November 13, 2009

Olin Buchanan
Rivals.com College Football Senior Writer

On the west side of TCU's Amon G. Carter Stadium, in a seat on the 40-yard line and just beneath the overhang, legendary Dan Jenkins - perhaps America's greatest sportswriter - will watch his beloved alma mater play Utah on Saturday.

At stake for the No. 4 Horned Frogs likely is a spot in a BCS bowl - and a place in the national championship discussion. But that requires beating the 16th-ranked Utes, who have three consecutive victories over the Horned Frogs and just a year ago were the only unbeaten team in the nation.

Jenkins, 79, said TCU hasn't played a game of this magnitude in more than a half-century. He should know: He was there for the last one.

"This game is big. Huge," said Jenkins, a former Sports Illustrated writer and author of the novels "Semi-Tough," "Dead Solid Perfect" and "Baja Oklahoma," among others. "I think it's the biggest Saturday since [Oct. 15] 1955, when TCU - I truly believe - had the best team in the country with Jim Swink but lost to Texas A&M 19-16 because [coach] Abe Martin refused to kick two field goals when the Frogs led 16-12. It would've put the game out of reach."

Much has happened since then, and most of it wasn't good for TCU football.

Swink finished second to Ohio State's Howard "Hopalong" Cassady in the Heisman voting and Oklahoma won the '55 national championship. TCU finished fifth.

That was the last time TCU was involved in any type of national championship discussion. Five years later, the Frogs finished 4-4-2, and that started a period of mediocrity that was akin to wandering 40 years through the college football wilderness.

From 1960-99, TCU endured 30 losing seasons and never managed more than eight wins in a season - and that was accomplished once. Coach Jim Pittman suffered a heart attack and died on the sideline in a 1971 game against Baylor. In 1974, running back Kent Waldrep was paralyzed in a game against Alabama. When the program finally was showing signs of bouncing back in the mid-'80s, it was derailed by NCAA probation.

Then, in 1996, the Southwest Conference folded. League members Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor joined with the Big Eight schools to create the Big 12. TCU was left out and played in the WAC and Conference USA before settling into the Mountain West in 2005.

"It's been a tough climb for a little private school going up against the state schools with their massive enrollments and sprawling alumni bases," Jenkins said. "Remember, TCU was used to being considered among the national college football elite in the '20s, '30s, '40s and '50s. Two national championships, many All-Americans, bowl teams, a Heisman winner. Then, the administration stopped competing and we had [some] brutal years."

Even when the Horned Frogs started to post double-digit victory totals in 2000, they always endured a loss that prevented them from fully returning to national prominence. A victory over Utah should complete the circle. Sure, games against Wyoming and New Mexico still remain, but neither of those teams are threats.

No, the key is Utah.

"This game is the end of a long, bitter, torturous road back to civilization," Jenkins said.

Last season, the Horned Frogs had a 10-6 lead over the Utes in the fourth quarter, but kicker Ross Evans missed two short field goals and the usually suffocating TCU defense allowed a late-scoring drive as Utah pulled out a 13-10 victory. Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson maintains that loss has proved beneficial this season.

"It's been a learning experience," he said. "That helped us in the spring, it helped us at the first of the season and it helped us in the Poinsettia Bowl [a 17-16 victory over Boise State last season].

"We understand the difference between winning and losing is a tight fraction, a very fine line. It helped in playing Clemson in the rain and come back to win, playing Air Force in a blizzard and then going into Provo and playing in front of a big crowd there [in a rout of BYU]. It helped us grow up and helped us mature."

TCU also has learned that teams outside of the Big Six conferences don't go to BCS bowls - and can't even dream about winning the national title - unless they are undefeated.

Utah accomplished that feat a year ago and went on to upset Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The Utes, whose only loss this season is 31-24 to Pac-10 leader Oregon, seem annoyed that so much attention has been focused on TCU.

"We are the defending [MWC] champs," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "That's something that's obviously a fact. The trophy is in Salt Lake City. You've got to take it away."

The Utes also are irked that TCU is a 19.5-point favorite. College coaches almost never reference point spreads, but Whittingham admitted that has been discussed.

"That was a topic of conversation," he said. "We had some players that took note of that. Once the ball is in the air, all the hype and discussion goes out the window. It's your game plan and your players' execution level. It's how you block and tackle and all that other stuff. But, yeah, it got our players' attention."

Of course, the Utes have paid more attention to devising ways to contain TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes, move the football against the nation's fourth-ranked defense and slow down TCU's rushing attack.

TCU's attention has been focused on finally beating the Utes. If the Horned Frogs do it, barring a collapse, they'll win the MWC championship and play in a BCS bowl.

Jenkins said he feels they could even win a national championship.

"These Frogs should definitely get a shot at the national title if they beat Utah and win out, and it doesn't have to happen in the BCS," Jenkins said. "If they win the bowl game but not the BCS championship game, they can win the AP or Harris polls. And as Bear Bryant used to say, 'You only need to win one for your folks to play like you won 'em all.' "

For this week, just winning against Utah will suffice.

Olin Buchanan is the senior college football writer for Rivals.com. He can be reached at olin@rivals.com.