Frogs may be headed to Houston

After an impressive comeback against San Diego State last week, TCU appears headed to the Texas Bowl to play former Southwest Conference rival Houston. Pardon me if I'm not inspired by this match up. Houston has had a solid year, winning eight games. But it's hard to get too excited about playing a Conference USA team. TCU left that conference for one with a better football reputation -- and stiffer competition. The Mountain West has many problems, beginning with a significant exposure problem. But the fact that Houston can be seen on ESPN doesn't make it a better football team. Its administrators are just less gullible.

Miles should stay at LSU

It's difficult to comprehend how a coach chasing a national championship could jump to another team at the end of the season. But it's a real possibility, with LSU's Les Miles expected to be heavily courted by Michigan, his alma mater. This would be a bad move for Miles, who will have a better chance of building a championship legacy in the SEC. But the lure of coaching at one's alma mater is not easy to resist.
It can be done, however. Ask TCU's Gary Patterson, who stayed in Fort Worth instead of jumping to Kansas State in 2005. Kansas State is a middle-of-the-pack Big 12 school that has enjoyed some success. And although Michigan is a consistent national power, Miles might find it a tougher place to coach than he imagined. For now, he's better off at LSU, which happens to be No. 1 in the country.

One more win

An impressive win over UNLV puts TCU in a position to make a bowl game with a road win Saturday. While not a sure thing, a win appears likely. Dan Diego State is not a very good football team. The Frogs have suffered through a tough season -- with key injuries and the illness of Tommy Blake. A bowl berth, even if it's just the New Mexico Bowl, would be a nice way to end 2007.

Even after impressive win, bowl is uncertain

TCU began showing signs Saturday that it is things around. The Frogs dominated New Mexico, holding the Lobos to 28 yards rushing and 91 yard passing. The 37-0 win was TCU's second shutout of the season. The TCU defense is back. And it's a good thing, with BYU next on the schedule. The Cougars are undefeated in the Mountain West and a virtual lock to win the title. Thursday's game is particularly important because TCU may not make a bowl game without a win. Even with the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, the Frogs are hurt by the success of Air Force -- and their record against teams that appear headed to bowl games. Saturday's victory over the 6-win Lobos was the first time this season they beat a team eligible for the post-season. A victory over the conference-leading Cougars would probably move the Frogs ahead of Air Force, even though they lost in Colorado Springs earlier this season. A loss would drop TCU to 5-5. With the season's final two games against UNLV and San Diego State, TCU would have no more opportunities to sufficiently impress the Armed Forces Bowl selection committee.

Larry vs. Jerry

I just saw the video of Larry King asking Jerry Seinfeld if his show was canceled. No wonder CNN is losing viewers. Memo to Larry: The show went out on top ... baby. I especially liked how Jerry asked for a resume to help out the lost interviewer.

Blake returns for Frogs

The Frogs will get a boost Saturday with the return of Tommy Blake from that "undisclosed illness" that has kept the star defensive end out much of the season. They'll need all the help they can get against New Mexico. The Lobos are 6-2 after a win last week over Air Force. I started to call it impressive, but the Falcons had several chances to put the game away and failed to do so. Down the stretch, every time Air Force had a chance to pull ahead, it seemed to give the ball away. This is ironic, given the fundamental soundness of the Academy ( a point those Versus announcers mentioned more than once).
At 4-4, TCU cannot afford another home loss if it plans to reach a bowl game. The Armed Forces Bowl is the only hope at this point. Although that would mean playing another game at Amon G. Carter Stadium, after the kind of season the Frogs have had, a home game in December doesn't sound so bad.

New Mexico at TCU, 4:30 p.m. Saturday, the mtn.
Frogs for the Cure

CSU missed teachable moment

The editor of the Colorado State University student newspaper will not be fired over the now-infamous editorial about President Bush. The Denver Post filed this story about J. David McSwane, who was admonished, but not fired. As much as McSwane and his colleagues would like to hide behind the First Amendment, free speech is not at issue here. If it were, the members of the editorial board would be calling their parents for bail money.

CSU administrators had an opportunity to teach McSwane a lesson about responsibility. Sadly, the school dropped the ball, leaving angry students as the only real consequence. If McSwane chooses a career in the media, he will quickly discover how little "freedom of speech" writers have. In the real world, it's about audience expectations and the sensibilities of those reading the paper every day.

Frogs need offensive boost

The offense has to pick up the pace for the Frogs to win Saturday against Colorado State. Even though the Rams have lost 10 straight and are 0-3 this year, they have managed to put up some impressive point totals. And they have a better team than SMU, whom TCU beat 21-7 last week. TCU will be without Tommy Blake, who will miss at least two more games. But the Frogs are good enough without him to beat the Rams.

Frogs need win before resuming conference play

The Frogs are at a crucial point in the season as SMU prepares to visit Amon Cater Stadium on Saturday. It's not that they could not afford a third loss. Their chances of a BCS game disappeared after a disappointing overtime loss to Air Force. This TCU team will probably lose another game or two along the way, anyway.

What TCU cannot afford is a third straight loss, especially after playing so poorly down the stretch at Air Force. The season would not be ruined with a loss Saturday, but a win certainly will make the resumption of the conference schedule next week easier.

Frogs fall out of rankings

The Frogs fell out of the Top 25 after their 34-13 loss in Austin. Although I was not surprised, it certainly does not seem right that a team not in a power conference can go to the No. 7 team in the land, play a good half of football and still fall out of the rankings. Gil LeBreton explained Gary Patterson's disappointment in his column this morning.

It's almost as if TCU and its Mountain West brethren should return follow the lead of some of their counterparts in the big conferences and schedule cupcakes. The media will still talk about them, just not very positively. but at least the result on Saturday will be a "W.'

Good press from Austin

The Austin American-Statesman has done some great work leading up to the TCU-Texas game. This piece on Gary Patterson is among the best I've read. The American-Statesman deserves credit for what it has written about the Frogs, even if they are considered the enemy this weekend.

TCU and the Big 12

Jim Reeves wrote today why he doubts the Frogs will end up in the Big 12. With a big game at Texas -- and all the positive things being written about TCU football these days -- it's nice to revisit the issue. At this point, TCU won't be asked to join the Big 12 unless an existing member leaves for another conference. Reeves focuses only on the issue of money and does not mention possible defections. If, say, Missouri or Iowa State were asked to join the Big Ten, a spot would open up for TCU. Although this scenario has been discussed in the media and by fans in recent months, it does not appear to be imminent. Another possibility is Utah and BYU joining the Pac 10, another conference that needs to add teams in order to hold a championship game. With two teams of this magnitude leaving the Mountain West, another round of conference shuffling would likely begin. But don't expect the Pac 10 or Big Ten or Big 12 to make any sudden moves. For now, everyone appears happy with the current alignments. And that's not what TCU wants to hear.

Frogs rise, 'Horns fall in polls

the Frogs moved up three spots to No. 19 in both major polls after defeating Baylor. But Texas, their opponent Saturday, was not so fortunate. A sluggish performance against Arkansas State knocked the Longhorns back to No. 7. Still, a win in Austin this week will be no less impressive than it would have been when Texas was in the top 5.

Frogs look good, await Texas

The Frogs looked solid on defense Saturday night during their 27-0 season-opening win over Baylor. I'm not sure what the voters will think of TCU's latest win over a Big 12 opponent, but next week is Texas, the most important game for TCU in many years. If TCU hopes to make it to a BCS game, a competitive game is required. I'm not saying the Frogs should go into Austin expecting to just play a close game against the Longhorns. With a defense as stout as theirs and a freshman quarterback as cool as Andy Dalton, the Frogs have a solid chance to shock the college football world similar to how they did in 2005 in Norman, Okla. Hopefully, Tommy Blake will return to the team. He was held out of the opener, but appears close to being ready to play.

Mystery continues ...

With just hours until the Frogs open the season at home against Baylor, the status of Tommy Blake remains uncertain. He apparently is/was in an area hospital with an "undisclosed illness." (He was to be released today, according to reports.

Medical privacy laws prohibit the coaches from saying anything more specific about what ails the star defensive end. Gil LeBreton has a good column in today's Star-Telegram about the situation. Count me among those who fully expect him to play Saturday. If he is unavailable, that would cast doubt on his status for not only the Texas game next week, but the remainder of the season.

Blake back with team

All is well on the defensive line for now. Tommy Blake has returned. He'll be needed even more now that defensive tackle James Vess will not play this season. According to the Star-Telegram, he's still on the team, but a violation of university rules has sidelined him for the season. In unrelated news, Andy Dalton has beaten out Marcus Jackson for the starting quarterback position. Both have reportedly practiced well during the off season, but a decision had to be made in time to give the winner a chance to prepare for Baylor. Dalton was named the starter after Saturday's scrimmage. Many people are surprised, but the fact that Jackson, a sophomore who led the Frogs to a win over the Bears last year, was not given the job earlier was an indication coaches were learning toward Dalton.

Disturbing news on defensive front

After all the great national press about the Frogs' prospects for 2007 -- top 25 rankings virtually everywhere you look, prognosticators predicting a run toward the Bowl Championship Series -- there's a disturbing column in today's Star-Telegram about star defensive end Tommy Blake. Apparently, Blake, an All-America selection by several publications, has gone home.

It's too early to jump to conclusions, but if he quits the team, the defense will be much less intimidating, having lost its best player. Hopefully, he'll work things out and be back in Fort Worth in a few days. My guess is he will return. With the NFL on the horizon, Blake has too much to lose by sitting out a year.

UF wrong to discriminate against BUX

The University of Florida is trying to deny a Christian fraternity recognition as an official student organization because its admissions policy is exclusionary. Beta Upsilon Chi --also known as Brothers Under Christ -- filed a federal lawsuit last week, having been refused recognition by the university since May. Administrators must welcome BUX as an official organization for the fraternity to gain access to facilities at the University of Florida. Without this privilege, even the strongest groups would tend to wither over time.

The problem, as the university sees it, is BUX, of which I was a member at TCU, will not admit women. Imagine that -- a fraternity that wants to remain exclusively male. I guess it has to be pointed out to Florida that at most American colleges and universities, any group of women may assemble a sorority, even one requiring its members to profess a certain belief. Christian sororities are also quite common.


Even if BUX prevails in its battle for recognition, it still must fight for membership in the university's social-fraternity council, which prohibits religious discrimination. Obviously, a fraternity requiring its members be Christians does not comply.


So a Christian fraternity is denied membership because it insists on remaining true to its purpose. Try to wrap your brain around that. It's OK if you can't. If the architects of the non-discrimination policy cleared their heads long enough to think about how ridiculous it sounds to force a religious group to deny its bedrock principle, they'd be scratching their heads to the point of embarrassment.

Still no mtn. to climb

The football season is almost here, but there's been little progress on access for Frogs fans to CSTV and the mtn. (CSTV is available on satellite systems.) I'm tired of the Mountain West apologists comparing the conference's TV deal to the early years ESPN. Yes, ESPN struggled when it had none of the major sports to broadcast, but it survived its early struggles -- and dominates today -- because of a concept Superior to the MWC's.

The Mountain West is will be hampered by low visibility -- even if TCU and BYU do well enough to garner national attention throughout the season -- until the conference jettisons this ill-fated concept.

MWC commish talks with Big 12

Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson, the brilliant mind behind the highly successful television network the mtn., has revealed that he has talked with the Big 12 about its top job. In all seriousness, the man has to be the most unpopular commissioner in major college athletics. If the Big 12 wants him, you won't hear any whining here -- or, for that matter, anywhere across MWC country. I will, however, fear for the Big 12's future.

On another note, the football Frogs are the overwhelming favorite to win the conference title, with Aaron Brown and Tommy Blake selected the top offensive and defensive players, respectively. Yes, it's preseason, but don't be surprised to see these guys at the top of their respective lists in December.