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TCU tries for another 10-win season

Nov 22, 2008 - 11:21 AM Air Force (8-3) at (15) TCU (9-2), 3:30 pm EST

FORT WORTH, Texas (Ticker) -- After a bit of an off season last year, TCU can achieve a milestone that has become commonplace under coach Gary Patterson.

With a victory over Air Force in their regular-season finale on Saturday, the 15th-ranked Horned Frogs will reach double figures in wins for the third in the last four years and fifth time in eight seasons under Patterson.

While TCU (9-2, 7-1 Mountain West) is taking on Air Force, the Horned Frogs will be interested in the Utah-Brigham Young contest that starts 2 1/2 hours later.

A TCU win, coupled with a BYU upset at undefeated Utah, will give the Horned Frogs a piece of a three-way tie for the Mountain West crown with the Cougars and Utes at 7-1 in the conference.

Two weeks ago, Utah posted a 13-10 victory over TCU, which snapped BYU's 16-game winning streak earlier in the season.

Air Force led BYU at halftime last week but surrendered 21 points in the third quarter and suffered a 38-24 loss.

The Falcons allowed BYU's Max Hall to pass for 354 yards and two touchdowns - both to Austin Collie, who caught passes for 130 yards.

Still, Air Force rushed for 323 yards against BYU, and that has Patterson concerned.

Fullback Todd Newell paced the Falcons with 116 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.

"The good thing for us is we run a lot of similar stuff to what they run," Patterson said. "They mix in the power game, with the triple option. It's a combination of Wake Forest's offense and the old Air Force offense."

Saturday's contest does present an interesting contrast, as the Falcons rank fourth in the Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing (279.7 ypg) and the Horned Frogs top the FBS in run defense, yielding only 39.5 yards per contest.

TCU has been off since its heartbreaking loss at Utah. The Horned Frogs out-gained the Utes by more than 140 yards, but Ross Evans missed a pair of field goals inside 40 yards in the fourth quarter.

TCU gave up an 80-yard drive in the final three minutes as Utah's Brian Johnson tossed a 9-yard TD pass to Freddie Brown with 47 seconds remaining.

TCU also suffered a heartbreaking loss at Air Force last season, squandering a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter before falling, 20-17, in overtime.