‘You come to the bowl game with two strikes.’ TCU’s Patterson on message to players

TCU coach Gary Patterson wants his players to enjoy the bowl experience this week in the desert preparing to face Cal in Thursday’s Cheez-It Bowl at Chase Field. But he isn’t giving them much of a leash.

“You come to the bowl game with two strikes,” Patterson said. “You’re there to represent TCU and play well. We want them to enjoy it, but not at the cost of everybody else.

“This will be 19 in 21 years [since Patterson joined TCU’s staff]. The older guys will let them know how they need to act, how they need to do things.

“We have our rules.”

Patterson won’t hesitate to bench a player if necessary. Heck, he did it to star quarterback Trevone Boykin before the Alamo Bowl in the 2015 season.

That paved the way for the backup quarterback at the time, Bram Kohlhausen, to write his name into TCU lore by leading a stunning comeback.

For this year’s TCU team, fifth-year senior quarterback Grayson Muehlstein has an opportunity to have a similar storybook ending as Kohlhausen.

Muehlstein finds himself in the starting role for different reasons – injuries to opening day starter Shawn Robinson, who has since transferred, and backup Mike Collins – but with as much at stake.

TCU has dealt with a seemingly endless list of injuries this season and appeared headed to a season without a bowl berth for just the third time under Patterson. But the Frogs won their final two games to become bowl eligible and now have a real possibility of finishing with a winning season.

“It’s been one of the more interesting years we’ve ever had in my 21 years here at TCU,” Patterson said. “At 4-6, a lot of people would’ve quit but we found a way to win two ballgames and hopefully another one. We have a chance to win four of the last five.”

All eyes will be on Muehlstein.

At a time when it’s common to see most players transfer when they’re relegated to backup duties, Muehlstein has stayed true to TCU. And it paid off when he entered the Baylor game last month.

Muehlstein managed the offense well to keep the bowl dreams alive, completing 11 of 15 passes for 137 yards passing with one TD. He then made his first career start against Oklahoma State, going 16 of 25 for 180 yards passing and two TDs.

But he hasn’t seen a defense on Cal’s level. Cal is the 16th-best defense in the nation, holding the likes of Washington to 10 points and Washington State to 19 points this season.

So Patterson hopes that Muehlstein doesn’t get too far ahead of himself in thinking about his “storybook ending.”

“If he thinks about that, he won’t play very well,” Patterson said. “He needs to worry about one play at a time, trying to throw it to the right person, handing it to the right guy and trying to win the ballgame. Not worrying about trying to become historical. If he does that, he might be for the wrong reasons.

“I think he will [worry about the right things]. We’re trying to get to a winning season here. We’re trying to get to 7-6. You know, we were 4-6, we were sitting a long ways from that [winning season].”

Injury updates

Patterson said the team had a long five days before departing for the bowl game Saturday. The Frogs had five practices in a seven-day stretch as they attempted to get back in football shape after last playing Nov. 24 against Oklahoma State.

The good news is that the break has allowed some players to return to practice.

Linebacker/ defensive end Ty Summers has been practicing, and Patterson sounded optimistic about Summers playing in the finale. The same can be said about left guard Cordel Iwuagwu, who hasn’t played since the Texas game on Sept. 22.

Linebacker Montrel Wilson, a Keller Fossil Ridge product, returned to practice during the bowl prep after sitting out all season with an injury. But he pulled himself out of Friday’s practice with “soreness” and it’s unclear what his status will be on game day.

One player who is not expected to play is defensive tackle Joseph Broadnax. The senior is dealing with an undisclosed medical condition and Patterson does not believe Broadnax will play in the game.

This story was originally published December 22, 2018 at 9:00 AM.