By Kevin Graham
November 4, 2009
MWC Notebook
FROGS' DEFENSE TOPS NATION
You know the old saying, “defense wins championships.” In TCU’s case, defense could also get you to a BCS bowl game and maybe a national championship opportunity if all the planets align properly. And the scary thing for upcoming opponents is that the Frogs just keep getting better.
After holding UNLV to just 160 yards and posting their first shutout of the season in their 41-0 victory Saturday, TCU became the top defense in the country. The Frogs rank No. 1 in total defense (235.7 yards per game), No. 3 in scoring defense (11.1 points per game), No. 8 in rush defense (89.3 yards per game) and No. 4 in pass defense (146.3 yards per game).
Their performance earned the praise of their most recent victim. “I don’t remember ever in my career playing against as good a defense as that,” said UNLV coach Mike Sanford.
“The thing I like is that they all hunt together a lot better now,” said TCU coach Gary Patterson. “The confidence level and communication on defense in the last three ball games is the best it's been since we started with this group in the spring.”
Being the top defense in the country is nothing new to the Frogs finishing first in three of the last nine seasons. Add in an offense that’s 12th in the country and it’s easy to understand why the Frogs remain unbeaten and rank No. 6 in the latest BCS standings.
UTAH OFFENSIVE CHANGES
When a team changes quarterbacks as well as the coach calling the plays eight games into a season you would think that program was having major issues winning games. But that’s exactly what Utah did last week. At 7-1 and ranked No. 14 in the latest BCS standings, the Utes are far from struggling.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham decided before Saturday’s game versus Wyoming to move receivers coach Aaron Roderick up into the press box to call plays while shifting offensive coordinator Dave Schramm to the sideline. This was the original plan back in January when Whittingham named the two co-coordinators, but Roderick left as receivers coach at Washington before changing his mind two weeks later. At that point, Whittingham had already decided that Schramm would be the lone OC.
“Dave Schramm is fiery and intense, and to have him on the field is a benefit,” said Whittingham. “We are comfortable with Aaron Roderick upstairs. There is a great deal of collaboration and cooperation among our staff. We want to find the best situation for our team and we wanted to look at that--it worked out well. On the quarterback change, we have been trying for seven weeks to find a situation to put Jordan in and this arose and we took advantage of it.”
That decision came when the Utes were trailing Wyoming 10-3 at halftime, as Whittingham benched Terrance Cain replacing him with true freshman Jordan Wynn. Wynn, who had yet to play a snap all season, led the Utes to 19 second half points including a 22 yard touchdown pass. Despite his performance, Whittingham refused to name a starting quarterback Saturday for New Mexico. But with TCU less than two weeks away, it would be shocking not to see Wynn trotting out onto the field for the first play.
MWC ODDS AND ENDS
-Two Utes picked up MWC Player of the week honors. Junior running back Eddie Wide picked up offensive honors after rushing for a career high 135 yards and a touchdown in the 22-10 win Saturday over Wyoming. Wide also tied a school record with his fifth straight 100-yard plus game. Senior defensive end Koa Misi grabbed defensive honors leading the Utes with eight tackles and two sacks. San Diego State sophomore punter Brian Stahovich was named the Special Teams Player of the Week averaging 42.9 yards on seven punts in the Aztec 23-20 victory over New Mexico.
-When the ball goes to TCU wide receiver Antoine Hicks there is a pretty good chance it will go for a touchdown. The sophomore caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton for the second consecutive week in Saturday’s 41-0 win over UNLV. In 17 touches this season, Hicks has seven touchdowns--Four receiving, three rushing.
-San Diego State coach Brady Hoke says leading wide receiver Vincent Brown will now be out for the regular season after undergoing surgery on his right thumb last Friday. Originally, he was scheduled to miss two to three weeks.
-Air Force sophomore quarterback Tim Jefferson made a big difference in the team’s passing game taking over for the injured Connor Dietz in Saturday’s 34-16 win over Colorado State. The 111 yards passing more than doubled the previous average of the previous four games (46.4 yards). The 15.9 yards per completion also topped the previous average of 8.6 yards per catch. Coincidentally enough, the Falcons lost three of those four games.
MWC POWER RANKING
1. TCU: The Frogs are playing their best football to date on both sides of the ball.
2. UTAH: Defense is really good. Offense continues to be a question mark.
3. BYU: Coming off a bye, can BYU put the TCU blowout loss behind them and close out the season strong?
4. AIR FORCE: Falcons transition from a MWC win to a rivalry game against Army.
5. SAN DIEGO STATE: Aztecs have won two straight but that streak will most likely end Saturday versus TCU.
6. WYOMING: Defense is keeping Pokes in games, but the offense is struggling.
7. UNLV: Rebels most likely have to run the table to become bowl eligible and to save Mike Sanford’s job.
8. COLORADO STATE: When you give up two passing touchdowns to Air Force you know you have problems in the secondary.
9. NEW MEXICO: Every week Lobos find ways to shoot themselves in the foot.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Wyoming coach Dave Christensen on what he told his team after losing to No. 17 Utah Saturday, “I've talked with our guys, and sticking with a top-20 team is not a moral victory. We got our tails kicked in the end. We did some things well, we made some progress, but in our program, losing is not acceptable. That's not what we are out here to do."
Kevin Graham hosts a daily sports talk show in Salt Lake City. You can listen and read his station blog. You can also follow him on Twitter
