By JENNIFER FLOYD ENGEL
jenfloyd@star-telegram.com
TCU wideout Jeremy Kerley is bananas. That, I was told by Jerry Hughes, is the word the kids are using these days to describe acts that defy usual adjectives.
And his punt return for a touchdown in Saturday’s 44-6 victory against Colorado State certainly defied at least normal knees. Kerley reversed field, like, 10 times.
He started out wide, with speed, angling toward the sideline. He made a guy miss, then another, then another with five being the final consensus. Hemmed in by the sideline, he twinkle-toed to keep himself in bounds before weaving back into the open field. He cut one way, then another, then another until he had a clear path to the end zone for six points in nasty, sick, bananas fashion.
"Could I do it again? Yeah," Kerley said. "I might be a little tired."
One question: If amazing happens in front of a half-filled stadium, do the big boys in college football take it seriously?
On a perfect day for college football, sunny and crisp, there were huge pockets of empty seats at Amon G. Carter Stadium to watch the No. 8, or No. 12, depending on your poll preference, team in the country play. Horned Frogs friends report the alum section was decently full, the upper deck was actually fuller than they’d seen in a while at the start of the game, but it was far from the packed house this team warrants.
So where was everybody Saturday?
"You just tell them I love them, but I wish more of them were here," Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson said. "They missed a good ballgame."
Let me add, you are missing a really good team.
I try to always tread lightly on telling fans what to do. It is your money, your time, go and see who you want. But I have to tell you that you are missing it. You have a big-time college football team with guys like Kerley and Hughes (who is beyond bananas on a weekly basis) playing right here in your back yard and you are going to miss it.
And actually, complaints about lack of national respect ring kind of hollow.
College GameDay has been calling to do one of those get-to-know-me pieces on Hughes. A big-time
SI writer tweeted, "It may be the best team playing in Dallas today is TCU."
Geography problems notwithstanding, the problem is not nationally. It is here. It is some of you.
Go ahead and bemoan this mercurial ranking system, which saw TCU drop two spots for winning snugly a week ago (and I admit to being morbidly curious to see if Boise State gets TCU-ed for barely beating Tulsa). Certainly question the fraudulent BcS for haphazardly determining which teams are "worthy to be national champions."
The truth is, every week, at games across America, bowl reps are doing simple math. They are counting fans. BcS games are butts-in-seats-oriented events, and when the BcS standings are released today they are just part of the formula that goes into determining who plays in all but the biggest of big games. Do not think they missed the empties in Fiesta, Sugar and Orange offices.
"You wish for more, but when you don’t get it, what can you do?" Kerley said of the attendance. "We appreciate our fans who come."
The lack of fans used to drive former Frogs coach Dennis Franchione crazy. He focused a lot on who was missing, not who came. In stark contrast, most TCU players echo Kerley, who is quick to thank those who do come. Patterson, too.
Of course, the schedule is not helping matters. Whoever is in charge of such things at the Mountain West Conference is not doing the Frogs any favors. TCU has played three home games. Two have taken on or butted up against important big-time college games: Arkansas-A&M at JerryWorld and Texas- Oklahoma on Saturday.
I realize nobody in wherever The Mtn. is based understands the ways of Texas, but quit with scheduling TCU at home during The Red River Rivalry. It is like religion. Even people who do not have tickets, or did not go to Texas or OU, do not schedule anything for that weekend because turnout will be light. Like at Amon Carter on Saturday.
It was not an awful crowd. It just was small, considering the beautiful day and how kickoff came after Texas-OU finished and mostly how the Horned Frogs are proving to be.
They are bananas and, if they are lucky enough to beat BYU on Saturday in Utah, do not miss them anymore.
Jennifer Floyd Engel, 817-390-7760
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