Texas Christian begins BCS Title Quest against Oregon St

The Mountain West conference has proven to be a football powerhouse over the last few seasons. The Brigham Young Cougars have always produced tons of talent on the offensive side of ball, but could never compete with the “Big Boys” due to a lack of defense. Gary Patterson came to the TCU Horned Frogs 10 years ago with the idea of building an offense like BYU’s, but with a hard nosed defense to go along with it. Patterson has taken this struggling program, and turned it into a perennial powerhouse. They were one of 2 teams in the NCAA last year to be ranked in the top-10 on both offense and defense with the other team being the Florida Gators.

TCU returns starting quarterback Andy Dalton for his senior year. Dalton has been the leader of the Frogs offense, and has improved his passer rating in each of his first 3 seasons. He will a huge part of how well the Horned Frogs do this season. Last years leading rusher Joseph Turner may be gone, but TCU has two very capable tailbacks to fill his shoes. Mathew Tucker and Ed Wesley both split time with Turner last year, and showed that they have more than enough to carry the load for the 2010 season. Tucker and Wesley combined for over 1300 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging well over 6 yards per rush.

The defensive side of the ball is where the Frogs win games. They allowed the fewest yards per game last season in the entire FBS division at 233. They are equally as good against the run as they are against the pass, and are returning the majority of the starting group from last season. They will be tested right out of the gate this season as they take on the 24th ranked Oregon St Beavers in Arlington, Texas on Saturday.

The Beavers have come along way over the last few seasons, and are eyeing a PAC-10 title for 2010. Head coach Mike Riley has put together an incredibly tough schedule this season, and will need to have his team hitting on all cylinders right from the jump. After this difficult battle with TCU, the Beavers will host the Louisville Cardinals and then head out to the “Blue Carpet” where they will face #3 Boise St. If Riley and company can somehow navigate this brutal schedule undefeated, then they will almost certainly have the opportunity to fight for a BCS title.

The Vegas oddsmakers and most NCAA football handicappers are picking the Frogs to roll in this game, The “neutral site” isn’t really that neutral as the Horned Frogs will have a short bus ride to Arlington, and will have the majority of the fan support. This should be a great game. Both coaches are tremendous, but it will be interesting to see which coach has his team more prepared to start the season. This is clearly the best game of the weekend and may have serious BCS implications when it’s over. Tune in Saturday as the Oregon St Beavers and TCU Horned Frogs battle in the first ranked vs. ranked game of the year!

Related posts:

1. Alabama/ Texas in the 2010 BCS National Championship
2. 2011 BCS National Champioship Game: Auburn vs. Oregon
3. #8 Texas A&M begins season vs. Explosive SMU Offense
4. PAC-12 Title Fight: Stanford hosts Oregon
5. Horned Frogs take on Improved BYU Offense

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