The Horned Frogs headed into the 2007 season as the consensus pre-season favorite to win the MWC and had 12 wins and a BCS bowl on their minds. The season did not go according to plan, as TCU ended up fifth with a 4-4 record in the MWC and 8-5 overall. They ended the year on a good note though, beating Houston 20-13 in the Texas Bowl. The team was a younger team in 2007, but gained a lot of valuable experience which could translate into a Mountain West title run.
Coach: Gary Patterson (8th year at TCU, 62-25 record)
2007 Record: 8-5, 4-4 MWC
Starters Returning: 15 (8 offense, 7 defense)
Top Returnees: QB Andy Dalton, RB Aaron Brown, RB Joseph Turner, WR Donald Massey, C Blake Schlueter, RT Nic Richmond, LT Marshall Newhouse, DT Cody Moore, MLB Jason Phillips, LB Robert Henson, SS Stephen Hodge, CB Rafael Priest, CB Nick Sanders, FS Steven Coleman
Key Losses: WR Ervin Dickerson, DE Tommy Blake, DE Chase Ortiz, LB David Hawthorne, FS David Roach, FS Brian Bonner
2008 Schedule
Aug. 30 @ New Mexico
Sept. 6 Stephan F. Austin
Sept. 13 Stanford
Sept. 20 @ SMU
Sept. 27 @ Oklahoma
Oct. 4 San Diego St
Oct. 11 @ Colorado St
Oct. 16 BYU
Oct. 25 Wyoming
Nov. 1 @ UNLV
Nov. 6 @ Utah
Nov. 22 Air Force
Key Game(s): Oct. 16 vs. BYU and Nov. 6 @ Utah. These two games will be the most important of the season for the Horned Frogs. TCU will play both teams on Thursdays, and in the last three seasons, they are only 1-5 in Thursday games. BYU and Utah are the class of the MWC, but if TCU can beat one or both of them, they could find themselves in serious contention for the MWC Title.
2008 Outlook
The Horned Frogs hope that the 2008 season will be a better year, as Patterson hopes that his team this year will be healthier and show more consistency. There’s no reason why the team shouldn’t be better, as many key players return on both sides of the ball.
Leading the way will be sophomore QB Andy Dalton. Dalton started as a redshirt freshman and put up very good numbers. He finished the season with 2459 yards passing, 232 yards rushing and 15 total touchdowns. Dalton has a solid backup in Marcus Jackson, who also had good numbers in a relief role. Jackson threw for 368 yards, ran for 187 yards, and accounted for 5 total touchdowns.
For TCU to be successful, their running game needs to be more stable and has to stay healthy. Since 2004 the running backs at TCU have been constantly hampered by injuries. RB Aaron Brown (490 yards rushing, 3 total touchdowns) missed most of last season due to various injuries (knee, ankle), but he has superstar potential if he’s healthy. Backup Joseph Turner led the rushing attack last year with 597 yards and 6 touchdowns, but he was injured in the spring.
While the receiving corps loses some of its starting talent this year, they will still have a corps full with experience. WR Donald Massey only had five starts in three years, but was second on the team last year with 364 yards receiving, Walter Bryant contributed 337 yards receiving and Jimmy Young had 325 yards as a freshman. All three will be back, as well as a healthy Shae Reagan at tight end.
The offensive line will be a strength for the Horned Frogs with four full-time starters returning. C Blake Schlueter was a Second-Team All-MWC player in ’07 and has been projected as a First-team MWC Player this season.
The defense should be the Horned Frogs’ key to success in 2008. They have seven returning starters from a defense that was the best in the Mountain West last season. Leading the way will be last season’s leading tackler and three time All-MWC honoree MLB Jason Phillips (87 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT). Next to him is Robert Henson (66 tackles, 2 interceptions), who has earned All-MWC honorable mention honors in three straight seasons despite only starting in three games.
TCU loses two top defensive linemen in Ortiz and Blake, but they might actually have an improved front. The best of the four returning is DT Cody Moore (25 tackles, 3 sacks), and NT James Vess returns from a suspension last year.
The Horned Frogs have a very good group in the secondary. CB Rafael Priest and CB Nick Sanders are very experienced and will start for a third straight season. SS Stephen Hodge started in just five games, but managed to have 8 sacks, the most by a DB in the NCAA, and he also had 57 tackles.
TCU should be favored in the majority of their games, with their biggest obstacles coming in key matchups against BYU and Utah. If the Horned Frogs can prove that they’re just as good as those teams, a second Mountain West title in four seasons could be theirs.
