Gary Patterson and his TCU Horned Frogs have become a nightmare for the BCS. They are one of the teams who year in, year out put up 10-12 win seasons, and continually are left outside of the biggest games of the year because of their conference. Just like West Virginia, TCU takes a step up in competition this year as they move to the Big 12. Will their success continue in 2013?
Casey Pachall took over as the starter last year after Andy Dalton joined the Cincinnati Bengals. Pachall had a very nice season, and now enters his JR year poised to take another step forward. Despite having decent athleticism and speed, Pachall stayed in the pocket last year throwing for just under 3000 yards. This year, the competition will be tougher, but he should continue to improve. Last season's three-headed running back monster is now set to be a two-man show as Ed Wesley declared for the NFL Supplemental draft. This leaves SR Matthew Tucker and JR Waymon James to shoulder the load. Both guys are talented and experienced, and I would expect good numbers from each. At receiver, Pachall's top target looks to be JR Josh Boyce. Boyce was the first TCU receiver to earn all-conference honors in the Mountain West. Doing it in the Big 12 will be harder. Up front, this team looks solid, but not great. If SR OG Blaize Foltz can stay healthy, the unit should be pretty good.
Defensively, the Horned Frogs may be a step down from their team a year ago. Up front, DE Stansly Maponga returns, and he will continue to be a very good ball player. Maponga is underrated, and really brings a nice wide skill set to the table. SO David Johnson showed some promise last year during his opportunities, and this year will move into a full time starters role at DT. The linebackers is where this team will have the biggest falloff. Both Tanner Brock and Tank Carder are now gone, and that leaves SR OLB Kenny Cain as the unit's best player. Cain is good, but he is not to the level of either Brock or Carder. It means that one of the young guys on this team will need to emerge for the unit to even have a remote possibility of duplicating their output from 2012. The TCU secondary is always a very good unit, but again, I predict a step back in 2013. Unlike in years past, I do not see anyone ready to be "the man" for this group. They have some functional pieces, and they should play smart team football, but without a leader, I can't see them at the same level, especially considering the up-step in competition.
TCU has been a very good team for quite a few years now. It no longer surprises anyone to see them only loose a game or two each year. Now that they are going to be facing top national competition every week though, I cannot see Gary Patterson's team not taking a step back for a few seasons. Patterson is a very good coach though, and I don't see him letting the wheels fall off completely.
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