As injuries mount, TCU expects tight games to be the norm

Given a chance to relive the excitement of Saturday in Lubbock, TCU coach Gary Patterson wouldn’t even call it that.

“More of a relief than excitement,” he said.

Those six words capture the Horned Frogs’ season so far. With an injury list that numbers 11, including six players out for the year, the words survive and advance are very close to literal for the No. 4-ranked team in the country.

The Frogs needed a last-minute catch off a deflection in the end zone to defeat Texas Tech 55-52 on Saturday, a week after being pushed into the fourth quarter by SMU in a 56-37 victory.

In those games, like the two before it, a player was lost for the season because of injury. It is getting hard to do business in the Big 12 that way.

“When you get everybody’s best shot and you can survive that, you move on and be thankful,” Patterson said, speaking at his weekly press conference. “We found a way to move on and be thankful.”

They also found a way to celebrate.

After the lengths the Frogs went to for the win at Tech, piling up 750 yards, scoring seven touchdowns — including Aaron Green’s rescuing catch off Josh Doctson’s fingertips — and yet still needing to stop a series of desperation laterals just 10 yards from the goal line, it was well-deserved.

“The plane ride home? It was fun,” running back Kyle Hicks said. “It was really fun. We were glad we came out of Lubbock with the win. So it was fun.”

Receiver Desmon White smiled at the memory of the locker room and Patterson’s talk to the team.

“A lot of energy,” he said. “I don’t remember his exact words. He was excited. We had fun in the locker room.”

When the plane landed Saturday night, it was back to reality.

It’s possible receiver Kolby Listenbee, who sat out against Texas Tech, will miss a second game. Defensive end Terrell Lathan may or may not be available. Cornerback Torrance Mosley has to shake off a sprained ankle from practice last week that caused him to miss his start against Tech. And reserve receivers Emmanuel Porter and Ja’Juan Story were shaken up in Lubbock.

What’s a coach to do?

“I don’t really talk about it. I just plug the guys in,” Patterson said. “You start thinking about it, that’s all they think about it. And I’m sure they’re already thinking about it.”

So Patterson is fully braced for more close games. He’s plenty used to it.

“In 2005, when we won 11 ballgames, I think five or six of them were by five points or less,” he said. “This is not our first rodeo of understanding you’ve got to outlast your competition. Last year was a lot different — it was not the norm. And I think in this conference, you better just get ready as soon as that ball kicks off. Every Saturday is going to be an interesting Saturday the rest of the way.”

The same players who helped TCU go 12-1 a year ago with an average victory margin of 30 points have gotten the message.

“We know that every game is going to be a fight,” Hicks said. “We don’t expect it to be easy. We know we’re going to get everybody’s best. So we prepare for it.”

Even for games like last week?

“It was crazy, but we just always knew that we’d find a way,” Hicks said.

For Patterson, the mission is to find a way to be one of the four best teams in the country by season’s end.

Barely winning or winning in wild fashion is fine.

“I don’t have to be the best football team I need to be right now,” Patterson said. “I just have to be that best team by the last game of the season. That’s it. All I need to do is try to win a ballgame every week by one point and keep getting better and stay healthy. And that’s what my kids want. My job is to give my seniors the best season they can possibly have. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Sounds exciting.

This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 6:37 PM with the headline "As injuries mount, TCU expects tight games to be the norm."