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Although no one knows for sure, the best guess of historians who research such matters is that it took between 20 and 30 years to build the Great Pyramid.
Gary Patterson uses a written pyramid to create goals for his team, with various blocks devoted to winning on the road, winning at home, winning the conference championship, etc.At the top of the TCU pyramid is goal No. 1 — "National championship." It is entirely appropriate that the goal is listed in the top block of the pyramid because with the current structure of college football, it will take about as long for a non-BCS school to win a title as it took for Egyptians to build their pyramid.Although Patterson disavows any visions of grandeur, he is the one who created the pyramid. That he allowed himself the luxury of writing "national championship" in the top block of that pyramid indicates that he is capable of a wildest dream.And why not? TCU has won road games against two ACC teams. It is undefeated at 6-0. Two games are still scheduled against top-20 opponents BYU and Utah. What if undefeated Florida, Alabama, Texas, Iowa and Cincinnati lose a game? Southern Cal has already lost to Washington. And the Frogs play in a tougher conference than Boise State. Why not dream of an undefeated season and advancing to No. 2 in the country?Jerry Palm had a quick answer for that. When asked Wednesday what would have to happen for TCU to even play in a national championship game, Palm — who analyzes the BCS for his Web site Col legeBCS.com — said succinctly:"Armageddon."To summarize, Florida, Alabama and Texas would have to lose not once, but twice. Southern Cal would have to lose for a second time. And so would LSU and Miami, two teams currently ranked behind the Frogs in the BCS standings. "In 2007, LSU played for the title with two losses," Palm said. "It would take that kind of thing."No wonder that on Wednesday, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, called for President Obama to initiate a Justice Department investigation of the BCS — the latest attempt to end the monopoly that exists among six conferences in controlling major bowl games and their $17 million payouts to each team.The Mountain West champion is guaranteed only a spot in the Las Vegas Bowl. The payout is $1 million.The highest ranked team from a non-BCS conference, however, qualifies for a BCS bowl if it is in the top 12. So fortunately for TCU, goal No. 2 is realistic — "Go to a BCS bowl and Win." Patterson, of course, wrote the pyramid before the season, and while he believes in setting season-long goals, he is resolute in not looking ahead during the season. But with TCU ranked eighth in the first BCS poll, Patterson is obviously going to have to field questions on the subject, and he remains consistent with the pyramid. He also is realistic. He does not talk about a national championship, but he will address a BCS game."You’ve got to look for your opportunities and wait for your chance," he said. "That’s where we are with the Mountain West Conference. We’ve just got to keep waiting for our chance. Obviously Boise [State] got their chance. Utah’s had two chances to play a BCS game and they won both."[Non-BCS teams have] won three out of four times we’ve gotten an opportunity to play in those games and I think if we keep doing that — at some point in time if you do it consistently — we’re going to get the chance to do all the rest of it."Patterson was quick to point out that if TCU does not defeat a tough Brigham Young team in Provo, Utah, on Saturday, the discussion will be moot. And as Oklahoma discovered in the first game of the season, defeating BYU is not easy.With television contracts signed through 2014, nothing will change in the BCS unless there is government intervention. If you are a college football fan and believe in fair play but not big government, this has to be one time you hope for interference.But until "Armageddon" occurs, the reality is that any non-BCS team that has a national championship goal knows that the top of its pyramid is a plateau, not a peak.Jan Hubbard, 817-390-7760
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