The Roster is set:

FIRST TEAM

Offense

LT 70 Marshall Newhouse 6-3 317 So.
LG 64 Matty Lindner 6-4 298 Sr.
C 75 Blake Schlueter 6-3 272 Jr.
RG 65 Giles Montgomery 6-5 295 Jr.
RT 61 Marcus Cannon 6-5 319 RFr.
TE 86 Shae Reagan 6-4 261 Jr.
FB 47 William Jackson 6-0 235 Sr.
TB 23 Aaron Brown 6-1 196 Jr. 2007
QB 14 Andy Dalton 6-3 210 RFr.
WR (Z) 3 Marcus Brock 6-0 182 Sr.
WR (X) 21 Ervin Dickerson 6-1 200 Sr.
WR (H) 13 Derek Moore 6-3 177 Sr.
WR (Y) 2 Donald Massey 5-11 172 Jr.

Defense
LE 93 Chase Ortiz 6-3 255 Sr.
DT 69 Kelly Griffin 6-1 280 Fr.
NT 56 Cody Moore 6-1 292 Jr.
RE 97 Tommy Blake 6-3 252 Sr.
SLB 46 David Hawthorne 6-0 225 Sr. or 51 Robert Henson 6-1 228 Jr.
MLB 39 Jason Phillips 6-1 234 Jr.
SS 6 Brian Bonner OR 5-11 199 Sr. or 29 Stephen Hodge 6-0 212 Jr.
FS 4 Steven Coleman 6-3 204 Jr.
WS 27 David Roach 6-2 215 Sr.
LCB 20 Nick Sanders 5-10 174 So.
RCB 10 Rafael Priest 5-10 163 So.

Specialists
PK 44 Chris Manfredini 5-9 165 Sr.
KO 58 Drew Combs 6-3 225 So.
H 13 Derek Moore 6-3 177 Sr.
P 11 Derek Wash 6-4 177 Sr.
SN 54 Clint Gresham 6-3 225 So.
KR 23 Aaron Brown or 2 Donald Massey
PR 6 Brian Bonner or 3 Marcus Brock

SECOND TEAM

Offense
LT 79 Nic Richmond 6-8 298 So.
LG 60 Preston Phillips 6-6 293 Jr.
C 74 Tony Savino 6-2 277 Sr. or 76 Jake Kirkpatrick 6-3 273 RFr.
RG 73 Josh Karlin 6-4 280 So.
RT 63 Heath Raetz 6-5 315 Jr.
TE 89 Quinton Cunigan 6-3 237 Sr.
FB 36 Chris Smith 5-11 231 So.
TB 32 Justin Watts 5-10 195 Jr.
QB 11 Marcus Jackson 6-1 216 So.
WR (Z) 1 Walter Bryant 6-4 206 Jr.
WR (X) 88 Jimmy Young 6-1 200 RFr.
WR (H) 30 William Cage 6-4 202 Jr. or 6 Bart Johnson 6-1 190 RFr.
WR (Y) 85 Jeremy Kerley 5-10 185 Fr.

Defense
LE 98 Jerry Hughes 6-2 248 So.
DT 57 Cory Grant 6-2 303 RFr.
NT 90 John Fonua 5-10 270 Jr. (JUCO transfer from L.A. Valley College)
RE 42 Matt Panfil 6-2 232 Jr.
SLB 46 David Hawthorne 6-0 225 Sr. or 51 Robert Henson 6-1 228 Jr.
MLB 41 Daryl Washington 6-3 228 So.
SS 29 Stephen Hodge 6-0 212 Jr.
FS 40 Tejay Johnson 6-1 195 Fr.
WS 6 Brian Bonner 5-11 199 Sr.
LCB 9 Alex Ibiloye 6-0 170 RFr.
RCB 15 Torrey Stewart 5-11 175 Sr.

Specialists
P 38 Anson Kelton 6-4 260 Fr.

Pre-season hype for the Frogs

• ESPN predicts TCU will end the season in the top 10, and lauds the Frogs' defense.
• Kevin Sherrington focuses on many TCU players' small-town roots;
• Randy Galloway can't say enough about Tommy Blake, neither can ESPN's McShay and Ivan Maisel.
• Sports Illustrated calls TCU v. Texas one of the best 20 games to watch this season.
• MSNBC's Celizic points to TCU as a potential national-title contender and BCS headache.
• AP highlights the Frogs' BCS-busting potential.

TCU notes from the Star-Telegram

August 24 - One Armed Kicker
August 23 - Frogs Push Hard
August 22 - Dalton Interview; Vess to Practice, but not Play
August 21 - Vess Out for the Season, Blake Returns
August 20 - Frogs Have Their Man Under Center
August 19 - Blake Returning to Practice
August 18 - Panfil Makes an End Run
August 18 - Sisk Injured
August 17 - Tommy Blake's Absence
August 15 - Frogs Work from the Inside Out
August 14 - Defense on Track; Offense Coming Along
August 11 - Frogs Seeking Elite Opponents
August 10 - Defense Stout in Scrimmage
August 9 - Practice Gets Hot for Fighting Frogs
August 8 - Frogs Set for First of Two-a-Day Tests
August 7 - Newcomers are Making Impact
August 6 - School Starts Early for TCU Hopefuls
August 5 - Frogs Looking to Find Right Catch
August 4 - Offensive Guard Duo Return from Injuries
August 2 - No Controversy, but QB Question is #1

A survey of pre-season rankings

TCU comes in 17th, and is predicted to win the MWC by every listed ranking service.

CFN's weekly favorite MWC games

Week 1 - Utah at Oregon State: A battle between two of the better under-the-radar, top 25-caliber teams around, this will be Ute QB Brian Johnson’s first game back after missing all of last year with a knee injury.
Week 2 - TCU at Texas: It’s dream shot time. TCU should have the Mountain West’s best team and should roll through the rest of its schedule. Don’t laugh; a win here might start legitimate national title talk.
Week 3 - UCLA at Utah: Utah had a chance to make a statement last year in L.A. and got blasted. This year, UCLA will be among the 10-to-15 best teams in America and the Utes get the game in Salt Lake City.
Week 4 - Air Force at BYU: The best in a bad week of games, this ends the murderer’s row of Mountain West games with a trip to Utah and a battle with TCU before the date in Provo.
Week 5 - BYU at New Mexico: The Lobos can’t afford to give away home games and might need to win its opening conference game with three road trips in the following four games.
Week 6 - Utah at Louisville: A terrific Friday night showdown, the Utes will get a chance to see just how good they really are against a legitimate national title contender.
Week 7 - New Mexico at Wyoming: Air Force at Colorado State will be interesting, but the Lobos and Cowboys should put on the better show with two of the league’s best young quarterbacks, UNM’s Donovan Porterie and UW’s Karsten Sween.
Week 8 - Utah at TCU: The first installment of the Mountain West title battle trilogy between the three superpowers, Utah can’t afford a loss with its date with BYU on the road.
Week 9 - Utah at Colorado State: Will Utah be flying high or down in the dumps after the date with TCU? This ends a nasty stretch of three road games in four weeks. BYU at San Diego State has the potential to be more interesting.
Week 10 - New Mexico at TCU: BYU at Wyoming will be a good enough game to go out of your way to watch, but this could be more important as TCU’s letdown sandwich game between Utah and BYU.
Week 11 - TCU at BYU:
Each team will only have four days to prepare for the Thursday night showdown. If TCU beats Utah on October 18th, it should effectively be able to wrap up the title with a win over the Cougars.
Week 12 - New Mexico at Utah: Utah can’t be looking ahead to BYU while New Mexico could close out the year on a run with UNLV at home to finish.
Week 13 - Utah at BYU: Even if TCU has the title won, this will still be worth watching if only to hope it’s half as good as last year’s last-second thriller. This might be the nation’s best unnoticed rivalry.

Feisty's take on personnel

KF.C's FeistyFrog analyses TCU's defensive and offensive rosters.

Analyzing the '07 schedule, predicting the outcomes.

9/1 BAYLOR- the Bears will bring a hungry, but sadly under-talented, under-experienced team to Fort Worth for the season opener. Coach Patterson's game-plan will feature running, short passes, and more running, as he breaks Marcus Jackson into the starting role under center, and Andy Dalton takes his first college snaps; Coach P won't want to give anything away for Texas's scout team, either- not that anyone is sure TCU's new QBs could handle difficult plays, anyway. TCU's marquee defense will stifle Baylor; Frogs win with a low score.
9/8 at Texas- Not since Texas Tech came to town early last year has an opponent fired the competitive juices in Fort Worth like the Longhorns. TCU will turn in a tremendous defensive performance, and might pull off an upset. A Frog win would be just that, however: an upset. More likely, Colt McCoy will find just enough room to lead a balanced attack, and will win a close game. Horns win with a close, and probably low, score.
9/13 at Air Force- On four days' rest, the Frogs begin conference play at Colorado Springs, facing their second veteran quarterback of the season, Shawn Carney. Air Force's rebuilt offense won't find any traction against the Frogs' defense, however, which will have Carney on his back time and time again. Either Jackson will cement his starting role with a solid performance, or lose it to Dalton, who will have pressured Jackson in every game so far. In the first case, Frogs will easily. In the second case, Frogs win in another low scoring tilt.
9/22 SMU- As Tech learned last year, nothing motivates TCU like revenge, and the Frogs' kitchen has embarassingly been short one iron skillet for two years too many. SMU will bring a good crowd, but they'll have nothing to cheer about. TCU blasts SMU relentlessly.
9/29 COLORADO STATE- If winning generates momentum, TCU will have plenty of it by now. Sonny Lubick's Rams will come to Amon Carter Stadium for their second time, and their second slaughter in Cowtown. TCU wins in style.
10/6 at Wyoming- TCU will fly to Laramie ranked again, and Wyoming either will be ranked also, or flirting with the polls, having upset Boise State a few weeks earlier. The Frogs win this one, but barely. Jeff Ballard's toughest game as a new starter came in Wyoming; Jackson or Dalton's toughest as a newbie under center will be there, too.
10/13 at Stanford- The bottom-feeder of the PAC 10 will consider breaking its contract for a second game with TCU before this one's over; TCU will decimate the Cardinals.
10/18 UTAH- On a short week, Utah and TCU will square off in a battle to each others' strengths: the Utes will bring a national top-five offense to Fort Worth, facing the Frogs' national top-five defense. If Utah has won two or three of its non-conference games, this will be a clash of titans. The Frogs are likely to win in a close, hard-fought game.
11/3 NEW MEXICO- Like Wyoming, New Mexico may surprise in the Mountain West this year, especially after their re-tooled offense and offensive line gels. They won't be able to surprise the Horned Frogs, however, who will be well rested, and will turn in their first complete game against the a bowl team, winning by a large margin.
11/8 at Brigham Young- The Cougars are in a similar position as TCU and Utah: if they can win most of their non-conference matches, they'll garner a great deal of media attention. If BYU and TCU bring significant winning streaks to this game, the match-up may be the most anticipated game in MWC history. If the game features two unbeaten teams, then a BCS berth, and unbelieving discussion about a national title will echo from the Wasatch Front. Both teams will boast first-season, but very experienced quarterbacks, strong lines, and budding stars. Expect an emotional triumph, but don't expect a score prediction from me this far out from the contest.
11/17 UNLV- TCU wins this one easily, and Mike Sanford's seat begins to get warmer than its Las Vegas surroundings...
11/24 at San Diego State- TCU finishes the regular season with another win, although it may be more difficult to come by than last season's record-setting demolition of the Aztecs.
BOWL- TCU, if 10-2, will tie for first place in the conference, and likely play in the Armed Forced Bowl against Arizona, UCLA, or Oregon. The Frogs will win, and finish the season ranked between 14 and 21.

'07 early honors and watch-lists

Athlon lists TCU's defensive front seven the pre-season's best;
O-lineman Matty Lindner is on the Outland Trophy watchlist;
DEs Chase Ortiz and Tommy Blake are listed on the Nagurski, Hendricks, and Bednarik watchlists;
Tommy Blake is Dave Campbell's Texas Football defensive player of the year, and is on the Lott and Lombardi watchlists.
Blake, Ortiz, Brian Bonner, Jason Phillips, Matty Lindner and Chris Manfredini made DCTF's first-team all-Texas college team, and David Hawthorne made the second team. Bonner made the second special team as well.

the freshmen check in

Today is the day for freshmen to report for summer drills. Of a handful of signees whose prospective enrollment is questionable, Tekerrein Cuba, is confirmed on campus today, as well as the all-star recruit in 2007, Jerome Kerley. The presence of a highly anticipated signee for the interior of the defensive line, Braylon Broughton, has been confirmed.

Rank the '07 opponents

Two KF.C regulars rank TCU's 2007 opponents.
Lindy's views them in this order:

5 Texas, 44 BYU, 45 Utah, 65 SMU, 69 Wyoming, 72 New Mexico, 75 Baylor, 79 Stanford, 83 Colorado State, 93 Air Force, 9 San Diego State, 102 UNLV.

Like KillerFrog-in-the-Kitchen-Sink, it seems odd to the Wimple to rank SMU-- at home!-- higher than Wyoming and San Diego State. Both are road games, and in '05 when they were last road games, both teams played TCU very tough.

Sorting the MWC: Kings of the Mountain

The usual suspects will vye for supremacy in the Mountain West next season: TCU, BYU, and Utah. The Horned Frogs and Cougars both bring new quarterbacks to play behind seasoned lines (Max Hall at BYU, either Marcus Jackson or Andy Dalton at TCU). TCU returns nine starters in its leage-best defense, and will be the only one of the three to start the season ranked. Brian Johnson returns under center for the Utes, who will probably boast one of the nation's best offenses.

None of these teams play each other before Columbus Day. Utah must travel to Fort Worth and Provo. BYU hosts both TCU and Utah. Each of these games will be tremendous contests.

Utah has the toughest OOC schedule, playing Washington State, UCLA, Louisville. While the Utes can win them all, they'll more likely split them. BYU gets rising Pac-10 challengers UCLA and Arizona in its schedule, and will likely split those as well- but two wins is not out of the question. TCU faces Texas in early September- a win in Austin would be a memorable upset.

Most likely these three conference giants will all end up 10-2 or so. However, if any one of them has only one loss, they may win a BCS berth. If any one of them goes undefeated, a BCS bowl is certain.

Sorting the MWC: Pushing for a Bowl

Last season's adjustment in schedule lengths and bowl-eligibility made seven the new six: non-BCS teams are unlikely to go bowling unless they have seven wins. The Mountain West has ties to only four bowls, meaning five teams are likely to sit at home for Christmas, unless they can come up with seven wins, making them more eligible for an at-large bid than a 6-6 BCS team.

Which MWC teams are likely to get seven or more wins this year? TCU, BYU, and Utah are all but certain to. UNLV, SDSU and Air Force are all but certain not to. In the mushy middle sit Wyoming, New Mexico, and Colorado State. Of the three, Wyoming seems the most likely to achieve seven wins: Virginia, Utah State, Ohio, and Boise State are all winnable OOC games for the Cowboys. In conference, a .500 record is a possibility. Wyoming's tight defense is probably going to be improved in '07, and their star QB, Karsten Sween, won't be so shiney and new.

New Mexico also returns a rising star at QB- Donovan Porterie- but will be building a new offensive line to protect him and Rodney Ferguson, a terrific runningback. Look for the Lobos to start the year slowly.

Colorado State hopes Kyle Bell's return will spur new life into its offense, which went lifeless in the second half last year. Coach Lubick, who is feeling heat, is trying to get more physical play from his team. If he gets it, the Rams will be bowling again in 2007.

Look for Wyoming to place fourth or tie for third in conference, with New Mexico and Colorado State coming in next.

Sorting the MWC: bottom feeders

MWC teams can be categorized into three groups heading into 2007: teams for whom 2nd place will feel like a let-down (TCU, BYU, Utah); teams for whom missing a bowl will feel like a letdown (Wyoming, New Mexico, and maybe Colorado State), and teams hoping to avoid last-place (Air Force, San Diego State, UNLV).

UNLV and SDSU have grovelled at the bottom of the league since its foundation. Second-year coach Tom Craft's Aztecs appear lively, and may surprise Arizona State or Cincinnati, and enter conference play with a .500 record. UNLV, on the other hand, seems likely to start conference play with only one win, against Utah State. Once conference play is underway, SDSU appears more likely to cull a few wins and may flirt with bowl eligibility.

Air Force and Colorado State both ended last season in a tailspin. Runningback Kyle Bell returns to the Rams, however, making it more likely that Colorado State will produce an upswing than Air Force, which has the league's only new coach, and is installing a new offense.

The Wimple predicts SDSU, Air Force, and UNLV will fill out the bottom three in 2007.

Remembering the 2006 football season...

TCU 17, Baylor 7
TCU 46, UC-Davis 13
TCU 12, Texas Tech 3
BYU 31, TCU 17
Utah 20, TCU 7
TCU 31, Army 17
TCU 26, Wyoming 3
TCU 25, UNLV 10
TCU 27, New Mexico 21
TCU 52, San Diego State 0
TCU 45, Colorado State 14
TCU 38, Air Force 14
TCU 37, NIU 7

Football Preview Season

'Tis the season for football previews. Here're several already out for TCU or the MWC, with commentary:
CFN's mammoth preview of the MWC, team by team, position by position, etc. is now out. It's a little too TCU and BCS centered, believe it or not, but it's got lots of good information.
The most thorough TCU preview is ESPN's Blue Ribbon preview (there's one for every D1 team).
Here's one listener's review of Coach Patterson speech at the Fort Worth Rotary Club in July.
KF.C's David May previews the team for spring practices.
Feisty's depth-chart after spring drills, and another look with recruiting in mind.
SMQ: oddly, SMQ treats Jackson as the only game in town for QB at TCU. He does discuss the top three in the league with more insight than most other commentators, combined. Also SMQ on SMU, BYU, Baylor, Wyoming, Texas, and others as they come.
ESPN: a team-by-team blurb through the MWC; QB battle, Hodge, Brown, O-Line and receivers highlighted.
ESPN, again: two three-part story-lines for the MWC. TCU gets both first mentions-- will the Frogs follow Boise State to the BCS? How powerful will the re-loading go this year?
ESPN, yet again: a focus piece on Tommy Blake and Chase Ortiz
Athlon: ranks TCU at 25, with a short preview.
Lindy's ranks TCU at 15, with a short preview, and speculates that one loss to Texas shouldn't keep the Frogs out of the BCS.
USA Today/CBS.Sportsline: spring report; highlights the QB battle, Hodge, Stewart, Young.
CollegeFootballNews (and Fox Sports) has previews up for BYU, Utah, San Diego State and UNLV. As they're posted, each preview for Colorado State, Air Force, Wyoming, New Mexico, TCU, Baylor, UT, Stanford, and SMU will be linked to each school's name in this list.
Yahoo sports previews the top ten toughest road schedules, naming Utah, TCU, and BYU to the list.
Rivals previews TCU ranking 33, citing primarily non-BCS status and a new QB for the low position.