No surprises: TCU, Patterson looking for drama-free week, if possible
Maybe this week will be quieter for TCU coach Gary Patterson.
Maybe it’ll be normal.
Maybe like last year, when no one, including himself, knew what kind of team he had on his hands.
“This season’s not any different because of the high expectations. This season’s different because we’ve had injuries, the guys we’ve lost,” Patterson said Tuesday at his weekly press conference.
Last week at this time, he and the Horned Frogs were learning they had lost linebackers Sammy Douglas and Mike Freeze — one to injury, the other for personal reasons.
But the effect was the same. The Frogs and Patterson had to react on short notice to a linebacker makeover.
And on game day, another starter was lost when senior safety Kenny Iloka left with a knee injury in the first quarter.
Combined with the preseason injuries to starters Davion Pierson and James McFarland, that made five missing starters on defense.
That meant a potential College Football Playoff season for the Horned Frogs started on a rocky note.
Good thing Patterson chose not think of it as a potential College Football Playoff season for the Horned Frogs.
“I didn’t really get ready for the high expectations,” he said. “I got ready to try to build my football team the best it can be. ... It’s kind of like poker or anything else: When you’ve got a good hand, it’s easier to hedge your bet than when you don’t have a good hand. You take your chances or you fold.”
Round 3 is dealt at the table this weekas practice began for the SMU game on Saturday night.
And perhaps Patterson’s hole card will be the return of Pierson at defensive tackle.
“I don’t know that’s for sure yet,” Patterson said of Pierson possibly playing against the Mustangs. “You get small pieces of the puzzle back. Getting some people healthy will help.
“And we’ve got to have some young guys keep growing up. Young guys on special teams leads to ... crazy things happen on special teams. We’ll try to keep getting better at that.”
Patterson, of course, knows where the Horned Frogs rank. They are No. 3 in both the coaches and AP polls. However, Patterson knows how injuries could affect their national reputation.
But he wants the players to “keep their nose down” and not worry about being judged by their ranking. It is a long time until Nov. 3 when the first CFP rankings come out.
Still, there will be a score comparison this weekend — No. 4 Baylor defeated SMU 56-21 two weeks ago.
But Patterson will not necessarily try to top that. He doesn’t want to play to the polls.
“That’s why I don’t listen to it if they say Baylor played better than we did, and I don’t listen to if they say we played better,” Patterson said. “Because it won’t matter until we play Baylor. For us, we’ve just got to keep winning. Because if we don’t keep winning, nobody cares anyway.”
What else is different from last year?
The Frogs are not under the radar this year. People know they are good. The players know they are good.
“It was easier to do it the way we did it last year,” Patterson said. “Nobody cared. And all of a sudden, you woke up after the Oklahoma game and, ‘Oh, they’re halfway decent.’ Then you have the Baylor shootout, then we’re not. Then you come back and beat Oklahoma State 42-9 here, and ‘Oh, you are.’ You’re over halfway through the season before anybody knows what’s going on. Including yourself.”
More cards remain to be dealt. Patterson has to turn them over every week.
“If you do it right, then you’re surprised that you’re involved,” Patterson said of CFP potential. “I’ve been in this too long. You just need to take it game by game.”
Carlos Mendez, 817-390-7760
Twitter: @calexmendez
This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 5:09 PM with the headline "No surprises: TCU, Patterson looking for drama-free week, if possible."