against it:
- A conference with only three teams in the Top 25 (the conference’s parity could be a hinderance). But the Big 12 still has more teams in the Top 25 than Clemson’s ACC (2)
- A defense ranked 70th (higher than Tennessee but lower than the other teams currently ranked higher in the AP Poll)
- A school without the same name recognition as those ranked above
Yes, there are still five (six if TCU makes the Big 12 championship game) games remaining. And, no, none of the games are “gimmes.” I’m writing this with the understanding that this article’s declaration could seem silly in two weeks’ time. But I stand by its premise.
Whether it’s Fort Worth’s natural sense of politeness or a desire to refrain from ruffling any feathers, I’m not sure. But if TCU truly wants to aim as high as possible, they can’t rest on their laurels. The fans, the school, the coaches, and the players need to start making their case.
