Last Updated on September 14, 2010 10:46 pm by Anthony Rome
Baylor vs. TCU Preview
Fort Worth, TX – In the 14 years since TCU and Baylor went their separate ways after the Southwest Conference disbanded, the Horned Frogs have evolved into a national power despite not belonging to a power conference.
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The Bears are still seeking the kind of victory that would make them better known outside Texas and the Big 12 South.
The intrastate rivals meet Saturday at Fort Worth, where the fourth-ranked Horned Frogs continue their chase for a second straight BCS berth.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the TCU –21.5 point spread favorites for Saturday’s game against the Baylor. Current NCAA Public Betting Information shows that 66% of more than 1,756 bets for this game have been placed on the Baylor +21.5.
TCU (2-0) joined the Western Athletic Conference in 1996, jumped to Conference USA in 2001 and has been a member of the Mountain West Conference since 2005. Coach Gary Patterson has been the architect of the Horned Frogs’ rise, going 55-11 in leading them to five straight bowl appearances since the start of 2005 and eight in nine years at the school.
The key breakthrough came last year, when TCU earned an at-large BCS berth following an undefeated regular season. Given a lofty spot in the preseason poll this year after a 17-10 loss to current No. 3 Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, the Horned Frogs have responded well to the pressure of justifying their elite status.
They beat FCS school Tennessee Tech 62-7 on Saturday for their 15th straight home victory, although Patterson let his players know he was not happy with some minor miscues made throughout the game.
“I told them we needed to start acting like the fourth-ranked team in the nation,” he said. “At some point, you’ve got to take ownership. When you’ve got the big ballgames, starting with Baylor this week, you can’t make those kind of mistakes.”
Andy Dalton, who threw for 182 yards with a passing touchdown and rushing touchdown, agreed.
“We weren’t clean, we weren’t fluent on everything that we were doing offensively,” said Dalton, whose next win will give him 32 and tie him with BYU’s Max Hall for the Mountain West record. “That’s just something we’ve got to go in and fix.”
Raising Baylor’s program has been an ongoing challenge for nearly a generation. The Bears have not been to a bowl game since 1994 – tying them with Duke for the longest drought in the six conferences that get automatic BCS berths – and their last winning season came in 1995.
Baylor has been overmatched in the Big 12, totaling 13 conference wins in 13 years while lagging behind traditional division powers Texas and Oklahoma as well as recent upstarts Texas Tech and Oklahoma State.
“We’re not looking at it as a chance to make a statement or get attention, we’re just looking at it to fight hard to get another win, that’s what we’re trying to fight to get this year, to get ‘Ws,'” third-year coach Art Briles said. “We understand TCU has an outstanding program and been a very successful team over the past decade, but we’re going up there to try and improve this team.”
After missing the final nine games last year with a torn ACL, Robert Griffin is again the linchpin for rebuilding the Bears. He had two touchdown passes and two scoring runs while throwing for a career-high 297 yards versus Buffalo, and has had a hand in seven of Baylor’s eight TDs.
Griffin, 13th in the FBS in total offense at 312.5 yards per game, will try to help Baylor snap a 21-game skid to ranked opponents. The Bears have not beaten a top 5 team since 1985.
Dalton made his collegiate debut against Baylor in a 27-0 win in 2007, throwing for 205 yards and a TD to even the series 49-49-7.
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