Texas Christian @ New Mexico preview
Dreamstyle Stadium
Last Meeting ( Nov 28, 2009 ) New Mexico 10, Texas Christian 51
Fourth-ranked TCU has its final chance to make a case to become the first non-BCS school in the national championship game as it travels to one-win New Mexico on Saturday afternoon.
And the Frogs (11-0, 7-0 Mountain West) need all the help they can get, especially after a 40-35 victory over San Diego State two weeks ago. New Mexico (1-10, 1-6), which is a six-touchdown underdog, would seem like a team TCU can do that against.
Still, TCU will face an uphill climb regardless of the outcome because of its five-point victory against San Diego State. After all, people and computers only see the score.
They don’t see the Frogs held the Aztecs without a first down over a 40:12 stretch of the game. Or that San Diego State managed only 38 rushing yards all game. Instead, they see a five-point victory with no style points.
Offensively, Frogs' senior quarterback Andy Dalton continued to lead the offense. He completed 21 of 36 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns. He goes into the New Mexico game only 61 passing yards shy of the 10,000-yard career mark.
TCU wide receiver Jeremy Kerley finished the San Diego State game with a career-high eight receptions for 85 yards, including three touchdowns.
In conference play, TCU has outscored its opponents 276-58, allowing seven offensive touchdowns and 8.3 points per game.
Now, TCU is eyeing its second consecutive Mountain West championship and third in six years. Also, the Frogs are looking for their third undefeated regular season in school history. The Frogs ran the table last season, and also during their 1938 national championship run.
New Mexico, meanwhile, likely won’t be able to even give TCU a scare. However, the Lobos might provide a good measuring stick for the BCS argument.
New Mexico opened its season at Oregon, and lost 72-0. The Lobos were outgained, 720-107. And, when it faced Utah on Sept. 18, New Mexico lost, 56-14.
In its last game, New Mexico fell to BYU 40-7.
Lobos freshman quarterback Stump Godfrey finished 9 of 20 for 125 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Lobos free safety A.J. Butler and linebacker Carmen Messina each had a team-high 11 tackles.
New Mexico has never beaten TCU since Mountain West play began back in 2005. The Lobos have won three of the 11 games in the all-time series, which dates back to 1991.
It’s worth noting, though, that the last two victories for New Mexico came when current TCU coach Gary Patterson was the Lobos’ defensive coordinator (a 27-7 victory in 1996, and a 40-10 victory in 1997).