TCU’s Patterson: Texas’ emotions could benefit Horned Frogs

TCU football coach Gary Patterson said he is wary of the emotional energy Texas will bring to the table in Friday’s game as the Longhorns seek to win one for embattled coach Charlie Strong.

The Horned Frogs (5-5, 3-4 in Big 12) and Longhorns (5-6, 3-5) meet Friday in Austin (2:30 p.m., FS1) against a backdrop of multiple media reports that Strong will be ousted after the contest. Texas administrators have said Strong’s status will be evaluated after the contest.

Patterson said he and his players are seeking to maintain a clinical approach and understand that TCU might benefit if Texas players are too emotional in their approach to the contest.

“I can’t worry about it. I just have to worry about TCU,” said Patterson, who suggested that he has long anticipated facing a fired-up bunch of Longhorns because the Horned Frogs have won the last two meetings between the teams by a combined margin of 98-17.

“I think they were going to be doing that anyway. I heard things in the summertime because of the way the last two years had gone,” Patterson said. “That emotion was going to be there anyway. Sometimes, that plays to your advantage and sometimes that plays to your disadvantage. I saw a couple of ballgames over the weekend where I thought it played to their disadvantage.”

Patterson also reflected on the situation earlier this month in Waco, when Baylor assistant coaches and players spent time on social media showing support for ousted coach Art Briles in the days leading into a Nov. 5 game against TCU.

“We played a team a couple of weeks ago that was going through that a little bit,” Patterson said of the heavy pregame display of emotions in Waco.

TCU defeated Baylor, 62-22.

This story was originally published November 22, 2016 at 3:27 PM with the headline "TCU’s Patterson: Texas’ emotions could benefit Horned Frogs."