Odds stacked against UNLV; TCU kept it that way

By GIL LeBRETON

glebreton@star-telegram.com

To be blunt, Vegas should have stayed in Vegas.

But maybe that’s what this TCU defense has become. A visitor comes in with all good intentions and, after a few hours with the nation’s fifth-stingiest defense, it leaves with zero points and only seven first downs.

For the No. 8-ranked TCU Horned Frogs, this Halloween afternoon could have been spooky. Seven days after they raised brows by routing BYU, the Frogs had to muster the energy and concentration to subdue the struggling Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels.

UNLV came into the game having lost four of its previous five and dead-last in the Mountain West Conference in yards allowed on defense.

No problem, though, the Frogs said, after dealing the Rebels a business-like, 41-0 spanking.

"Twenty-four hours," said senior tackle Marshall Newhouse. "Everyone has 24 hours to enjoy the victory. When we came back Sunday, we turned our focus to UNLV."

Clearly, TCU’s Gary Patterson knows how to coach defense. Better than even that, though, Patterson seems to have the knack for knowing how much to push his team — and how much to hug.

The Vegas oddsmakers, coincidentally enough, had installed the Frogs as 35-point favorites to defeat UNLV. It’s the kind of margin that’s usually reserved only for suckers.

"We respect all our opponents," Newhouse said. "We knew they had good athletes."

So dominating was the TCU defense, as it turned out, so suffocating was the Frogs’ pass coverage, UNLV seemed to be trudging uphill all day.

The Rebels came in with a respectable amount of glitter. For the season, the only MWC teams with more points than UNLV were the Frogs, BYU and Utah. The Rebels started Saturday third best in the league in passing, throwing for nearly 262 yards a game.

But against TCU, UNLV completed only nine passes, the longest going for 11 yards. Throw out backup quarterback Mike Clausen’s 40-yard run, and the Rebels averaged only 2.4 yards per play.

"I like the way we did things," a pleased Patterson said.

If any of the Frogs were looking ahead to the Nov. 14 showdown against Utah, it didn’t show.

"San Diego State next week," quarterback Andy Dalton said, dismissing any questions about the Utes.

If anyone doubts that Patterson hasn’t gotten better at his job, he only has to look at the way Patterson has paced the Frogs over these past two seasons.

The Horned Frogs rebounded from a loss at Oklahoma last season to win five in a row and claw back into contention for a BCS bowl bid. After a heartbreaking loss at Utah, Patterson’s team came back to smother Air Force and then burst Boise State’s bubble in the Poinsettia Bowl.

This season’s team has weathered every storm — literally, in some cases. With the Top 10 spotlight growing with each passing week, the Frogs’ last three victories have been by scores of 44-6, 38-7 and 41-0.

"I like the shutout," Patterson announced.

UNLV struggled to mount a drive all day. The farthest the Rebels advanced was the TCU 34-yard line. Their longest possession of the day consumed eight plays and only 29 yards.

Somehow, UNLV quarterback Omar Clayton escaped without being sacked. But his passing totals measured only 38 yards.

"This is by far the best defense we’ve faced all season," said UNLV coach Mike Sanford, whose team has faced Oregon State, Wyoming, BYU and Utah.

"I think TCU is obviously an excellent football team, and they are deserving of their rankings."

Barring the inexplicable, the Frogs should not lose ground in either the polls or the BCS standings this week. They remain serious contenders for a BCS bowl, as evidenced by the two Sugar Bowl representatives who watched from the press box Saturday.

What the bowl people saw was a poised and confident team that, one week after its biggest victory in four seasons, patiently took care of business — just the way Patterson’s locker room pyramid chart shows it.

"I didn’t really say much to them in the locker room," Patterson said. "Just color the pyramid. They know what we’ve got to do."

Four games stand between the Horned Frogs and a destination that once might have seemed like a dream.

"I told them, 'If you want to win a championship, you’ve got to get on a roll,’ " Patterson said.

The roll, Patterson hopes, started last week at BYU.

The Frogs refuse, they insist, to look ahead.

GIL LeBRETON, 817-390-7760

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