Good job Concussion, y'all nailed it...

Leach part of TV team for TCU-UNLV

Say hello to the parade of boring, no-name color commentators that the MWC TV partners have trotted out for TCU games the past few years. According to the pregame notes put out by TCU, joining veteran play-by-play man Roger Twibell in the CBS College Sports booth this Saturday will be none other than former Texas Tech coach and current pirate Mike Leach.

Davey O'Brien Award

Round two of voting has begun. Click here to vote for AD. You can vote once a day and the fan vote counts for 5% of the vote in each round of voting. AD is currently in 6th place with 454 votes, get on there and help bump him up.

Round 2: Finalist Voting (only Semifinalists are eligible)

Fan Vote Opens: Mon., Oct 25 - time TBD (following Semifinalist announcement)
Fan Vote Closes: Sun., Nov. 21 at 12 noon CT
Finalists Announced: Mon., Nov. 22

Round 3: Winner Voting (only Finalists are eligible)

Fan Vote Opens: Mon., Nov. 22 - time TBD (following Finalist announcement)
Fan Vote Closes: Sun., Dec. 5 at 12 noon CT
Winner Announced: Thurs., Dec. 9 on The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show airing on ESPN

Week 9 Opponent Hate: The UNLV Game

UNLV weekend has worked out pretty nicely for the Frogs over the past few seasons, especially the trips out there. The Mountain West has been generous enough to constantly schedule this game on Halloween weekend, knowing all to well that the “Christian” in TCU might be a bit of a misnomer when it comes to the antics our fan base (I’m looking at you, section V) can provide the city of Las Vegas. Something tells me we are a bigger draw Halloweekend in Vegas than any other MWC school. I doubt BYU really tears up the casinos or pass out the Book of Mormon in the strip clubs. Something wouldn’t look right about those dorks riding their bikes down the strip short sleeve white button downs. I’m also pretty sure the Wyoming’s, Air Force’ and New Mexico’s of the world aren’t exactly buying up suites at the Bellagio as well, but I digress. Yeah, trips to Vegas are awesome, especially when football is involved as well. But as great I think it’s great that we get to play in Vegas every other year on Halloweekend, I do foresee a couple of problems with this weekend. Not so much the game, but the weekend in general.

The game starts at 10pm in Fort Worth. Hey Mountain West, it would be nice if you were a little more considerate of your powerhouse team in the central time zone. Have you seen the west side of our stadium? Most of those old curmudgeons won’t be able to stay up and watch kick off, let alone the end of the game. But it’s not only the geriatrics that will have a hard time watching this game- how do they expect us to be coherent enough to follow an entire football game at 10pm on a Saturday night following the Rangers World Series game? Have you seen the tailgates in Lot 3 at The Carter? By 10:00 most of the people out there can barely form a sentence, let alone follow the goings on of a football game. Does anyone REALLY remember what happened at the end of the OU/Mizzou game Saturday night, or did you just catch it all on Gameday Final the next day? And just remember, that was at like, what, 10:30? So now imagine it being roughly 1am Sunday morning and you’re trying to figure out whether or not Dalton or Wesley has the ball on the Zone Read play, then your buddy points out that Dalton and Wesley haven’t played the entire second half and we are currently on defense. I mean, hopefully it’s a Baylor-esque blowout after the first quarter, but we could overlook them and come out flat and it might look more like Colorado State. I hope not though. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ll be setting my DVR and re-watching the game during the Cowboys game on Sunday, because a replayed Frogs game is better than staring at Wade Phillips’ FUPA for 3 hours while hung over.

So if you think the outlook is gloomy for those watching from the state of Texas (or even worse, eastern time zone), I think it’s even more treacherous for those IN Vegas. I realize it’s 2 hours earlier there, but it’s Vegas. They are going to trap you in those casinos. They are going to take your money. They are going to pour alcohol down your throats until you are just drunk enough to try and cash your UNLV tickets in for whatever cash you can get. I know a lot of you, and you’re like me, and Vegas is a dangerous place for degenerate gamblers like us. Even if you are lucky enough to get hot at the craps table or rape a blackjack dealer (literally, not figuratively, I know what I’m saying), you’re going to be hesitant to bail on your hot streak to go watch what should be a Frogs blowout. Not to mention it can be pretty easy to lose track of time in that city. That’s why an afternoon game would be ideal. Give everyone a chance to see a little football action BEFORE they go and get Roethlisbergered by the casinos. Hopefully everyone that’s going makes it to the game, and I know some of you will be there without fail, but I just feel like an 8pm start in Vegas is a recipe for disaster. I’m upset I won’t be there, but I’m not upset that I won’t have to experience the moral hangover and emotional fear that will take place on the flights home on Sunday. I guess I don’t really hate UNLV so much this week, but more the MWC for this scheduling abortion and the city of Las Vegas for its devious ways. Good luck to everyone out there, and good luck to all the fans here in your efforts to see/remember the game. It’s going to be a struggle (for us, not the team).

Could TCU Jump Boise?

In my small little world, some TCU fans seem to think there's an outside chance we may jump Boise and spoil their chance to be in the MNC game. These thoughts seem to be entirely void of any sort of factual analysis. Even though TCU has Utah left and Boise State's schedule stinks, ours isn't that great outside of Utah.

Jared Bradley at the great Hornedfrogsports.com has written a great analysis of the polls and the potential of TCU to jump Boise State in the BCS Poll. Here's the money shot:

I think the Utah game will go a long way to helping us close that gap in the human polls. If we are somehow able to pass Boise in one or both human polls, or if we just draw virtually even with them, then I think TCU will be ahead of them in the BCS standings. It's just not as much of a slam dunk as it was last year, and certainly not as much of a slam dunk as many fans probably thought when they initially saw the narrowed gap yesterday. There is a lot of football left to play, but I think the BCS standings are going to come down to the wire this season, as if the 1 second in the UT-Nebraska game last year wasn''t close enough.

Brad Edwards spent a good part of his chat yesterday on ESPN.com talking about Alabama jumping Boise and the chances of TCU or a non-AQ team in the MNC.

Marc (Charlotte, North Carolina)

If Alabama beats Auburn and finishes with just 1 loss, please tell us all that there is no way Alabama leap frogs Boise State/TCU. Thanks.

Brad Edwards

(11:50 AM)

If Alabama finishes 12-1 (including the SEC Championship Game) and gives Auburn its only loss, I think there's a better than average chance the Tide will leap Boise and TCU/Utah. My prediction is that Bama will end up higher in the computers than those teams and will close the gap in the polls enough to make that jump possible ... if not probable.

Ryan (Detroit)

Everyone already assumes Boise will get leap frogged by at least one 1-loss team, maybe two. If BSU doesn't get in this year, is it safe to assume they will never get there?

Brad Edwards

(11:55 AM)

I would assume that. I realize the non-AQ teams have made tremendous strides in recent years, in terms of the respect they're now getting from voters, but if a team that is preseason top 5 can't finish in the top 2 in a year when every team that began ahead of them lost a game, I can't imagine what circumstances would allow it to ever happen. That said, TCU would've played Alabama in last season's BCS title game if Texas had missed the field goal on the final play of the Big 12 Championship Game, so it's clearly not impossible.

Derrick (Salt Lake City)

In 2 weeks, Utah hosts TCU. Will the winner of that game have a chance at jumping Boise St. in the standings?

Brad Edwards

(11:58 AM)

This may not seem logical, but I don't think Utah has the same upside as TCU. My gut feeling is that voters won't elevate them to TCU's spot, so I don't think they have the same potential within the BCS Standings. Unfortunately for Utah, Navy already embarrassed Notre Dame, so even following up a win over TCU with a drubbing of the Irish would have minimal impact.

Cory (Geneva, IL)

TCU is with thousandths of Boise St. Assuming both win out, won't TCU jump them by the end due to their SOS down the stretch vs. Boise's?

Brad Edwards

(12:02 PM)

All things being equal, it will stay really tight between those teams. What may ultimately decide which one finishes higher in the BCS is whether one of them takes its foot off the gas and plays a close game against a weaker opponent down the stretch. Most fans are focused on this Boise State vs TCU battle in the BCS Standings because of the potential for one to reach the national title game, but let's not forget that even if they don't finish top two, the higher-ranked team between them will get an automatic BCS bid, while the other will be left to hope for an at-large invitation. It's a significant race.

Jim Crozier (Boise, Idaho)

Hey Brad, thanks for chatting. If Hawaii and Nevada are ranked when BSU plays them, will BSU wins be enough to hold off TCU in the BCS rankings if TCU beats Utah? Those two teams are just outside the Top-25 now.

Brad Edwards

(12:05 PM)

The fact that Hawaii, Nevada and Fresno are all respectable teams that won't kill Boise's computer numbers is a positive for the Broncos. But don't fool yourself into thinking many voters will be impressed if BSU runs up a big score on them. The national opinion is that Boise should trounce every team in the WAC, whether that's realistic or not.

Dalton among 16 semifinalists for Davey O'Brien Award Star-Telegram

Wesley named MWC Offensive Player of the Week gofrogs.com

#4 Frogs hit the road to face UNLV gofrogs.com

Rebels must brace for #4 TCU Las Vegas Sun

Undefeated Boise State, TCU sure to cause BCS headaches USA Today