TCU’s Rose Bowl season still No. 1 in Patterson’s mind, but that could change
It would take a national championship to beat 2010 as the most important season in school history, coach Gary Patterson said.
“It would be hard to pass up the influence that the Rose Bowl year had for TCU,” he said Tuesday in a news conference previewing the start of practice. “I don’t think there’s any way you look at it unless you win a national championship. I think that’ll be hard to beat.”
The Horned Frogs were 13-0 and finished ranked No. 2 after winning the Rose Bowl against Wisconsin on Jan. 1, 2011. The impact of the victory cemented TCU’s standing as it looked for a home in a automatic-qualifier BCS conference, eventually leading it to the Big 12.
Now the Horned Frogs are coming off a share of the Big 12 title in just their third season in the conference. And starting at No. 2 in the first of the major rankings, the USA Today coaches poll, the stage is set for a bigger finish than 2010.
“What we’ve been able to accomplish, and having a guy like Trevone Boykin, if he can play up to his potential and have the kind of season we want him to have — if he does that, then we’ll probably win a lot more games than we’ll lose,” Patterson said.
Patterson did not sound surprised by the No. 2 ranking, but he left it at that.
“That means usually you do have a little bit better football team,” he said. “But we’ve been here before in 18 years. It won’t be the first time, and hopefully not the last time we have an opportunity to be ranked this high.”
Coordinator orders
Patterson said he has the same orders for co-offensive coordinators Doug Meacham and Sonny Cumbie in their second seasons at TCU as in their first.
“Be as good as they can be,” he said. “I just want to win ballgames. I didn’t give them parameters. I don’t want to add pressure to something.”
Last season, Meacham and Cumbie engineered the second-biggest turnaround in points-per-game from one season to the next in Big 12 history. The Horned Frogs improved by 21.4 points. They were not held under 30 points in any game.
“For me, it’s make sure you have enough in the arsenal that, whatever you need to go on the road and win, you can go on the road and win,” Patterson said. “We’re not out there to win a title in No. 1 defense, and we’re not out there to win a title in No. 1 offense. We’re out there to win a title in the Big 12 or a national championship.”
Young receivers
The Horned Frogs sound optimistic about their young receivers, including the incoming freshmen.
“We lost one wide receiver, but we recruited five that are in camp. We think there will be at least two freshmen that will play,” Patterson said. “You’re going to have more depth.”
Patterson said sophomore Emanuel Porter has “grown up” to 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds. Porter got more work in spring following Josh Doctson’s absence with a hand injury.
Injury update
Defensive end Mike Tuaua (shoulder), receiver Josh Doctson (hand) and running back Aaron Green (groin), who each missed all or part of spring training, said they are healthy for practice. Deante Gray remains on schedule in his recovery from a knee injury in the spring.
Carlos Mendez, 817-390-7407
This story was originally published August 4, 2015 at 9:44 PM with the headline "TCU’s Rose Bowl season still No. 1 in Patterson’s mind, but that could change."