Removing warts
Rare poor season doesn’t faze Frogs
FAYETTEVILLE — Gary Patterson hasn’t lost much at TCU.
When it has happened, it doesn’t last long.
TCU teams have endured just three losing seasons in Patterson’s 16 years, and after each of the first two of those rarities the Horned Frogs bounced back in a big way.
The Horned Frogs finished 11-1 in 2005 after going 5-6 in 2004.
A 4-8 record in 2013 was followed by a 12-1 finish in 2014, capped by a 42-3 victory over Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl when the Horned Frogs narrowly missed making the first College Football Playoff.
TCU is hoping to continue its comeback trend after finishing 6-7 last season, including a 41-38 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks in double overtime.
The No. 23 Horned Frogs (1-0) get a rematch against the Razorbacks (1-0) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday after opening with a 63-0 victory over Jackson State.
“We’re more grown up,” Patterson said. “We really had a good fall camp.”
TCU has 21 scholarship seniors as opposed to eight last season.
“We don’t have very many knuckleheads,” Patterson said. “I think we have a really good group.
“They’ve practiced hard, they’ve developed. We’ve come a long way since last January, but we’re going to have to keep getting better if we want to win ballgames.”
TCU returns 17 starters, although it had six first-time starters against Jackson State.
Senior tailback Kyle Hicks, who didn’t play in the opener due to an undisclosed injury, is expected back against the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Hicks rushed 203 times for 1,042 yards and 12 touchdowns and had 47 receptions for 417 yards and 2 touchdowns last season.
Junior safety Nikko Small, who had 83 tackles last season, also is expected to play against the Razorbacks after missing the Jackson State game for disciplinary reasons.
Beating Jackson State improved Patterson’s record at TCU to 150-54. He’s second among active coaches with victories at one school behind Kansas State’s Bill Snyder, who has 203.
“Gary is a tremendous
football coach,” said Arkansas defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, who faced Patterson four times in the Big 12 as Iowa State’s coach. “To last as long as he has at one place speaks volumes for what he’s accomplished there, both with his staff and all those teams. I think it’s hard to do that in this day and age.
“It doesn’t surprise me that if they’ve had a down year they’ve come back. He’s a very dedicated coach and demands the same thing of his staff.”
Kenny Hill, a fifth-year senior, is in his second season as TCU’s starting quarterback after transferring from Texas A&M. He passed for 377 yards and rushed for 93 against Arkansas a year ago and finished the season with 3,028 passing yards and 609 rushing.
Against Jackson State, Hill completed 18 of 23 passes for 206 yards and 4 touchdowns with 1 interception. He gained 8 yards on his lone rushing attempt.
Patterson said the coaching staff was partly to blame for Hill’s interception because of how he was told to pass the ball against Jackson State’s defensive backs.
“I have a lot of confidence in the things he can do,” Patterson said.
Hill and backup up quarterback Shawn Robinson combined to complete passes to 14 teammates, and the Horned Frogs had 251 rushing yards — led by Darius Anderson’s 67 on 13 carries — despite not having Hicks.
TCU’s 4-2-5 defense, led by senior linebacker Travin Howard and senior safety Nick Orr, combined for 15 tackles for losses totaling 72 yards against Jackson State.
“We feel like we can run pretty well,” Patterson said.
Patterson was the Horned Frogs’ defensive coordinator for three seasons before being promoted to head coach when Dennis Franchione left for Alabama.
“Coach Patterson is really the architect of the 4-2-5 structure,” Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos said. “I know a lot of guys
over the last 20 years have gone and learned it from him or learned it from his staff or somebody that works for him.
“He’s brilliant. He’s sharp. He’s had good defenses for many, many years. You watch the tape, they play very hard and are very sound. He knows how to take things away from people.”
Patterson said last season’s performance has fueled the Horned Frogs.
“Kids get motivated because people aren’t saying good things about them,” Patterson said. “More than what the coach says, sometimes it’s whatever they read in the paper.”
Patterson, who is 57 and has a contract through 2022 that pays him $4.75 million annually, downplayed reaching 150 victories after TCU beat Jackson State.
“I’ll be excited if I can get to 160 by the end of the season,” he said. “That would make me a lot more excited than 150.
“For us, that means we can keep on doing what we’re doing and stay here a little longer.”
If Patterson reaches 160 victories this season, it also will mean another big bounce back year for the Horned Frogs.