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New Mexico-TCU Preview

Nov 24, 2009 - 7:09 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

New Mexico (1-10) at No. 4 TCU (11-0), 1:00 p.m. EDT

Throughout the year, TCU has managed to avoid the distractions of all the BCS talk and simply focus on the next game on its schedule.

The only team standing in its way of a perfect regular season and a possible BCS berth is a New Mexico squad coming off its first victory of the season.

The fourth-ranked Horned Frogs look to avoid a letdown and win the Mountain West Conference title outright when they host the Lobos on Saturday.

With a No. 4 ranking in the BCS, TCU (11-0, 7-0) is a likely candidate for one of the top bowl games. A loss in its finale, though, could leave sixth-ranked Boise State with a BCS berth, as usually only one team from a non-BCS conference receives a bid for one of the top bowls.

"(We) see what's ahead of us," quarterback Andy Dalton said after last Saturday's 45-10 win over Wyoming. "If we win next week, we get a shot at a big bowl. It's motivation for us. We're trying to play our best each week. Hopefully, we'll impress someone."

While the Horned Frogs are using it as motivation, they're not getting caught looking too far ahead.

"This team has done a great job blocking out all distractions," defensive lineman Jerry Hughes said. "We're all focused on winning the next game. ... We've just got to take care of business now. When you start looking too far into the future, things start to get away from you."

TCU doesn't want to get caught thinking about its upcoming bowl possibilities because it still has a lot riding on this game.

The Frogs have a one-game lead over No. 18 BYU and 22nd-ranked Utah in the MWC and are hoping to win the conference title outright. TCU is also trying to win 12 games for the second time in school history. The 1935 national championship team finished 12-1.

"I'm glad to see everything's clicking," said Dalton, who has thrown 12 touchdown passes to two interceptions over the last six games. "For these seniors, for this program, for this school, it's been a lot of fun this whole year."

These days, pretty much everything is working for a team that boasts the fifth-ranked scoring offense in the Football Bowl Subdivision (39.7 points per game) and the sixth-ranked scoring defense (12.6).

The Frogs have racked up more than 500 yards of offense in each of the last four weeks and have outscored opponents 278-63 over the last six contests. Led by running backs Matthew Tucker and Joseph Turner, TCU is averaging 345.8 yards on the ground over the last four games.

This high-powered offense tries to continue its surge against a New Mexico team that has the 13th-worst scoring defense in the FBS at 34.5.

The Frogs, who won 26-3 at New Mexico last season, have had little trouble scoring on the Lobos lately, averaging 34.8 points in winning the four meetings since joining the MWC in 2005.

While the offense has played well, TCU's defense has dominated the series lately, limiting New Mexico to 305 yards and three points in the last two meetings combined.

The Lobos (1-10, 1-6) are coming off last Saturday's thrilling 29-27 win over Colorado State, snapping a 14-game losing streak.

After forcing the Rams to punt, New Mexico gained 44 yards in 1:10 to set up James Aho's 27-yard field goal with 12 seconds left.

"It's been a long time coming and it's been a long year, but as I've said many times after some tough losses, I haven't been more proud of a team than this team," coach Mike Locksley said.

New Mexico has lost nine straight on the road, and ending that skid against TCU won't be easy. The Frogs have won 13 in a row at Amon G. Carter Stadium and 55 of their last 61 at home.