FORT WORTH, Texas — Before taking a question, TCU coach Gary Patterson pointed at his team’s pyramid of goals on the wall, specifically under the “Beat the Odds” heading where Oklahoma is listed.
“That pretty much sums it up,” Patterson said.
Not only this week, but for most of the past decade for the No. 24 Horned Frogs (4-0).
While Patterson was referring to Saturday night’s game at No. 2 Oklahoma (3-0), where TCU is more than a two-touchdown underdog, the Frogs have long been trying to beat the odds and become one of the teams from a non-BCS conference to get to a Bowl Championship Series game.
“You don’t know how the game is going to turn out. You’ve got to be able to dream a little bit,” Patterson said. “This is what you want, everyone’s eyes on you, get yourself to a point where everyone pays attention, then see how the game turns out.”
Three years ago, the Frogs pulled off a 17-10 season-opening upset at Oklahoma. Their BCS hopes ended a week later with a loss at lowly SMU, even though they won the rest of their games — one of their three 11- win seasons in a four-year span.
The year before Utah became the original BCS buster in 2004 (Boise State and Hawaii followed), TCU won its first 10 games and was sixth in the BCS standings before losing. With LaDainian Tomlinson at tailback in 2000, the Frogs were 7-0 before being upset at San Jose State.
With the nation’s top-ranked defense (183 yards per game) and a high-scoring offense (43 points a game) this season, TCU hasn’t trailed in a game. The Frogs are coming off a 48-7 victory at SMU.
The Frogs are 12th nationally with 249 rushing yards per game, but their top rusher is Ryan Christian, with 189 yards combined in four games. Three others have at least 162 yards, including starting quarterback Andy Dalton, with 184 yards and five TDs. Dalton’s backup, Marcus Jackson, has thrown the team’s only two TD passes.
“I think just looking at how the season has come along just totally describes us, what we’re going for,” center Blake Schlueter said. “We’re just a team, we don’t have the superstars, we don’t have the big names out there.”
