Sunday, December 27, 2009

SMU wraps up, winning.

Take a good look at it: to the right is a shot of SMU players triumphantly hoisting a bowl trophy. Players from the Hilltop haven't had a chance to do such a thing since they were state employees, paid from the governor's office, with generous contributions from the school's boosters. Craig James remains the most famous of that infamous lot, still taking potshots at TCU from his plush digs at ESPN.

But the kids you see at right are not anybody's employees; they're June Jones's latest devotees, and they put a stunning exclamation mark on the '09 season in the Hawaii Bowl. Sure Nevada had nearly the worst pass defense in the nation, but unlike other porous defenses on SMU's schedule (UAB, Tulane, Washington State, Rice, UTEP all ranked in the bottom 20), Nevada had a decent offense that was favored to keep SMU's aerial circus off the field, even without 2/3 of its 1,000-yards-each trio. But Jones and his freshman phenom Kyle Padron put the bowl practices-- a luxury not afforded the Ponies in a generation-- to good use. "I think I've grown a lot in these last few weeks," Padron said. "Any time you can get extra practice in with the coaches we have, it's going to help in the long run."

And in the short run, Mr. Padron.
SMU's true freshman gunslinger (pictured) racked up stats remeniscent of Colt Brennan, in Brennan's Hawaii stomping grounds: 460 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions. The Ponies' defense turned in its best performance of the year, holding Nevada to 10 points, 177 yards in the air and 137 on the ground. The 35 point margin of victory was the Mustangs' first comfortable win of the year-- of the last few years-- and nearly equalled the sum of the margins of victory in SMU's seven other wins this year. Add it all up, and everything about the game points to better things ahead in Dallas. Only graduating center Mitch Enright is older than a sophomore on SMU's 09 o-line two-deep; likewise only one d-linemen on the two-deep is older than a sophomore as well, junior nose-tackle Chris Parham. Senior WR Emmanuel Sanders graduates, and junior RB Shawnbrey McNeal has left early for the NFL, but the rest of the offense is scheduled for 2010. LB Chase Kennemer and two DBs graduate as well.
With McNeal (pictured) gone pro, SMU will be auditioning for a go-to runningback. McNeal handled 63% of the team's carries in '09, for over 83% of the team's ground yards. True freshmen Darryl Fields and Kevin Pope join a sparse backfield this summer.
In short, the crew that improved the school's rushing attack from 119th to 100th, scoring offense from 93rd to 55th, rush defense from 116th to 88th, pass defense from 119th to 46th, and scoring defense from 115th to 90th, returns in 2010. Likely SMU won't be threatening TCU's stranglehold on the Iron Skillet in 2010, but expect another round of improvement across the board-- and perhaps a different take on that Skillet in 2011.

Here're KDFW33's three-part look at SMU's '09 season.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

SAN DIEGO STATE wraps up, solidifying.

Of course the Aztec faithful-- however many of those are left-- hope that the San Diego State is doing more than just solidifying; they see a program that's rising out of the conference cellar. Ryan Lindley led the offense that passed for 30 more yards and 4 more points (on average) in '09 than it got in '08, and he did so behind an anemic line and without the advantage of a viable run game. The '09 Aztecs didn't net 1,000 yards on the ground total, and in their eight losses averaged only 71 yards. In their four wins, SDSU averaged 95-- which is still frighteningly low.

So will SDSU's ground game improve? The answer lies in recruiting. Coach Hoke signed no offensive linemen in his (admittedly hastily-assembled) first class last year, and must replace two seniors on its line, RT Peter Nelson and LG Ikaika Aken-Moleta. Hoke and his staff have taken to building the team's lines with gusto, signing two JUCO linemen this month, and garnering four OL commits from high school seniors so far. Hoke hopes JUCO transfers Juan Bolanos and Riley Gauld will compete for starting spots, and that freshmen Emmanuel Beavers and Zach Dilley will press for PT, as well. SDSU's recruiting focus on linemen has to bring a smile to returning RBs Brandon Sullivan, Walter Kazee, Davon Brown, and incoming freshman Ronnie Hillman's faces. Kazee generated what little buzz the Aztecs had on the ground in 2009; Hillman was perhaps Hoke's most touted recruit last year; he finally enrolled for spring 2010. Any increased vigor in SDSU's rush attack counts double, because it frees the Aztecs' already-formidable passing game to grow.

And SDSU will continue to do that well. Ryan Lindley will be a third-year starter in '10, with a deep corps of receivers to whom to throw; if Vincent Brown is among them (and he's telling recruits he'll be back in '10), instead of in the NFL, SDSU won't have to find a franchise receiver. Replacing, or behind, Brown, is a long list of returning and new players, with Dominique Sandifer, Alston Umuloa, D. J. Shields, Osmond Nicholas, Marvin Jones, David Lamar, and Jay Waddell all vying for Lindley's attention. [update: Brown will return, as will DeMarco Sampson, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility. Together these two had 43% of SDSU's catches in '09, for 52% of the team's receiving yards. Their return is a huge bonus for Brady Hoke's rebuilding project on the Mesa.]

Hoke's DC, Rocky Long, brought a drastically different set of schemes for the defense in '09, and prompted a 33-place rise in the national rush defense standings, a 48-place rise in pass defense, and a 15-place rise in scoring defense. While the team must replace a starting corner, safety, and Aztec back, as well as two of the three LB spots on D, Rocky Long's cupboard is brimming with young talent to run his speedy schemes. 2009's bumper crop of freshmen DBs and LBs have a year of Long's tutelage under their belts, and they're joined by a second large group of incomers this fall. Their continued improvement is the second most important element in SDSU's revival. Fortunately, Long is a proven talent at developing players, and his magic has already been in evidence on the Mesa.

Long's d-line may see changes in personel, but not because of graduation. All three d-linemen return, but Hoke's first four-star recruit is JUCO transfer DE Perry Jackson, who will compete for starting snaps this spring.

More amorphously, Hoke seems to have succeeded in changing the culture in the SDSU program. He's convinced high school players previously committed to UNLV and Nevada to become Aztecs instead; he's sold prep seniors on the idea that they are starting a tradition of San Diego players staying in San Diego for college.

Friday, December 25, 2009

UTAH wraps up, roaring.

Guest-blogger, and die-hard Ute fan Jack contributed to this report.

Ten-win seasons do not grow on trees in most places, but perhaps it's time to consider Salt Lake City as fertile ground for ten-win seasons. Utah's dismantling of Cal in the Poinsettia Bowl made 2009 the program's fifth such season, and '08-'09 its first back-to-back 10-win seasons.

In some ways, Utah's season didn't get underway until the second half of the eighth game of 2009, when Wyoming was threatening to hand the Utes their second loss of the year, and Kyle Whittingham pulled the redshirt off of Jordan Wynn. The 18 year old provided a spark for the offense, going 9-14 with one touchdown in his first collegiate game and win. Wynn finished the season as a starter, going 3-2, including the come-from-behind tie against BYU, which ended in a loss in overtime, triggering commentary from the other starting QB in that game.

While Wynn is the best story for the '09 Utes, Utah's backfield is a similar story, and nearly as good. Franchise back Matt Asiata suffered a season-ending knee-injury early in game four, leaving smaller runners Eddie Wide, Sausan Shakerin, and Shaky Smithson to man the run game. Wide ('10 senior) stepped up in a big way, topping 1,000 yards by year end. Shakerin and Smithson ('10 senior) were effective change-of-pace backs. Asiata may return in 2010, if granted the medical redshirt. Shakerin ('10 soph) will be joined by redshirt Beau Burton and true freshman Princeton Collins as the backup RBs.

The Utes started only one senior on the o-line in '09, all-American Zane Beadles. The Utes' steady recruiting at OL is paying off, and the strong front that maintained the Utes' national top-50 rushing attack in '09 may improve it in 2010. Whittingham insists that the line will not be blocking ahead of a quarterback battle this offseason, despite Terrence Cain's better stats as a signalcaller. (139.4 v. 130.7 QB rating; Cain ran roughly twice as often as Wynn, for slightly more ypc.)

The 2010 signal caller will be throwing to a largely turned-over corps of wideouts. Three of the Utes' top four receivers graduate, taking half of 2009's catches and receiving yards with them. There'll be room on the two-deep for several of the full nine receivers Utah has enrolled in the '09 and '10 classes.

On defense, the situation is nearly reversed. Six of eight 2009 starters off the line were seniors, including standout LBs Stevenson Sylvester and S Robert Johnson. The '09 seniors (DE Misi, LBs Sylvester, Wright, Gaison, CB Sanford, Ss Johnson and Dale) took Utah's pass defense from 22nd in '08 to ninth in '09. Look for a return to something like 22nd in 2010. Over the last two or three years, the Utes have recruited better than any team in the conferece (except perhaps TCU), so expect considerable foment on the two-deep in spring and fall as younger players vie for starting spots in the defense. While Utah returns some of its most talented young players on the line, including DE Christian Cox and DTs David Kruger, Sealver Siliga, and JUCO transfer James Aiono (who redshirted in 2009), it is unclear who will rise to the top of the chart behind them at LB and in the secondary.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

COLORADO STATE wraps up, looking up.

Looking up because it fell all the way to the bottom of the conference in 2009-- a surprising drop for a team that finished with the MWC's second-best passing attack in '08, a rare all-returning offensive line, and an even rarer upset of rival Colorado to open 2009. The Rams were riding high after three games; and then came the middle, meaty part of their schedule: BYU, Idaho, Utah, and TCU, three of them roadtrips. In under a month 3-0 became 3-4, and the bleeding never stopped. Unlike last year, CSU's quarterback play never gelled, and also unlike last year, no running Ram proved able to carry the team from the backfield.

Leonard Mason (pictured)-- the best emerging runningback on the team-- was injured against TCU. John Mosure's decent rushing performance against SDSU in the last third of the schedule was totally overshadowed by the Aztecs' brilliant passing game. Mason's return against AFA the next week wasn't enough to match the Falcons' option attack. CSU's odd loss at UNLV, in which the Rams beat the Rebels in every statistical category except points, closed postseason possibilities for CSU, and by the time lowly New Mexico topped Colorado State by two points for CSU's eighth loss of the season, the prize was a share of last place. Wyoming finished off the Rams' season with a humiliating come-from-behind win, launching CSU's hated rivals to their first bowl in half a decade. Had Steve Fairchild's magic fled with the talent-rich seniors that graduated after his first season in Fort Collins?

Probably not, although Fairchild's success (or failure) as a player developer is going to be on open display in 2010. His staff must grow up an offensive line this offseason, replacing seniors LT Cole Pemberton, LG (and all-MWC) Shelley Smith, C Tim Walter, and RGs Adrian Martinez and Scott Benedict. Their replacements, perhaps some combination of (L-R) Ryan Griffith, Jake Gdowski, Tyler McDermott, Mark Starr, and a younger guard, will have nearly no starts between them, and a new quarterback to hold a pocket for. How Fairchild's staff develops the six 2010 redshirt freshmen and sophomore linemen likely will effect their tenure in Fort Collins more than any other effort they make.

And just who might that new QB be? Backups Jon Eastman, Klay Kubiak, and redshirted Nico Ranieri will compete with early-enrolling blue chip Pete Thomas, who headlines the Rams' 2010 class. Because Eastman had ample time to impress, and didn't, Thomas (and to a lesser extent, Ranieri and true freshman Tyler Shreve) will arrive facing very high expectations.

Sadly, that yet-unknown starting QB won't get to throw to Dion Morton and Rashaun Greer, who depart taking 41% of the team's catches, and 48% of its receiving yards with them. Returning speester Tyson Ligget and FB Zac Pauga will play a large part of that effort (accounting for 23% of the team's catches and 19% of its receiving yards in '09). CSU must develop some go-to threats in the air, especially when breaking in so many new linemen and a QB.

On defense, the picture is almost 180 degrees opposite. The rushing defense continued its upward trajectory, led up front by second-year Ty Whittier, James Morehead, Guy Miller, and Cory Macon. They spearheaded a 26-place jump nationally in rushing defense (a 33 ypg improvement), and return in 2010. Sophomore Mychal Sisson led a young LB corps that gets Ricky Brewer back in 2010. Sisson led the team in tackles, TFLs, and sacks. Sophomore safety Elijah-Blu Smith and senior CB Nick Oppenneer led the secondary, which must improve in 2010 if CSU will go bowling again. The returner-heavy defense must carry the 2010 Rams while its offense finds its feet.

Fairchild and his staff will bring in a large class of recruits, heavy on linemen and DBs. Look for QBs Bobby Borcky and Tyler Shreve at other positions in a year or two.

BYU wraps up, pleased (believe it or not).

The Wimple welcomes guest blogger and BYU-fan Jake, to wrap up the 2009 Cougars and preview next season in Provo.

It’s funny how two seasons can progress so similarly and yet feel so differently. This was certainly the story of BYU football in 2008 and 2009. Although BYU went 10-2 in each of these two regular seasons, fans generally received the 2009 campaign much more favorably, helped by the Cougars beating their archrival and winning their bowl.

The Cougars started off the season with an explosion, pulling off a huge upset of then-#3 Oklahoma and jumping into the top 10, triggering discussion of the Cougars sneaking into the national title game. Two weeks later, that discussion ended as abruptly as it had begun as Florida State steamrolled the Cougars in Provo. BYU won its next four games and had regained some confidence heading into the College Gameday showdown with the Horned Frogs. That confidence was quickly shattered as TCU dominated the game from start to finish. After the TCU loss, it looked as though the season could slip away from BYU. However, the Cougars regrouped, the defense played its best football of the season down the stretch, and BYU ended the season on a four-game winning streak, including a dramatic overtime win over archrival Utah and a dominating beatdown of Oregon State in the Cougars' fifth straight Las Vegas Bowl.

Perhaps the most positive surprise for the BYU offense in 2009 was the play of the offensive line. The line returned only one starter (LT Matt Reynolds), and any semblance of depth was largely eradicated by injuries during fall camp (the Cougars traveled only seven offensive linemen to the season opener against Oklahoma). But the line gelled quickly, fueled by the contributions of new starters like Nick Alletto, Terence Brown and Braden Hansen. They powered a BYU offense that averaged 437 yards and over 34 points per game and allowed less than two sacks per game. They are a bright spot for BYU’s offense next year, which must replace the great majority of its passing production.

Much of the credit for BYU’s offensive production rests with Max Hall, who graduates with the school record for most wins by a starting QB. After starting the season with ten interceptions in its first five games, Hall threw just four INTs in the last seven, went over 300 yards eight times during the season, and wrote a new chapter in BYU football lore with his game-winning touchdown pass to Andrew George in overtime. A primary question for BYU in 2010 is who will replace Hall. Many question whether backup Riley Nelson's propensity to tuck the football and run is a good fit for BYU’s typically sit-in-the-pocket-and-throw offense. Jake Heaps (pictured) is BYU’s biggest recruiting get in several years—rated by some services the #1 high school quarterback in the country, and MVP of Nike’s prestigious Elite 11 quarterback camp. Perhaps the most intriguing returning missionaries are the two at the quarterback spot, Jason Munns and James Lark. Cougar fans seems to agree that Munns had the better shot at the starting position, but missing spring practice gives Nelson or Heaps the chance to secure the early #1 spot.

At running back, Harvey Unga turned in his third straight 1000 yard season—a first for BYU football. Whether he'll depart early for the NFL will greatly colort BYU’s offseason. Graduating FB Manase Tonga provided crucial lead run-blocking and pass protection and scored seven touchdowns. His departure will certainly be felt in the 2010 offense. Sophomore J.J. DiLuigi provided a quicker change of pace to Unga, getting 250 yards both on the ground and through the air and scoring seven touchdowns. Bryan Kariya impressed as Unga’s replacement against Oklahoma; his workload decreased as Unga came back to action. The offensive line and receiving corps return most of their players, which should ease the transition for the new starting QB. Even if Unga doesn’t return, DiLuigi and Kariya will provide valuable experience in the backfield. '10 sophs Jo Jo Pili and Anthony Heimuli will battle to replace Tonga at fullback.

The strength of BYU’s passing attack was largely built on Hall’s connection with his two senior tight ends, All-American Dennis Pitta and backup Andrew George. The two combined for 83 catches, 1,146 yards and 12 touchdowns, and were the first teammates to earn first- and second-team all-MWC honors in the same season. Their production will be missed, but expect returning WRs O’Neil Chambers, McKay Jacobson, Luke Ashworth, Spencer Hafoka, Brett Thompson to fill much of the lack. Don’t be surprised to see BYU utilize a tight end much less next season, and certainly many fewer two-TE sets (expect to see more of a two-wide, one split tight end and one H-back/receiver set next year, similar to what BYU largely ran in 2005 and 2006).

Who'll be the next great BYU tight end? Braden Brown's move from TE to tackle looks as though it may be permanent. Likewise, highly-touted TE recruit Richard Wilson spent some time this year practicing at linebacker. Redshirt freshman Mike Muehlmann to be in the mix next season, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Wilson switched back to the offensive side of the ball. Returning missionary Austin Holt received offers from several cartel schools and will try to get immediate playing time at TE as well.

Jaime Hill’s second year of calling the plays as defensive coordinator was an improvement over last year's, although BYU’s defensive line performance was a bit of a mixed bag. First-team all-conference DE Jan Jorgensen battled all year for the MWC career lead in sacks. Brett Denney did well at the other end, recording 41 tackles and 2.5 sacks. DT Russell Tialavea struggled with conditioning coming into the season and with injuries during the season, and never truly seemed himself. Tialavea’s struggles allowed sophomore DT Romney Fuga to shine, as he recorded 38 tackles in his backup role. Jorgensen and Denney both depart, as do three starting linebackers. From the current roster, look for sophomore Matt Putnam, redshirt freshman Jordan Richardson, and freshman Mason Higham to be the main competitors for the starting DE spots. Both Tialavea and Fuga return to man the DT position. DT Eathyn Manumaleuna, best known for his block of the potential game-winning field goal in the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl against UCLA, returns from a mission and will push Russell Tialavea and Romney Fuga for playing time.

The linebacking corps generally provided solid run support but often struggled against mobile quarterbacks and in pass protection. Coleby Clawson (best known for ending Sam Bradford's college career) led the group with five sacks and seven TFLs, and Jordan Pendleton, speedy if slightly undersized, playing his first year in the position. Matt Bauman and Shawn Doman were multi-year starters whose experience will be missed next season.

That three of BYU’s four starters in the secondary this year earned at least honorable mention all-conference honors speaks volumes to the coaching job done by Hill and company, and made the secondary perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the BYU season. JUCO transfer Brian Logan, one of the smallest players in FBS, recorded three interceptions and was an exceptional open-field tackler, earning an all-MWC honorable mention. Brandon Bradley, was generally more of a run-stopping corner due to his position on the short side of the field. S Scott Johnson (also honorable mention all-MWC) moved from his cornerback position last season, recording three interceptions and serving as the field general in the secondary. S Andrew Rich led the team with four interceptions and earned a reputation as a heavy hitter across the middle, earning him second-team all-MWC honors. In the secondary, all starters except Scott Johnson return, and this should actually be a strength of the BYU defense in 2010. To replace Johnson, highly-touted freshman Craig Bills is an easy choice—he intercepted two passes in spot duty this year and was basically groomed to fill Johnson’s shoes throughout the season. However, there is a chance that Bills will leave on a mission next year, and there has been some talk that CB Brandon Bradley might be moved to the safety spot, as the Cougars have more depth at corner than at safety.

Bronco Mendenhall will signing perhaps the best recruiting class ever at BYU. Scout counts 21 verbal commits rated at three stars or higher—in recent memory, the highest similar count for BYU in one season has been twelve. Scout ranks the class thirteenth nationally. Heaps is certainly the jewel of the class. His importance to this recruiting class cannot be overstated, not only because he is a big name, but because he has taken it upon himself to get other highly-rated players to join him at BYU. His efforts helped land four-star California linebacker Zac Stout over offers from Nebraska and several PAC-10 schools, as well as wide receiver Ross Apo, a Dallas-area standout who had previously committed to Texas. Other highlights include DEs Bronson Kaufusi (nationally 11th-ranked) and Kona Schwenke. Graham Rowley played both OL and DL; Tayo Fabuluje, who plays high school ball with Ross Apo, committed to BYU over offers from Arkansas and Arizona State. Running backs Drew Phillips, A.J. Moore, and Algernon Brown are the types of athletes BYU rarely gets. Another notable is LB Kyle Van Noy, who signed with the Cougars's last class, but won't join the team until 2010. Many Cougar fans expect him to immediately compete to start.

BYU’s four nonconference games next year are against Washington (home), Nevada (home), Florida State (away) and Utah State (away). The Washington game just became a lot more interesting with Jake Locker returning. The Nevada game should be a home win as the Wolf Pack lose much of their offensive firepower from this season. Florida State may be an unknown quantity with a new head coach, but Tallahassee will be an incredibly tough place to play for a new BYU quarterback. Utah State is improving but still just doesn’t have the talent to keep up with the Cougars.

In conference play, the Cougars’ 2009 blessing becomes their 2010 curse—2009 home games against Air Force, TCU and Utah become road games in 2010, along with Colorado State, who nearly knocked off the Cougars in Fort Collins in 2008. The de facto bottom half of the conference—Wyoming, San Diego State, UNLV and New Mexico—all come to Provo. A few of these games (i.e. most if not all of the home games) might be easy wins, and none of them will be entirely out of the Cougars’ reach. But playing at TCU and Utah is never easy, and the difficulty is compounded when breaking in a new QB.

If I had to make a (somewhat conservative) prediction at this point, I would say the Cougars go 8-4 in 2010, with losses to Washington, Florida State, TCU and Utah. This is the most rebuilding BYU has had to do in one year since 2007—but in that year, the Cougars went undefeated in conference and won 11 games. In other words, I would be more surprised if BYU won fewer than 8 games in 2010 than if they won more.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

NEW MEXICO wraps up, hitting bottom. [updated]

It's hard to find the silver lining in this car wreck; New Mexico had about as bad a season as possible. Even worse, nobody expected it. But Locksley's recruiting magic may have dampened the effect of the Lobos' off-the-field woes, and let's face it: there's only one direction Locksley can pull (or, dare we say it, punch?) his team after the tailspin in Albuquerque this year: up.

That this year began with 0-3, against Texas A&M, Tulsa, and Air Force, wasn't completely surprising; that New Mexico couldn't manage an offensive touchdown until almost halftime in its third game (AFA) was. The Lobos returning depth at QB and O-line was bizarrely meaningless, and newcomers Demond Dennis and James Wright at runningback seemed totally lost. Worry turned to panic when lowly New Mexico State rallied to beat the Lobos in week 4, and by 0-5 a week later, the crap hit the fan. Mike Locksley punched, or didn't, an assistant coach, triggering a ten-day suspension.

Credit the Lobos, however: they kept fighting (their opponents, that is). At 0-9, New Mexico scared the bejeebers out of BYU, and were it not for otherworldly bad luck at field goals (two hit the uprights, a third blocked), would have ended the skid at nine losses. Said skid ended a week later at ten, when New Mexico ran all over Colorado State (its only successful rushing game, and not coincidentally, its ownly successful game at all) for the Lobos' sole win.

Rushing is the primary ill plaguing the team. A full seven teams held New Mexico under 100 yards on the ground (well under; the Lobos' average output in those games: 53 net yards rushing!). In its four other losses, New Mexico managed just over 140 yards rushing, on average. With such low production, losing three starting linemen isn't necessarily a blow, although C Erik Cook is the '09 all-MWC first-team center, and will be missed. All three graduating linemen have experienced backups, perhaps a hopeful sign for more potency on the ground in 2010. All of New Mexico's runningbacks return-- and freshmen Kasey Carrier and Demond Dennis improved as the season wore on. As in '09, these fellows will have more to do with their team's success than any other unit.

Elsewhere on offense the team was young; only three seniors were on the two-deep at WR, TE, FB, and QB. WR Michael Scarlett will be the go-to receiver in '10. Sophomore B.R. Holbrook appears to lead the battle to replace Donovan Porterie under center, but because he played in several games this season without sparking any improvement, he's not going to cement that starting role without besting any freshman that joins the team in the fall. That uncluttered depthchart may aid Locksley in luring a decent QB recruit to don the cherry and white. (Tarean Austin, in Florida, is the prime target.)

On defense, tackle-monster Carmen Messina returns, as do both corners and 3/4 of the starters on the line; clearly they need more from the offense to succeed. They do get more depth, regardless, as DT transfers Ugo Udzomina and Reggie Ellis that followed Locksley from Illinois have finished sitting out the mandatory year. The Lobos bring in several freshmen DBs who may contribute early. To date Locksley's crew tops only UNLV in the conference in number of recruits committed so far (eight). Lobo fans are high on Locksley's recruiting, however, and expect the schematic 180 that threw their team for such a loop in 2009 to resolve itself much more favorably in 2010.

Monday, December 21, 2009

UNLV wraps up disappointed; now what?

Bobby Hauck-- the new coach, that's what. The Rebels suffered long with Mike Sanford, and after a promising haul of JUCO defensive backs failed to produce the necessary uptick in defensive stoutness, they cut him off. Offensive coordinator Todd Berry left for the head spot at Louisiana-Monroe.

Sanford's Rebels did manage to stay out of the conference's basement for the second consecutive year, beating New Mexico, Colorado State, and San Diego State. UNLV also finally topped Hawaii in a nail-biter, but lost to Oregon State in another nailbiter. But the defining game for the '09 Rebs, if it can be called that, came with then 0-3 Nevada, which racked up 772 yards total, and 42 points in the second half, bludgeoning UNLV 63-28 by the final whistle. The Rebels didn't come out of shock until visiting soft New Mexico, beating the hapless Lobos to avoid last place in the conference. After its annual spanking by TCU, the Rebels beat another MWC team (CSU), flirted briefly with bowl eligibility before Air Force laid wood on them in Colorado Springs, and the university fired Sanford, who coached the finale-- a win-- against SDSU.

Offensively, the Rebels regressed slightly, scoring about a point less per game in '09 than they did in '08. Clayton was less efficient at QB, and Wolfe less productive at WR. More importantly, the team got no boost from its running game. Again. (2008: 121 ypg; 2009: 126) Hyped runningback Bradley Randle could not meet the (admittedly heavy) expectations that greeted his enrollment at UNLV, and neither Channing Trotter and C.J. Cox could pick up the slack. These players labored behind an line that, despite experience, just couldn't open holes for the ground game.

They all got little help from the defense, which was bad in '08 (110th rushing D, 111th passing), and even worse in '09 (113th, 108th). The heralded trio of JUCO defensive backs: Alex DeGiacomo, Warren Zeigler, and Kenny Brown yielded only one starter by season's end (DeGiacomo).

By mid 2009, it was clear to even his biggest fans (the Wimple admits to being one of them) that Sanford's staff could not develop talent. So now UNLV turns the reins over to Bobby Hauck, who'll take a turn pursuing that evanescent mirage: a program capable of turning Sin City's purported appeal with recruits into wins on the field. He doesn't take the helm of an empty cupboard, although he will have to tackle 2010 recruiting almost from scratch: only three players have maintained commitments to UNLV so far. (SDSU has poached several of the others.) [update: by the last week of recruiting before signing day, Houck and his staff have amassed 20 commits, headlined by RB Dionza Bradford and WR Kurt Davis.]

UNLV started only one senior on its O-line and two on its D-line, including all-conference tackle Martin Teveseu. Turning the returners into winners in the trenches would make UNLV a bowling team overnight, because its skill players are plentiful. Channing Trotter proved a capable back, given a push in front. Cox and Randle are not untalented backups. QBs Omar Clayton and Mike Clausen still make the conference's most dangerous tandem. LBs Starr Fuimaono is an NFL talent who'll be the senior leader of the defense. In short, it's with UNLV's returners that hope lies for a revival in Las Vegas, if the new coaches can develop them beyond what the former coaches could do.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

WYOMING wraps up, winning (!?!)

Five months ago, the Wimple was unsparing in its criticism of Wyoming, and recommended to Cowboy fans to gird their loins and focus on next season. 2009 was going to be painful, said he, because Wyoming couldn't, and for a few months more, wouldn't run Dave Christensen's spread offense very well at all. Today, seven wins later, it appears that the 'Pokes are a fair stretch further down the road to competence than the Wimple expected them to be at season's end.

That road has been a rocky one, however. Christensen acknowledged the Wyoming was an underdog in every game it had against a D-1A opponent. Once he settled on Austyn Carta-Samuels as QB after a three-game audition between the true freshman and JUCO transfer Robert Benjamin, and moved to a run-first version of his up-tempo spread, Christensen's Cowboys improved. Carta-Samuels endured a frustrating shut-out at Colorado before leading the team to three straight victories, including two over conference foes UNLV and New Mexico, keeping Wyoming out of the MWC's cellar, mocking most pre-season polls. After a three-game skid to the conference heavyweights, the freshman led a remarkable come from behind win at San Diego. The 'Pokes scored 24 points in the fourth quarter to recapture .500 and a chance to go bowling. TCU's whooping of Wyoming may have deflated a less spunky team, but these Cowboys rallied to beat Colorado State in the final regular season game, clinching bowl eligibility for the first time in any of the team member's college careers.

Wyoming got its signature win as a Christmas present, knocking off Fresno State in double overtime in the surprisingly exciting New Mexico Bowl-- making the second takedown of the WAC's Bulldogs by a Mountain West underdog in Albuquerque in as many years. The game's highlight (sadly not included in the ESPN's highlights, but embedded in full, below) came in the first overtime, when Fresno State had Wyoming on the ropes, with a first-and-goal at the one. Four times they ran it up the gut, and four times the brown-and-gold denied them the endzone. Wyoming's missed field goal made that effort statistically irrelevant, but consider that four-and-out the senior-laden d-line's gift to the program this season. It paved the way to the bowl win, which the 'Pokes haven't savored since President Bush was popular, and gives the team that much more leverage going into 2010. Ironically, the d-line will be the team's biggest question mark next season.


Starting with the defense, which garnered plaudits in the pre-season, and came through big for the Cowboys when it had to. Number one: it's filled with young guys at LB and in the secondary. Wyoming will return all seven late-season starters off the line, including the Gipson brothers ('10 juniors) at corner, safety Shamiel Gray ('10 sophomore), and tackle-monsters Chris Prosinski (S, '10 senior), Gabe Knapton (LB, '10 junior), and Brian Hendricks (LB, '10 junior). Proskinski, Knapton, and Hendricks all finished in the national top 20 for tackles this season. Wyoming's back seven in 2010 will be the team's strength.

The big news for the Cowboys was up front however, where the trio John Fletcher (pictured), Fred Givens, and Mitch Unrein turned in a third (fourth?) and final year as starters. Fletcher is the team's sole all-MWC first teamer, and it's entirely unclear who'll replace these gents' pass rush in 2010. Backup end Mike Neuhaus also graduates; two true freshman played this season some. A trio of D-line recruits will join the fray this fall, but the three front spots are the Cowboys' biggest unknown for 2010. The contenders appear to be Purcell, Willis, and Felker.

And then there's the offense. It's just as young. RBs Alvester Alexander ('10 sophomore) and Brandon Stewart ('10 junior), and QB Austyn Carta-Samuels ('10 sophomore) accounted for over 84% of the Cowboys' rushing yards this season. In fact, as Coach Christensen realized his team just wasn't going to pass its way into the post season this year, he relied even more on this trio to run their way to a 13th game. They proved up to the task, and will be joined by the team's best rated recruit, Canadian Nehemie Kankolongo, in the fall. Wyoming's backfield is in good shape.

But what of the passing game? That's what Christensen does, and tried mightily to get his Cowboys to do for most of 2009. Wyoming's lack of reliable receivers turned the team into a run-first offense by the end of the season, and sent Christensen to junior colleges for more hands; Wyoming signed three JUCO wideouts this week. Anthony Amos, DeJay Lester, and Mazi Ogbonna enroll this January, joining four of this season's top six pass catchers for the 2010 lineup. This season juniors David Leonard, Zach Bolger, and Travis Burkhalter led the team in catches. TE Orlando Arnold and WR Greg Bolling graduate, but Chris McNiel ('10 sophomore) was also in the top six and returns. TEs Tooley ('10 RSFr) and incoming T.J. Smith will contribute. If those nine can give grow with Carta-Samuels into a viable passing threat, Wyoming will be a dangerous foe.

Standing in their way, however, is the offensive line. This group had to undergo the biggest transition with the new offense in '09, and performed... about as expected, which is to say, not very well. They paved an inconsistent way for the 75th best rushing game in the country this year, down from 33rd last season. Their calling card must become pass blocking, however, which would be a new addition to their card collection. This season Wyoming's pass offense was 103rd nationally, which was up from 114th. To date, Christensen hasn't coaxed many linemen to Laramie; one JUCO (Nick Puetz) joins the team in January. Another joins in the fall, and one redshirted this season. How Wyoming replaces seniors C Russ Arnold and G Zack Kennedy and T Ryan Otterson is almost as open a question as its replacements for d-line seniors.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Repeat All-American

In honor of Jerry Hughes' second consecutive season as a consensus (at least!) first-team All-American, comes this trivia question: Who was the last Horned Frog to repeat as a first-team All-American?

Why an 8-team playoff is the best kind

Almost a year ago, the Wimple endorsed an eight-team playoff for the top eight ranked conference champions in D-1A, instead of a plus-one or 12- or 16-team playoff. The reasoning for preferring this system over any others remains as prescient today as it was when Kansas and Missouri were hot topics:

Even though Kansas and Missouri wouldn't have made it into this proposed playoff, the argument against their inclusion is strong: they didn't win their conference! West Virginia would have made the cut.

In a world with this kind of playoff (which is, admittedly, a fantasy of the highest order) the BCS/non-BCS distinction would lose most of its meaning, because in most years two of the five non-BCS conferences would suddenly have a guaranteed place at the table. This would re-incentivise geographically-defined conferences, because all conferences would be created (nearly) equal in the post-season.
On-the-field performance is the only real metric we have for to measure sports teams. Allowing only conference champions to participate in a playoff would enthrone on-the-field performance as the ultimate arbiter between post-season haves and have-nots. Do you want a berth in CFB's playoff? Win your conference.

Is your conference too hard? I think of Texas Tech, Connecticut, Oregon State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Georgia, Clemson... These are just some of many teams from privileged conferences that sniff occasionally at a title crown, but never seem to get themselves together enough to snatch it away from the entrenched elites in their respective conferences. What hope for them in a champions-only playoff?

There's an easy answer; so easy it's reducible to one word. Move.

The SunBelt would faint with joy to include Mississippi State and Clemson; Oregon State to the WAC? Texas Tech to the Mountain West (not necessarily a downward move for the Red Raiders...)? Why not? An evening-out of the D-1A conferences would be the best thing that could possibly happen to college football, and allowing only conference champions into an eight-team playoff would be the best way to prompt that change.

Besides: if winning the conference is the ticket to the playoff, there's no devaulation of the regular season to worry about. Conference championship games would be even more important, and best of all, the BCS crystal trophy would actually mean that awful line that's said about it when given: from the eleven BCS conferences...

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

TCU v. Boise, in the stats

Statistically, Boise State is one very impressive football team. A few particulars:

This team is very young. Only one senior is listed as starting on the team's official depth chart: all-American punt returner and CB Kyle Wilson. (Boise listed 13 in its '08 Poinsettia guide.) Only two freshmen are starters: WR Kirby Moore, and LB J.C. Percy. Compare TCU: six starting seniors: LT Marshall Newhouse, TB Joe Turner, DE Jerry Hughes, LB Daryl Washington, and CBs Nick Sanders and Raphael Priest; one starting freshman: TB Matthew Tucker.

Young, however, does not mean inexperienced. Fully 18 starters played TCU in last year's bowlgame. Four were starting o-linemen last season, as were three starting d-linemen. That continuity up front has really paid off for Boise's offense, which ranks first nationally in sacks allowed (improving four spots) and has the nation's 20th best rushing attack (a 19-place improvement). The Bronocs accomplished this facing an average 88th best rush defense. (All stats available here.) Compare TCU: fifth in sacks allowed and rushing offense, facing an average 74th best rush defense.

Boise broke in three new starting wideouts, and fell from the 12th best passing offense to the 30th best, nationally. The sum total of these changes in the way the team produces yards and points has been a net gain for the broncos, however: Boise has added over four points to its per-game average, while facing an average 75th best pass defenses. Compare TCU: 67th best passing offense, fourth best scoring offense, facing an average 57th best pass defense.

Last year's defensive front was probably better, registering tenth best in sacks made and 15th best rushing defense. In '09, the returner-heavy front fell to 40th best rushing defense, and 72nd in sacks made, while facing an average 58th best rushing attacks. Behind the four-man defensive front on the blue turf are two linebackers and five defensive backs, like TCU uses. Both corners and two safeties are returning starters, as is one of the linebackers. The bottom line: Boise fell from third to 16th best in scoring defense. Compare TCU: third in rushing D, sixth in scoring D, 21st in sacks made, facing an average 75th best rushing offense.

All of these returners take a back seat in accolades, however, to their second-year starting sophomore quarterback, Kellen Moore, who leads the nation in efficiency, while facing an average 75th best pass defense. His efforts, behind a very good line has been is the key to the Bronco's nation-leading average of over 44 points per game. Moore has garnered several spots on all-American team this season. That line is surprisingly small-- averaging just over 285 lbs. Compare TCU: starting beefeaters average 32 pounds heavier, Andy Dalton is fourth in efficiency, facing an average 57th best pass defense; TCU is fourth in scoring offense at almost 41 points per game.

So what's the takeaway? TCU's offensive production is just a whisker behind Boise's, but in the face of significantly stiffer defenses, while the Bronco's defense lags slightly behind TCU's, in the face of significantly better offenses. Or, in order words, one must concede the Fiesta Bowl's point: these teams are pretty well matched.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

r-e-s-p-e-c-t look like this:



An article from ESPN's Brad Edwards gives some specifics:
"With its highest-ranked team being fourth this season (TCU) and sixth last season (Utah), the league has performed better in this area than every other conference but the SEC and Big 12. And with three teams being ranked in the final Top 25 each of the two seasons, the Mountain West is as good as the ACC and better than the Big East"

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Numbers: BCS payouts to non-cartel conferences

In their revolting glory, here are the revenue rules for the cartel (from page 13 of the BCS Media Guide, emphases added):
A total of approximately $1.8 million will be paid to ... Division I-AA... Also, independent institutions Army and Navy each will receive $100,000 for making their teams available to play in BCS games if selected.

Nine percent of the net revenues from the arrangement, which was approximately $9.6 million in 2008-09, is guaranteed in aggregate to Conference USA, the Mid- American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, and Western Athletic Conferences for their participation in the arrangement. When a team from one of those five conferences plays in a BCS bowl game, the conferences will receive an additional nine percent of net revenues. When more than one team from those conferences play in the BCS bowl games, those conferences will receive an additional $4.5 million for each additional team.

Notre Dame is guaranteed 1/66th of the net revenues after expenses, or approximately $1.3 million. ... The share to each conference with an annual automatic berth in the BCS ... is approximately $18.3 million. When a second team from one of those conferences qualifies to play in one of the games, that conference will receive an additional $4.5 million.

In a nutshell, that says the five cartel-outsider conference are treated as one conference, and in years without a BCS buster, they together share about half of what a single cartel conference gets. In one-buster years, they share about two thirds of a single cartel conference's share.

The wrinkle in this year's BCS money drama is Boise State, which is the second non-cartel team to win a BCS berth-- a new thing under the (Glendale) sun. Using last season's revenue numbers, that translates into 18% + $4.5 million to be split among the five non-cartel conferences, or 21.03% of the net cartel revenue, or $31.169 million. That's about one and one-sixth of a single BCS conference's share of the pile.

The Wimple does not know how the five non-cartel conferences share that dough.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Poinsettia II (a.k.a. '10 Fiesta)


Lately the Wimple has eschewed link lists, but conveying the consensus is important now.
Here's SI's Cory McCartney, ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski, Yahoo's Matt Hinton and Holly Anderson (who quotes others), BCSGuru's guru, CFN's Fiutak & Cirminiello, CBS's Dennis Dodd, the Washington Post's John Feinstein, the Trentonian's Matthew Osborne, RealClearSports's Matthew Sanderson, all saying TCU-Boise is a slap in their respective faces. Thank you very much, BCS. You've managed to relegate the outsiders to the outside, even when they pluck off two berths in your playpen. And now you'll pay them both half the announced payout, and send them home without giving either one of them a chance to prove itself on your grand stage.

Shame on you. Really.

With contrary sentiments, here's SI's Stewart Mandel; and, um... anybody else? A Phoenix newspaper likes the matchup-- especially after Iowa fans (suckers!) sold out the bowl prior to selection Sunday. SI's Andy Staples has moved from calling it the "Separate But Equal Bowl" to a great game that should be the national semifinal. The Wimple heartily agrees.

Oh well. Here's Mark May and Lou "Thkippy" Holtz on the matchup:


...and here're Ivan Maisel and Pat Forde, both of whom go on record preferring TCU over Texas for the title game berth:

Saturday, December 5, 2009

2009 All-MWC Frogs

Offensive Player of the Year: Andy Dalton.
Defensive Player of the Year: Jerry Hughes.*
Special Teams Player of the Year: Jeremy Kerley.
Coach of the Year: Gary Patterson.

First Team: Andy Dalton ('08 HM), Marshall Newhouse ('08 2nd Team), Marcus Cannon ('08 HM), Jeremy Kerley (KR)('08 1st Team), Jerry Hughes ('08 1st Team), Daryl Washington, Raphael Priest ('08 2nd Team), Nick Sanders.

Second Team: Joe Turner, Jake Kirkpatrick, Wayne Daniels, Cory Grant, Tank Carder, Teejay Johnson.

Honorable Mention: Evan Frosch, Antoine Hicks, Jeremy Kerley (WR), Ed Wesley, Jimmy Young.*

*for the second year

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Ranking by Dominance- TCU #1

From the Wimple's Missing Statistics Department comes another remarkable view of college football: the Dominance Ranking.

The NCAA provides dozens of nifty rankings, including two that capture the essence of football in its rawest terms: scoring offense and scoring defense. Does it not stand to reason that those teams falling highest in both rankings ought to be considered the most dominant? Why, yes it does. And so, as a public service, the Wimple has added together the ranks of the first 55 teams on both lists, and ranked the results.

Tellingly, the top six schools, ranked by dominance, happen to be the only remaining undefeated teams in the nation: TCU, Florida, Texas, Boise State, Cincinnati, and Alabama. This should surprise nobody-- defeating a football team about scoring more, and really about little else. The best teams at doing that, and preventing other teams from doing so, simply must be considered the most dominant in the land.

Here are the top 25, with each team's scoring offense and scoring defense ranks added together:

1 (10) TCU
2 (11) Florida
3 (12) Texas
4 (19) Boise State
5 (25) Cincinnati
6 (27) Alabama
7 (30) Central Michigan
8 (37) Pittsburgh
8 (37) Oklahoma
10 (38) Virginia Tech
11 (45) Clemson
12 (46) Texas Tech
13 (47) Penn State
14 (48) BYU
15 (51) Oregon
16 (54) Miss.
17 (59) Oregon State
19 (61) Tennessee
19 (61) Air Force
21 (62) Northern Ill.
22 (65) Miami
23 (67) Georgia Tech
23 (67) Rutgers
25 (70) Utah

Monday, November 30, 2009

Frog D about six inches shy of first place

It has to be the closest three teams have ever come to a tie for best total defense in a season; Florida tops the list at 233.08 yards allowed per game, on average. TCU is second, allowing about six inches more than the Gators. Alabama is third, allowing a full two feet and eight inches more than TCU, on average. For the record, Slohio State and Texas each allow about 30 yards more than the three leaders.

Flabama still has to play itself in the SEC title game, perhaps breaking the logjam at the top.
[update: Florida got routed by Alabama, giving up 490 yards in the title game, and now averages 252.8 yards per game this season. Alabama gave up 335 yards, and now averages 241.7 yards per game. Texas now averages just over 251, good for about third place, behind #1 TCU and #2 Alabama. TCU has a decent shot at a second consecutive #1 finish in total defense.]

Sunday, November 29, 2009

TCU 51, New Mexico 10

While it's true the game wasn't over before it started, TCU demolished New Mexico, apparently without trying too hard. The Lobos recovered two Horned Frog fumbles, and forced the purple and white to punt seven times. But in the end, it was still a coronation for the conference champs, and an emphatic one at that. TCU out-ran New Mexico 4.5 ypc to 0.3; out-passed UNM 9.5 ypc to 3.6; and threw no interceptions to UNM's four- two of those for TDs.









Dalton and the offense alternated between spectacular and uninspiring. In one first-half five-and-a-half minute stretch, Joe Turner ran for a TD, and Dalton threw TD passes to Bart Johnson and (twice) to Antoine Hicks. The Frogs let up on the gas after that, scoring only 7 more offensive points.



















TCU's run defense showed its might early and often, holding the Lobos to only ten yards on the ground. Kelly Griffin nearly intercepted Donovan Porterie (see photo), and Jerry Hughes tallied his 11th sack of the season (technically 11.5th). Daryl Washington and Tank Carder combined for 21 tackles, five of them for losses, and interception and a pass break-up. Washington and Raphael Priest each had pick-sixes on consecutive UNM drives in the fourth quarter.

photos: Keith Robinson

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

An open letter to non-cartel coach voters: put TCU #1

Dear non-BCS coach-voters in the USAToday Coaches' Poll:

Few observers in the sport see more clearly than you do how the BCS cartel handicaps your teams, and all of the D-1A non-cartel teams (the so-called "non-AQ" teams). But more than seeing the damage, you all have a unique opportunity to weaken the damaging divide between the BCS cartel's haves and have-nots. You have a vote in the polls-- a say in how college football's best pie gets divided among its teams and conferences.

Why cast your first place vote this week for a member of the cartel that plays a weaker schedule than TCU? Why cast your first place vote this week for a team less balanced than TCU, which is the only team in the NCAA featuring a top-5 offense and defense? (Florida comes closest next: it has a top-5 defense, but its offense is only 15th nationally!) Why cast your first place vote for a team that cries to momma about how unfair it is to be scrutinized by the press and other coaches, while TCU puts up, shuts up, and kicks butt week in and week out?

Your first place vote for TCU would not be an indefensible protest; some of the most prescient commentators on the sport have made powerful cases for TCU already. Here're Matt Hinton's and BCSGuru's, for example. Wyoming's players-- the only athletes in D-1A who've played both TCU and Texas-- say TCU is the better team. Utah's coach called this year's TCU team the best he's ever seen-- and he's seen some great ones.

In short, isn't it time to put the burden of proof on the cartel members for once? Why not cast your first place vote for TCU, and demand the BCS cartel show why an all-time great non-cartel team doesn't deserve to outrank opponents from within the cartel that are less balanced, play weaker schedules, and whine about it?

--Purple Wimple
November 25, 2009

Monday, November 23, 2009

Not just another day in Frog heaven

When TCU takes the field Saturday, it will be well favored to beat New Mexico; to finish the regular season 12-0, giving this year's seniors the most wins of any class of Horned Frogs in history; to clinch a berth to its biggest bowl game since the '50s; and to take an honored place among the great teams of the 1930s that achieved this singular distinction: unbeaten in the regular season. All of that is grand, and worthy of much fanfare; but the Wimple offers another perspective on TCU's remarkable 2009 campaign.

When the Southwest Conference broke up in 1994, leaving TCU and three other weaklings to rot, its abandonment of the Horned Frogs was particularly poignant. Oldtimers well remembered when TCU was the giant among Texas schools during the Depression; not-so-old timers could recall TCU's decade-long duel in the '50s with UT for conference supremacy. But for a generation after TCU surrendered that war, letting two-squad play, limitless scholarships for state schools under the GI Bill, and rampant cheating in paying for recruits, all pass it by, the Horned Frogs were a bland and brand-less squad, losers on the gridiron. Its boosters succumbed to the "way it was" in the early '80s, paying their way to the conference championship in '84, before the hammer fell.

Several years ago, the Wimple recounted all of this in greater detail; this tale of decline reaches bottom with the "walking death penalty" given TCU in '85, and its conference's demise a decade later. Then came the revival-- labeled an "experiment" in that larger telling. Could a rule-abiding, privately-funded non-cartel football team thrive in Division 1-A ? Early returns were hopeful, but the program seemed unable to put the cap on its upswings. Dizzying flirtations with BCS bids ended unfruitfully in 2000 and 2003 with late-season road losses scaring off the cartel suitor-agents. An early-season loss in '05 kept them away until it was too late; another late-season road loss was excuse enough in '08, despite laxer eligibility rules that kept TCU technically (but not practically) in play through selection Sunday. The Wimple's history concluded:

The experiment seemed to have reached its logical limits: a team outside the BCS cartel and resources, committed to recruiting and graduating honest student athletes, could win most games, but not regularly, and not under pressure.
Indeed, TCU appeared good enough to flirt with the big-money bowls, high poll ranking, and NFL-bound talent. But fate never seemed to bless the Frogs' attempts to assemble all of the ingredients. But a TCU victory Saturday will render that sentence incomplete without the following caveat: until 2009. What the Frogs may accomplish in five days is no less than a reversal of almost 50 years' curse. TCU may rise above irrelevance on Saturday; above its nomad journey through the outcasts of Division 1-A; above a couple generations' acceptance as a has-been, a history lesson, a glint only in grandfathers' eyes. TCU again vies with Texas for supremacy in the Lone Star State, and in the nation.

What changed?

Dr. Saturday gives a hint:
"TCU ... is good at everything -- literally everything. The Frogs currently rank in the top 10 nationally in pretty much every conceivable facet of the game: Scoring Offense (No. 5), Total Offense (5), Scoring Defense (6), Total Defense (4), Rushing Offense (5), Pass Efficiency Offense (9), Rushing Defense (6), Passing Defense (3), Pass Efficiency Defense (5), First Downs Gained (7), First Downs Allowed (1), Third Down Defense, Kickoff Returns (1), Sacks Allowed (6), [and] Time of Possession (10)."
There's no doubt the '09 Frogs have added potent offense and special teams play to their portfolio, which has including nationally leading defense frequently since Gary Patterson's arrival in 1998. But the addition of (and better use of) top-talent on offense appears to have been the missing piece. With its new mojo holding the ball, TCU went to Clemson, Air Force, and BYU, and beat all three. In its last six games TCU has averaged over 523 yards per game, 300 of those on the ground. And all of this without a single 1,000-yard rusher or receiver!

Several changes among the coordinators may have prompted the outburst on the field. Rusty Burns has taught the receivers how to upgrade their blocking and route running. First-year playcallers Justin Fuente and Jarrett Anderson have opened the playbook a little. But the Frogs have amassed a frightful cast of weapons for these coaches to deploy in any formation. The talent upgrade that has been underway since about 2005 has begun to show up between the hashmarks. Every indication points to a further rise in the Frogs' on-field prowess.

Given a win Saturday, it will be time to re-cast the narrative of football in purple and white. Beating New Mexico will complete the Revival, and more than merely a new chapter in the history of TCU football: it will commence a new book entirely. That tome's title?

Juggernaut.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

TCU 45, Wyoming 10

It took a few minutes to get the machine going, but once started, the TCU offensive and defensive squads were relentless. Despite turning it over three times, the Horned Frogs rolled up almost 500 yards, 23 first downs, and 45 points in three quarters, while holding the Cowboys to 130 yards (98 of them on a touchdown fumble return), three first downs (all on one drive), and ten points.

Dalton was decent, completing only 52% of his passes, including one TD and one interception, but running 12 times for for 89 yards and four first downs. Matthew Tucker rushed for 133 yards, including 48 for a TD in the third quarter. One play after Wyoming ran a weird fumble back for six, Greg McCoy returned the favor, racing all the way down the sideline for an answering six.

The first team defense was sensational, holding all but one of Wyoming drives to three-and-out, or less, with Daryl Washington tallying eleven tackles. The second team defense let Wyoming drive into the redzone, but gave up no points.

With the win, the Frogs captured at least a share of the conference title, and reached 11-0 on the season for the first time in 71 years. A win next week against New Mexico would make the '09 seniors the winningest class in TCU history, and be the first time TCU ever won 12 games in the regular season.

Here're highlights:


In other news, New Mexico won its first game of the season today, and comes to Fort Worth for the Frogs' rubber match with BCS autobid eligibility. In short, TCU's road to the BCS looks something like this:















Only routine obstacles stand between the Frogs and their first prime-time bowl since the '50s.

Monday, November 16, 2009

25 years ago...

... SMU and TCU both went to bowl games in the same season: TCU to the Independence Bowl, and SMU to the Aloha Bowl. Prior to '84, both teams bowled in the same season just twice. In 1948, both teams played January first bowls: TCU in the first Delta Bowl and SMU in the Cotton. The first time TCU and SMU bowled in the same year was after the famous 1935 Game of the Century, when SMU beat Sam Baugh and TCU, winning a bid to the Rose Bowl, and TCU settled for a Sugar Bowl berth.

When'll be the fourth time these stars align? 2009 (including early 2010, if the Frogs win out). SMU joined TCU in bowl eligibility with its come from behind win over UTEP Saturday.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

TCU 55, Utah 28

All week the Wimple has been at a loss to find a way sum up the game's significance. ESPN deigned to visit the campus; a conference game sold out; the Frogs' BCS ranking was the highest among the non-cartel teams ever; these (and a dozen more) facts pointed at the issue, but somehow fall short of describing it fully.

Perhaps a number will do the trick: 50,307. That's how many tickets TCU sold for this game.

That's over fifty thousand, should your common sense be arguing with you right now. And it's probably somewhere shy of actual attendance, considering how jammed the students (and alums still flashing student IDs at the gate) were on the east side.

No Southwest Conference game ever drew so many; no horde of tea-sippers from Austin, no mob of Arkansas hillbillies or uppity Mustangs, not even any grand gathering of Frog faithful in the good old days ever numbered so many as Saturday's throng, purple-clad almost to a one. The jubilation was well under way when the Wimples (including one fly-in from Alberta, Canada) squeezed in with the students about 90 minutes before kickoff. By the time the clock began counting down 60 minutes to gametime, there were easily more than 25,000 already in place. Many actual games have been seen by fewer fans than this week's warmups, even since the revival.

Coach P said his feet were off the ground by kickoff, it was so loud. The crowd was relatively football savvy, too. Clearly the team was enthused by all of it-- TCU blocked its first punt of the season, and generally was a step ahead of the Utes all night long. Utah tested the Frog secondary early and often, and could connect only a few times, though two consecutive completions midway through the second quarter totaled 90 yards and 6 points. Jordan Wynn was excellent, but totally overmatched. He'll lead a different animal in 2010.

Dalton was good, passing over (and quickly!) an endless litany of blitzes; he put the ball in the wrong place several times, but avoided costly errors, and punished the Utes early and often with good passes, decisions, and running. The Frogs won the battle in the trenches soundly. Turner, Wesley, Tucker, and Dalton combined for 40 carries, 315 yards, 3 running TDs, 0 sacks or QB hurries. Wesley and Tucker will cause many a nightmare for opposing defense coordinators; they were sensational Saturday. (now add to the mix Andre Dean, Waymon James, and maybe Dwight Smith... and weep for the good days ahead!)

In the air, the Frogs had slightly less yards than the Utes; but aside from the two-play 90-yard drive in the second, the Utes were generally one dimensional at best, and often no-dimensional. TCU's defense was simply hellacious, and the coaches didn't let up. Hughes was unrelenting, tallying eight tackles (2.5 of them for losses, and three on one drive), 1.5 sacks and three QB hurries. Tank Carder (who was all grins afterwards) got nine tackles, one for a loss, one INT, one PBU, and one QB hurry. Washington and Griffin was monstrous as well. When the Frogs finally put in their second team D, the Utes were done trying. They ran up the middle, for zero or less yards, giving back the ball, and letting the Frogs take a knee to end the pain.

And then the floodgates opened, for the first time since 1997, but for the totally opposite reason. The fans poured onto the field, and celebrated the victory (ostensibly with the team, but mostly with each other) and chanted "B-C-S" and sang the alma mater as rowdily as humanly possible.








here's ESPN's Saturday preview, filmed from the commons at TCU:



and highlights, via the mtn.:


and the YouTube highlights, from SuperFrog:


Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Frogs' new Nike duds

TCU is among a handful of schools participating this weekend in a campaign by Nike, promoting supposedly innovative uniform technology.

The Wimple likes the blood-spurt red stripes on the helmet, in homage to the horned frog's famed defense against predators.

FWST reports the players are excited about wearing the gnarly new getup. If it stokes TCU's intensity on gameday, the Wimple approves.

Knock 'em dead, Froggies.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

TCU 55, SDSU 12

Gary Patterson couldn't have been more wrong. With almost-convincing earnestness, the old ball coach said of playing SDSU, "We are going to have to fight, claw, scratch and get everything we can to try and come back with one more point."

Fight, claw, scratch, and get everything they could the Frogs did; and for their efforts, they got not just one, but 43 more points. To nitpick, SDSU converted five third downs (the same number as TCU); and Brandon Sullivan had a pretty good day against the Frogs' defense, netting 75 yards on 17 carries.

But in the beginning, middle, and end, it was all TCU, all the time. The Frogs got points to finish nine of 13 drives, and never allowed SDSU into the red zone. Dalton's favorite target du jour was Ryan Christian (pictured), who caught three passes, two for TDs. Young, Hicks, and Kerley also caught multiple passes each. LBs Daryl Washington, Tank Carder, and Tanner Brock combined for 19 tackles (14 solo).

Ahead of them, Iowa lost at home to Northwestern, and Cincinnati barely beat Connecticut in a shootout in Cincy. Oregon, the strength of Boise's schedule, lost; Clemson, BYU, Utah, and Air Force, the strength of TCU's schedule, all won. Clemson's win over Florida State likely puts the Tigers comfortably into the polls and the ACC championship game.

Now comes the highlight game of the season: the rematch grudgematch with Utah, who's sporting a very new quarterback and significantly downgraded run defense. The Wimple does not expect this game to hinge on Ross Evans's prowess at field goal kicking.

Gameday Preview: SDSU

The Frogs head to the west coast in a trip eerily similar to the ill-fated San Jose State trip in 2000, when the Frogs' long winning streak and BCS-hype came crashing to a halt in a rainy upset. The Aztecs of San Diego State hope history repeats itself today, and they have some weapons to deploy to that end.

Sophomore quarterback Ryan Lindley has been hot recently, averaging a 168.8 QB rating in the last three games. DeMarco Samson has stepped into injured WR Vincent Brown's shoes, averaging 9 catches for 130 yards in the same span.

But the Frogs are on a roll, and have not experienced a dropoff in performance on the road this season. Dalton has rated in the 170s each of his last three games; the Frogs' attack is vastly more balanced than the Aztecs'. While SDSU has made strides this season (its defense is now middling average, instead of ghastly bad) and will continue to make them next year, TCU's strides are behind them, and now the Frogs lead the pack. Look for TCU to extend its '09 winning streak to 10 games, setting up a big-time showdown next week in Fort Worth with the Utes.

TCU 37, SDSU 9

Friday, November 6, 2009

Rebutting libel: an open offer to Scott Nix

Scott Nix libeled me on KillerFrogs yesterday, in Post #10 here. To protect the Purple Wimple's good name, I will summarize Nix's false statements here, (read them in full at the link above) and paste an email exchange he and I had in December 2008 as evidence of my civility, and his lack thereof.

Yesterday Nix claimed I lied in public (presumeably on KF.C) about him, and that I sent him disrespectful personal messages. I have never done either of those things, and in saying I had, Nix himself is the liar.

I therefore offer to reprint in this post any un-altered PMs that Nix received from me, should he wish to paste them into a comment below. Because I have never been irate or rude to Mr. Nix, I do not believe that he can respond in good faith to my offer. However, it stands in perpetuity. Through an acquaintence, Nix will receive this offer personally.

The email exchange:
On Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 5:55 PM, [Purple Wimple] wrote:
Mr. Scott Nix, and whoever ***********@aol.com is:
Let's go through this line by line, because it's patently rediculous.
You say, "I am very tired of your smack. You are an obvious trouble maker with little else to do." Scott, if you're so tired of my smack, why did you email me and yell at me some more? Who's the one with little else to do?

You say, "You go on PM & lie about me...insinuating I'm shallow & a name caller." Scott, you have called me names. That makes you a name caller. Furthermore, you have called me names because I tried to use the word "Rivals" in a post. If that's not shallow, what is?

You say, "If the name "hack" offends you....tough." It is not the name hack which offends me. Dragging this little tiff into personal space and time by emailing me after banning me from you site does.

You say, "I offered to meet with you (in the past) to discuss the situation & you were not man enough to do so." I don't give a damn about however much of a man you think I am. A Christian man is concerned about three people's conception of his manhood: God's, his wife's, and his kids'. Show a little Christian forbearance here, and lay off the appeals to manhood. They're beneath us both.

You say, "I am a fair person." It would be fair of you to use my personal email that I gave to KillerFrogs (before you were involved, might I add) only for KillerFrogs business. But after you have cut me off of KF.C, you no longer have fair ownership of that private information. You are unfairly continuing this fight outside of KF.C.

You say, "Unfortunately you feel entitled." Entitled to what? To KF.C? Have I complained to you or to anyone about being cut off from KF.C? I did not email you, you emailed me!

You say, "Your opinion of me means nothing..." Then why in the Sam Hill did you email me? Why do you have a fan forum at all if its participants' opinions mean nothing to you? Maybe you should start a blog and disallow comments instead.

You say, "but for you to go on PM & try & smear me with lies is ridiculous." Point to one lie on PM from me. Show me the lie. Cut&Paste, man. There ain't one; I am not a liar.

You say, "Sorry this is not High School for you." I don't have any idea that what's supposed to mean. High school was long ago, and is far from me. I hope you can say the same.

You say further, "Unless you decide to totally change your act, I am asking you to not return to KFC." Scott, you're not asking anything of me. You banned me; you didn't ask permission to do so, you just did it. That's your decision.

You say, "If you come back...& there is one more sign of trouble from you....you will be banned permanently." Trouble from me? Pray tell, just what is troublesome about me? Be honest; am I causing trouble? Not a bit of it. I have asked on occasion for a clarification about this or that policy, and have gotten tirades and abuse from you at every turn. I have alluded to the existence of competition for KF.C, and gotten abuse from you. I have pointed out, subtley and with humor, when you suddenly became a fan of J/J and the service they provide. And for it you ban me. Now you email me at a personal address to which you do not have legitimate access, and continue the abuse and invective at me. Who's the troublemaker here?

You say, "I know people who know you at TCU & are surprised by your antics." I don't believe you. But if you wish to convince me, name some names. Who do you know at TCU that I do, and is surprised at my antics?

You say, "I would hope better from you." Allow me to return the sentiment.

You say, "It is only because of posters like you.....who try & stir up trouble between PM & KFC......that there are any problems." What trouble between PM and KFC have I stirred up, except that you take such delight in yelling at me, after banning me? I wasn't around for the KSU-CGP mess; I wasn't around for the Feisty-MatthewTucker rematch. I don't re-up with a new handle every week and spew garbage, which you pointedly allow others to do. It is true that I make reference to PM on KF.C, and vice versa. But other than you, who's offended?

Using the PM service on KF.C to lecture me about how I offend you is OK. BUt to use my personal email to do so is not. Please do not repeat the performance.

[Purple Wimple]