X's and O's

I can't take credit for this, it was originally posted on killerfrogs by a "Frogs McGee". It's a position by position breakdown of the Frogs and Ponies:

Quarterback: Advantage TCU
Running Backs: Advantage TCU
Wide Receivers: Advantage TCU
Tight Ends: Advantage TCU
Offensive Line: Advantage TCU
Defensive Line: Advantage TCU
Linebackers: Advantage TCU
Secondary: Advantage TCU
Kicker: Advantage TCU
Punter: Advantage TCU
Returners: Advantage TCU
Special Teams: Advantage TCU
Coaching: Advantage TCU
Fans: Advantage TCU
Popped Collars: Advantage SMU

Hate Week: Bulletin Board Material

Must you really ask why I need to be Hatin'?

I had originally planned to have a hate filled week lined up under my byline on this here blog, but a poorly scheduled work related trip has me out of town until Friday, so this is all I can offer for now. Work - sneaks up on you when you least expect it. To get myself in proper hate week mood, I've downed about 5 cups of coffee this morning and lined up a healthy dose of Mastodon on my lala account. I highly suggest you do the same for the rest of the week.

Anyway, as depressing as it is that our one true rival is a school as lowly and loathsome as SMU, the fact remains that they have and will continue to be the main focus of our hate until we stay in a conference long enough to develop some entrenched rivals - I'm looking at you, BYU. So what better way to get fired up about beating our penny loafer wearing bretheren to the east? Why a little bulletin board material! Now, not all of this is directly hate related, but it definitely gives you some things to think about until Saturday. As usual, these guys think they are as good as we are and fully expect a win... except their head coach. Here we go - complete with bullet points. See what I did there?

• Asked how the SMU offense would respond to playing against the Horned Frogs' defense, Jones said "you hope you throw it to the right color jersey." Yes, that was actually said by SMU head coach June Jones. "You just hope you throw it to the right color jersey?" Is this really his game plan? Is this really all the faith he has in his quarterback? Is this why they pay him $2 million a year? Wow. I mean, say what you want about GPs coaching methods - most ex players will say he was a hard ass but they respected him - but geez. Between him and Wade Phillips, I can't believe either of the Dallas football teams get out of bed on gamedays. Yes, I realize SMU has had some poor QB performances - Bo Levi has thrown 8 INTs thusfar, three going for 6 - but I don't think this is the way to get him motivated for the biggest game of his season. I'm sure the boosters who funded this June Cometh thing loved reading that.

• Bo Levi Mitchell has an infected ulcer that has caused him to lose 21 pounds in two weeks. On one hand, you can look at this development and say, "Wow, the guy is extremely ill yet has gone out and led his team to its best start in 25 years" and on the other you could say, "wow, 2-1 is your best start in 25 years?" Either way, consider this - Bo Levi got slaughtered by Jerry Hughes last year... and now he has to line up against him sans 21 pounds. I don't envy the kid at all. The SMU game last year was a big time coming out party for Hughes with several sacks and a returned INT for a TD. Look for Hughes to once again have an all out manimal performance against this pitiful, pitiful squad. Also, Kelly Griffin might have a warrant out for his arrest after this one. Just sayin' Kelly, if you need a place to lay low for a while...

• "We didn't play to our potential last year, and they pretty much embarrassed us because we weren't up enough for the game," SMU senior OL Mitch Enright said. "But this year, we know that we have a good enough team to beat them. It's a matter of executing, representing SMU and not backing down." Poor, poor delusional Mitch Enright. I admire the confidence, but going so far as to suggest that SMU as a team is better than the #10 team in the country? Sorry pal. Remember those words when Jerry Hughes, Kelly Griffin and a host of backups are picking pieces of this young man out of their facemasks.

• Another June Jones nugget - "We're starting to learn how to win," SMU coach June Jones said. "We're starting to get there. You learn from your mistakes. Hopefully we won't throw the football to them as much as we did last week. We have to get better each week. Hey, at least the man realizes his team is terrible.

• "They are a small private school in this area.," Enright said. "There's nothing different between these schools, it's just that they have established themselves as a perennial top-25 team, and that's obviously the direction we're going. Hmmm... except for our school isn't attended by a bunch of coke heads from the northeast and California, we aren't surrounded by the most pretentious neighborhood in the southern United States which as a result makes the student body even more miserable, we have a competent coaching staff and a real live fan base, we've incubated a program from the inside which breeds consistency and aids in recruiting trust and development rather than stealing another team's coach and system, out football team has a decorated history that isn't highlighted by being the only team to ever have their football season suspended due to dubious activities, we don't play in an armpit conference that will never get respect, nor deserve it, we don't have to resort to gimmickry to have our fans attend games, we don't pretend we're in the SEC and wear ties to games, and lastly but not leastly or finally, we aren't delusional enough to look at a team coming off two consecutive 1 wins seasons as one that is headed towards becoming a "perennial top 25 team." God SMU is garbage. Fill in your additions in the comments.

• The Mustangs locker room as filled with tears after beating UAB to go to 2-0. TEARS!! They cried after the victory. I mean, sure, we've been spoiled with 10+ consecutive years of solid football, but really? I just don't see how anyone can look at this team as a program on the rise. I know it's hard to act like you've been there when you've never been there, but that's just a little far. What a sad, sad team to be a part of.

• Remember 2005. Both teams only have a handful of players in the locker room who were a part of this abysmal blip, but don't think either has forgotten it. We all realize what a huge fluke it was in the first place, but its a thing like that that gives SMU the faith to think they can pull another one. Immediately following the Clemson game, GP already had the team focused on this one so a repeat can't happen. Wade, jr. may have had 2 weeks to prepare for this, but GP could out game plan Mr. "I hope we don't throw the ball to the wrong team" while he takes a crap. I look for a HUGE day for our defense and if we don't have 3 INTs by halftime I'll be disappointed.

There are so many more things I could elaborate on, but alas, it's all the time I have. The good news is that we have a full Saturday of drinking Haterade before the 7PM kick, so I hope to see you all there. Planning to still have a preview of both the game and the Top 25, but no promises on the half assedness of both.

Oh yeah, did I mention we're already a 27.5 point favorite?

Quotes pulled from this article.

Hawthorne stepping it up in Seattle

While the most talked-about aspects of Sunday's Bears-Seahawks game were Seattle's AWFUL neon-green uniforms, overlooked was the outstanding performance by TCU's own David Hawthorne. The second year linebacker, making his first career NFL start in place of an injured Lofa Tatupu, recorded 16 tackles (15 of them solo!) and an interception (being celebrated in the photo above). Despite his best effort, though, the Seahawks' Olindo Mare missed two key field goals leading to a tough home loss. Look for Hawthorne to get PAID this offseason!

Final thoughts on the Clemson game

Before we get on with the hatred at hand with SMU coming to town on Saturday, I thought I'd take one last look back at the Clemson game and share my thoughts with you:

-Did anyone else keep thinking "Utah" during that game? It played out eerily similar to the Frogs' loss in Salt Lake City last November: a defensive struggle in which we were moving the ball but just not able to convert, a big home crowd ready to explode, crucial missed field goals and the feeling that whoever gets the next big play is going to win. I kept this thought to myself during the game, fearing that bringing it up might jinx the Frogs.

-Antoine Fucking Hicks! Luckily for us, it was the Frogs that came up with that next big play when the sophomore from Mansfield came up with one of the wildest catches I've ever seen to give TCU the lead.

-How much more can you say about the guy on the other end of that pass? While Dalton had a few wild throws in the first half, he buckled down in the second half and just put this team on his back. He is easily the Team's MVP at this point of the season.

-Are we saving Jeremy Kerley for something? Sorry to nitpick, but let's get #85 some more touches!

-While Clemson was determined (and fairly successfully so) to keep Jerry Hughes from being a force in this game, the Frogs had some other defenders really step up. Without looking at the stat sheet, I was very impressed by both linebackers, safety Alex Ibiloye, end Wayne Daniels and tackle Jeremy Coleman. Certainly the defense as a whole really grew up on Saturday, but those guys stuck out in my mind.

-Kudos to everyone that made the trip to South Carolina. Definitely not an easy place to get to, and from what I've heard the purple contingent in the stadium was large and very vocal. I know GP, his staff and the players all appreciate the support. Wish I could've been there but as I mentioned earlier, my cousin got married. That's a whole 'nother topic...

-Whatever the opposite of kudos are to ESPN for not airing this game on TV. With the hard-hitting defenses, the pouring rain and the drama of the 4th quarter, this game played out like the opening scene in The Program. A big thanks to my girlfriend for clearing all of the hurdles, both logistical and technical, to getting access to ESPN360.

-In the spirit of making TCU's corporate sponsors happy, here is a new feature on Gofrogs.com called The Final Drive, which includes some postgame thoughts from the athletic department.

-One game at a time. One game at a time. One game at a time. This team has a chance to do some really special things, but they've got to avoid over-looking anyone on the schedule. That starts with SMU this week. HATE.

Morning Dump

Today is official "Mustangs on the Hill" lobby day. Why are they lobbying you ask? To end mustang slaughter. I shit you not. Now on to the dump.

SMU hopes to show mettle in Iron Skillet game with TCU Dallas Morning News

Monday morning SMU thoughts for Iron Skillet week Dallas Morning News

Rivalry anything but neighborly ESPN-Dallas

Those darned Horned Frogs sneak past USC - again Los Angeles Times

TCU's Andy Dalton named Co-MWC player of the week Examiner

TCU mining possible BCS gold with ACC wins Deseret News

TCU jumps ahead in Mountain West race Sporting News

MWC news and notes Sports Network

New TCU play hurts Tiger defense Tigernet

Three BCS party crashers likely to stick around New York Times

WAC gets Poinsettia Bowl guarantees in 2011, 2012 Reno Gazette Journal