Boise Hires PR Firm to Trash TCU

Taking the highroad once again aren't we Boise?

ESPN - PR firm hired to make push for Boise St.

P.S. the post below this is more important. I just really wanted to get this picture on here. Go JoPa!

Go Penn State!

Kirk Herbstreit was just on live with Galloway and Company, and said that Game Day is planning on going to Columbus for Iowa/Ohio State next weekend...BUT, that if Ohio State loses this weekend at Penn State, that they'd come to Fort Worth for TCU/Utah.

...as if the Ohio State hat-wearing douchebags with barbed-wire tats that hang out at my apartment pool all the time weren't reason enough to root against the Buckeyes.

Week 10 Top 10 Preview.

Another notable Top 10 list. Schaaaaaaawing.

Some delicious treats this weekend, with a Friday night top 10 hate sneak treat included. Let’s get into it.

#1 Florida -35 vs. Vanderbilt. The first big story of this game is that Florida will be playing sans eye gouging linebacker Brandon Spikes for the first half of the game as he sits out in punishment for said act. Call me a whiny liberal or something of that ilk, but dude tries to forcefully remove an opponent’s eyes and gets a half game suspension while Dez Bryant has dinner with Deion Sanders and get suspended the entire year? I mean, yeah, had it been Michael Irvin I could understand because, let’s face it, no telling the amount of illegal activity citations such a meeting would warrant, but really now? Very, very strange contrast there, but I suppose that’s the difference between being the top ranked team in the country and the not top ranked team in the country. Anyway, the other big story in this game? Umm… alright, I got nothin’.

#2 Texas -36 vs. UCF. Should be a real barn burner, this game. A couple of years back UCF hosted Texas in the first game at their brand new stadium and actually put up a pretty good fight, only losing 32-35 and coming within a successful onside kick try of having a shot to win it. This year? Eeeeeeeeeh not so much.

#3 Alabama -9.5 vs. #9 LSU. Here’s your super duper upset special weekend treat for me to poop on. LSU people reeeeeally hate Nick Saban. LSU people also would eat the children of opposing fans if provoked. Didn’t Alabama only beat Tennessee by three points at home? LSU has won 7 of the last 9 meetings between the two schools, including the last 4 in Tuscaloosa. Neither team particularly has a QB and, to be honest, neither team particularly has much of an offense, although Bama has the Heisman frontrunner in RB Mark Ingram and LSUs offense has started to show a few signs of competency the past few games. Defensively, these are two of the best teams in the country, with Alabama being slightly higher across the board than the Tigers. Had the game been played in Baton Rouge, I’d say it’s not enough of a difference to make up for the environment, but as it’s being played in Tuscaloosa, and as the Tide has had two weeks to prepare, you have to think Bama wins this one. Really, though, this game means as much to LSU as it does Alabama as with a win LSU would be in the drivers seat for the SEC West Championship and, if they beat Florida in that rematch, no telling what would happen. Let’s just say, if UT and Iowa go undefeated and LSU has one loss, you better watch your backs in Iowa City, because those corn dog smelling Cajun booze hounds are going to kidnap your football team and send them to Guantanamo – aka Shreveport – and hold them there until the BCS committee replaces them with the Tigers. Regardless, this will be a great split screen treat for those of you with that capability as it begins at 2:30 and the Frogs start at 3. Very, very difficult game to call, but I think Bama wins it – and if it gets close enough, the SEC officials will swing it their way regardless. You know how much they hate upsets.

#4 Iowa -16.5 vs Northwestern. Alright, I’m not going to sugarcoat it: Northwestern is not a good football team. However, they’re actually middle of the pack in the Big Televen and have given Iowa fits in recent years, winning 3 of the last 4 meetings. Northwestern QB Mike Kafka was injured last weekend against Penn State and once he left the game, it went from being interesting to a big ole pile of feces. With Kafka, the Wildcats have the 23^rd ranked passing attack in college football and are even or better than Iowa in all of the relevant offensive categories. That may be way more information than you’ve ever cared to know about Northwestern football, but I just refuse to acknowledge the Hawkeyes existence barring the threat of death or disembowelment. Seriously, this game should be about as cheery to watch as Franz Kafka is to read. Iowa will win this game and I don’t even know why.

#5 Cincinnati -16.5 vs Connecticut. Really, ABC? You’re slating THIS game for the Saturday evening primetime slot? Sorry about that, Northeast United States, but then again, it might be more pleasant than the alternatives – USC/Arizona State or Oklahoma/Nebraska. Talk about a scheduling abortion. Obviously we would pull for UConn in this one either way, but regardless it’s hard to root against a team that has suffered through a situation like the one they have. Still, I thought they would’ve been way more fired up their past two games to win one for Jasper Howard and they fell apart at the end, so I don’t know why this one would be any different. Believe it or not, though, Connecticut has one of the better overall defenses in the country, and actually rank higher than all but two teams the Bearcats have faced so far this year. The problem with this though? The two teams that do have a better D than the Huskies are South Florida and Rutgers… and Cincy put up 81 combined on those clowns. Don’t expect much of a fight in this one.

#7 Boise State – 21 @ Lousiana Tech. Here’s the Friday night sneak treat I referred to earlier. At the beginning of the year, two games were circled on the Boise State calendar as possible slipping points after Oregon - the first was Tulsa, which the Broncos were within a capable opposing QB of losing the game, and then this one. Unless you have faith in Idaho or Nevada, this really is the last team that has a halfway decent chance of beating the Broncos. Offensively, this one isn’t even close as Boise leads most of the country in all categories, including the third overall scoring offense with 41 points per. Yes yes, WAC competition, I know, but since we’re ahead of them in the rankings, we’re beyond all of that. Defensively though… dammit, Lousiana Tech!! 24 points and 372.5 yards per game??? A two game losing streak to Utah State AND Idaho? Boise, on the other hand, is ranked top 10 in most defensive categories. Whoever said this one was going to be the best chance for Boise to lose a game is an idiot.

#8 Oregon -5.5 at Stanford. If you really want an upset special treat this weekend, I like this one. Oregon only giving up 5.5 points? I realize it’s on the road, but I can’t imagine Stanford is too intimidating of a road environment, even though they’re playing well lately. True story – Stanford’s white running back Toby Gerhardt has nearly 1000 yards rushing and 13 TDs on the season, while Houston area QB Andrew Luck has nearly 2000 yards passing and 9 TDs vs 3 INTs. Still, Stanford sits only 5-3 and 4-2 in the Pac 10, which pretty much removes them from any sort of championship conversation. This one should at least have some pretty decent offensive fireworks as Oregon and Stanford are the 9^th and 24^th ranked scoring teams in the nation, respectively. After last week’s big win over USC, everyone has left Pete Carroll’s coaching credentials for dead and proclaimed Oregon the cream of the Pac 10 for the foreseeable future. Lest they forget opening weekend when they lost to Boise, had their coach mailing ticket refunds to fans and, you know, had to suspend their best player. I’m not ready to buy into Oregon just yet. Sure, they have a dazzling offense, but weren’t they still held to 8 points that night in Idaho? I don’t know, this team just screams hot and cold for me and, while they definitely got up to castrate the Trojans, just as those same Trojans proved, it’s not always as easy to give your A game against the Cardinal. Still, I keep trying to lose faith in Oregon even though they’ve given me no reason lately. I’m keeping an eye on this one.

#10 Georgia Tech -16 at Wake Forest. Great offense/bad defense meet bad offense/bad defense. That’s the only reason I like Georgia Tech.

A little bit more of an exciting weekend coming up with two legitimate upset opportunities in LSU/Bama and Stanford/Oregon with one upset that will turn into a huge route for the favorite in Boise State/Lousiana Tech. I will be pheasant hunting in South Dakota this weekend so I will not be able to indulge – not to mention the personal anguish I’m feeling in having to listen to the Frogs game via iPhone Wunderadio – but it should be fun to follow assuming they have electricity and internet in those parts these days.

Billy Bad Ass

How in the world this kid ever convinced his coach to let him try this, I'll never know:

San Diego State #3 in the nation...at partying

I was rummaging through youtube this morning in an attempt to find something humorous about San Diego State that I could post. What I found was mostly a lot of the same stuff that you'd find searching youtube for any school- cheesy introductory videos made by photogenically-challenged student government-types, half-assed football and basketball highlight films, news stories about various goings-on at the university. But then I stumbled upon the video below, which I assumed from the title was all about SDSU being picked as one of the top party schools in the nation by Playboy. Turns out, it's just one of many videos posted by the youtube user known as "DontGoToCollege". Enjoy:



If you want to see more of his crusade against higher education, you can check out his entire collection of videos. Oh, and since Christmas is just around the corner, what would make a better gift than a "Don't Go To College" T-shirt?

JJ Henry: A Dedicated, Charitable Frog

There's a great article today at pgatour.com talking about Henry's love for the Frogs, but more importantly, his foundation called The Henry House. Check out the article here.

Qualcomm Stadium = Amon G. Carter West

Since joining the Mountain West, TCU has played more games in San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium than any other stadium not named Amon G. Carter. With their two road wins against San Diego State and their two victories in the Poinsettia Bowl, the Frogs are 4-0 at their home away from home. Let's look back on their trips out west:


October 29, 2005: TCU 23, San Diego State 20
-En route to their MWC Championship in '05, the Frogs nearly stumbled against the Aztecs as SDSU QB Kevin O'Connell accounted for nearly 300 total yards. The Frogs actually trailed at halftime, but in the second half the running game took over and Robert Merrill ended up with 170 yards rushing and 2 TD's. Chris Manfredini's 37-yard field goal with 3:50 left ended up being the difference as TCU improved to 8-1 on the season.


December 19, 2006: TCU 37, Northern Illinois 7
-After being the only team in recent memory to hold Texas Tech without a touchdown and finishing the regular season 10-2, the '06 Horned Frogs found out the hard way that the MWC doesn't carry much weight when it comes to bowl selections. In the Poinsettia Bowl, the Frogs were matched up against Northern Illinois, a 7-5 team out of the MAC...hardly the prize they deserved after another great season. But much of the pre-game hype centered around NIU's star running back Garrett Wolfe, the NCAA's leading rusher that year...which only served as motivation for GP's Hunting Party. The Huskies were held to negative-20 yards rushing and, without the help of a 62-yard pass completion, would've been held to negative-2 yards TOTAL. Led by Tommy Blake, the Frog pass rush sacked NIU quarterbacks (plural, because the starter was knocked out of the game) 5 times.


November 24, 2007: TCU 45, San Diego State 33
-The 2007 season that had started with so much promise had turned pretty sour as the Frogs headed to San Diego on Thanksgiving weekend. After falling behind 17-0 to the Aztecs, it looked as if the Frogs might be staying home during bowl season. But then-sophomore Joseph Turner put the team on his back, rushing for 226 yards and 4 TD's as the Frogs outscored SDSU 42-10 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters combined to cruise to their 7th win of the season and a berth in the Texas Bowl.


December 23, 2008: TCU 17, Boise State 16
-This one is probably the freshest in your mind, but probably because you still have it saved on your DVR. Playing in their second Poinsettia Bowl in three seasons, the Frogs spotted the Broncos 13 points on a number of costly errors. But they were dominating the line of scrimmage and remained patient. Stephen Hodge was a man possessed that night, leading the defense with 11 tackles, 3 of them for a loss. Aaron Brown cut the lead to 13-7 just before halftime with an electric 16-yard touchdown run, Joseph Turner's 17-yard touchdown run with 8:51 remaining put the Frogs up for good, and Hodge came up with an INT to ice it. With the win, the Frogs claimed their second Top 10 victim of the year and finished the season ranked 7th in both polls.

Morning Dump

Gary Paterson containing his excitement Star-Telegram

Joseph Turner fondly remembers his last trip to San Diego Star-Telegram

TCU should worry about BCS money, not title Star-Telegram

Patterson talks Aztecs at weekly press conference GoFrogs.com

Hoke gave receiver attitude adjustment San Diego Union-Tribune

San Diego State vs TCU preview CBS Sports

Work remains for Dallas Football Classic Dallas Morning News

Gameday Speculation.

Could Corso have another opportunity to stick his head in Superfrog?

Yes, I know the chances of Gameday coming to their third MWC game, and the third one they can't televise, - not to mention two weeks in a row - is like a .01% chance... buuuuuut, why not have some fun analyzing? What else am I gonna do at 8:45 on a wednesday?

Here are the potential big matchups that will trump us:

#18 Zona @ #20 Cal. Can't see them going there, but they're ranked. That game has absolutely no bearing on the Pac 10 at this point though, so that takes a lot of interest out of it. Plus, screw the Pac 10.

#10 GT @ Duke. We all laugh, but this game could decide that division in the ACC. Still, fat chance, and it's not like ESPN isn't going to get enough opportunties to visit Raleigh-Durham over the next 6 months. Also, Dick Vitale isn't going to let another resident of his retirement home in Sarasota mingle with his sweet Dukies.

#1 Florida @ South Carolina. This one seems like a HUGE possibility because of the Spurrier/Fla thing as well as this being the last real chance for the Gators to drop a game. And by real chance I mean SC has a better chance to beat Florida than Vanderbilt does. Also, ESPN can televise this one, so that's a double whammy.

#4 Iowa at #16 Ohio State. The obvious choice, but not sure if they'll go back to Columbus since they were there for USC. Does the country really enjoy watching the Big Ten? Would ESPN even care had they not signed a television contract with them? Speaking of that contract - it's pretty awesome to have a good shot of your team playing on national television every Saturday, but is it worth almost always having an 11 AM kick? Being a fan of a Big Ten team is definitely cruel and unusual punishment.

Auburn @ Georgia - Just because it's two SEC teams and it is at night. Still, both of these teams have quickly fallen into also-ran territory in the SEC so I don't know what you'd want to hype a game between two teams with 3 conference losses?

#22 ND @ #13 Pitt. I think this has to be where they go if they don't go to Columbus. One, we all know how ESPN feels about Notre Dame. Two, this is a semi-established rivalry and both teams are ranked. Three, losing out on Gameday to a 2 loss Notre Dame team who, if they win out, will automatically go to a BCS Bowl while we have to sweat it out with Boise will only increase my game time rage which can only mean great, great things from a spectator standpoint.

#7 Boise vs. Idaho. This one really hurts me to bring up, but for a while there this had the potential to be a game between two ranked in-state rivals. After Idaho got absolutely pasted by Nevada, though, this one lost a lot of luster. Still, you know Gameday would love to go to Boise, if only because they wouldn't have to write any material and could talk for 2 hours about the Smurf Turf. Hey, Lee Corso! It's blue!

LONG Shots, but worth a mention.

#8 Oregon vs. Arizona State. See Iowa/Ohio State.

Tennessee @ Mississippi. The media is really coming around on Kiffin right now. Plus, getting to see Houston Nutt humiliated yet again on national television would tickle me silly. I also hear Herbstreit wants to scout the talent at the Grove.

UTEP @ SMU. Hahahahahaha ZING!

#24 Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M. Why? Just because sometimes ESPN likes to do foolish things, that's why.

#19 Oklahoma State vs. Tetch. Would've been a lot more likely had Okie not lost to Houston and/or Texas, and if Tetch hadn't had their fat little girlfriends on the brain. Had Leach snuck "herpes" or "chlamydia" into that description somewhere, he probably wouldn't have gotten as much flack since, you know, it'd be true.

So, all things being equal as far as being able to repeat sites, Iowa/OSU is easily the pick, but if that doesn't work, then they have to go with Notre Dame/Pitt. I know ESPN has the rights to televise Big East games, but does every single Notre Dame game get the NBC treatment? That could play a role. Still, I don't think they've covered a Notre Dame game yet this year, and this is the last interesting one they have the opportunity to do. If both of those fall through, I'd have to think our game and Fla/USC would be on equal footing, likely with Florida taking the nod. I don't expect it to happen, and maybe that's good because we'd all be legally dead/retarded by the time kickoff rolled around. Believe me, as bad as we were at BYU, this would be much, much more terrifying. Something to think about this weekend though as we watch the games play out, and I suppose we'll have our question answered come Sunday afternoon.