In one year, TCU football set up to return to its rosiest heights

If Gary Patterson walked on the field for the first practice in August and pictured a day in December that TCU could win a share of the Big 12 championship, he isn’t saying.

Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t.

But he will say this — the signs were there that Year 3 in the Big 12 for the Horned Frogs was going to be different than Years 1 and 2.

“I don’t want to sit here and tell you that I knew we were going to be great and this is what was going to happen; nobody knows that,” he said. “But I knew that we had some good players, and I knew that we had played some close ballgames and that if we got some breaks, we could win more ballgames than we had won before.”

And that is the 2014 TCU football season described accurately.

The Horned Frogs took their good players, with their experience in close losses from a year ago, made some breaks and won more ballgames — way more ballgames — than they had won before. They take a 10-1 record, including 7-1 in the conference, into Saturday’s regular season finale at 11 a.m. against Iowa State with a chance to clinch a co-championship.

Coming off a 4-8 season, the No. 3-ranked Frogs are miles away from projections. Instead of simply trying to get on their feet in a Power 5 conference, they are one of the country’s elite teams.

If they can win convincingly Saturday, maybe even somewhat convincingly, they are likely headed for spot in the first College Football Playoff, the four-team tournament that will produce the national champion.

“It’s nice just to be in the mix, just to hear TCU, look on ESPN and see that,” senior cornerback Kevin White said. “We’re in the mix, in the top-six range. That’s new for TCU. That just shows respect. That’s something that we like to see.”

It’s possible very few people expected to see it. But after two seasons of frustration and inability to show they belonged in the Big 12, it’s clear now that the Horned Frogs have returned to their greatest heights, the 2011 Rose Bowl victory that left them ranked No. 2 in the country.

“I’m really glad for them,” Patterson said of the seniors who came to TCU off the momentum of that high-point season. “It’s hard to know that you came in, were part of a Fiesta Bowl, a Rose Bowl, and then went through the two years you went through. People like Sam Carter and Kevin White, Chucky Hunter — the whole senior class —I think it’s a big positive. What we told them when they came in can still come true.”

Senior receiver David Porter let himself visualize it. He used a specific memory.

“The Auburn season two years ago, they came back the next year and played for the national championship,” he said. “It’s a historic season. It’s a great feeling to have.”

The Horned Frogs have cautioned themselves not to think too far ahead. But the 2012 Auburn team is a good reference point for the turnaround that is possible in modern college football. Auburn went from 3-9 to 12-2 in one season, reaching the BCS championship game.

“I think this team has always been capable of doing what we’re doing right now,” junior safety Chris Hackett said. “We just had to put the work into it on the field. We always do it off the field. We just had to put that on the field. I think everybody is well-grounded, just ready to get to where we need to be.”

For Porter, there is a sense that something has been restored.

“It’s just great to go out there and put TCU on the map and let everyone know what TCU is about,” he said. “One of our main goals is to win a conference championship. We have a chance to do that in just three years being in the conference. It’s a great feeling to have.”

Patterson won’t let himself think about any kind of feeling until about 3 o’clock on Saturday. He’ll know by then what the season has brought. But he already knows this 10-1 year, whether he knew it was coming or not, whether it reaches its highest goal or not, can rank among his most satisfying.

“A lot of people, because of the conference, I think they think, ‘Well, this is the best season we’ve had,’ even besides the Rose Bowl year, because of the people we’ve played on a day-to-day basis,” Patterson said. “And maybe they’re right. Maybe they’re not.

“We’ve got to finish this journey.”

Storylines

Make it convincing. TCU has the best chance to win among all the CFP contenders. But that also means a responsibility to be one of the most convincing winners. To be sure about a playoff spot, the Horned Frogs must leave no doubt.

Quarterback contain. The Horned Frogs have been hurt by scrambling quarterbacks, and Iowa State’s Sam Richardson qualifies. He is second on the team in rushing and is as big as a receiver. He can keep drives alive with third-down escapes.

The big play. Another area for TCU to shore up. Two weeks ago at Texas, the Horned Frogs gave up their fifth play of 70 yards or more this year. Iowa State has big-play speed in running back Aaron Wimberley and receiver Jarvis West.

Year 3 turnaround

After going 2-7 in the Big 12 a year ago, TCU is poised to win a share of the Big 12 title. A game-by-game look at the turnaround:

Head to head

This story was originally published December 5, 2014 at 10:43 AM with the headline "In one year, TCU football set up to return to its rosiest heights."