Coach Patterson eyes Virginia game
After a week off when almost everyone else played, football coach ready to start season later than usual.
by Rick Waters '95
Gary Patterson and the Horned Frogs are ranked No. 16 in the latest Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' polls.
If he had a do-over on the schedule, TCU would have played Saturday, TCU football coach Gary Patterson said at the first of his weekly in-season press conferences.
“I wish we could have already played. We would have all of those jitters out, but we did have two weeks to get ready instead of one,” he said.
Earlier in the offseason, TCU attempted to move the Sept. 19 home game against Texas State to Sept. 5, but scheduling conflicts prevented it. Instead, TCU was one of two teams in the nation to have a bye and watch Week 1 at home, which, Patterson said, is both an advantage and a detriment.
“By getting to play a game already, Virginia has an idea of what they have and a chance to correct it and get better,” he said. “We were able to watch them play and know what they are really like, and we have another week to prepare.”
Virginia dropped its home opener to Division I-AA William & Mary of the Colonial Athletics Association, 26-14.
Patterson said the extra week did give young players more time to learn.
“We’re a young ball club. We have 13 seniors and eight starters – four on offense and four on defense. I’m glad for them to get the extra work. It gives us a little more time to grow up to our potential. But one thing I can say is that we’ll be a lot better team at the end of the season than after Saturday.”
Patterson was complimentary of the Cavaliers, especially a defensive unit that held William & Mary under 100 yards in the second half.
“After watching them this weekend, I thought they looked very good on defense. They only gave up 76 yards in the second half,” he said. Offensively, they are really skilled at the quarterback, running back and wide receiver positions. They have four of their five offensive linemen back, and they have played a lot of football. Looking at their personnel, all the way down to their snapper, they don't have a real weakness. We know they are a good program and a good football team.”
Patterson said he expects to get an improved performance from the Cavaliers.
“We understand that we are going to get Virginia's best shot,” he said. “It's always hard to go into someone else's house. The biggest thing we have is playing with that emotion needed to win. When we play Texas or Oklahoma, everyone knows someone on the other side. A couple of years ago, when we went to Stanford, we didn't play with a lot of emotion. We have to find a way to hate somebody for three hours. It's a lot easier to do that when you are playing other Texas kids, because there is an emotional factor there. For this week, we have to find a reason to play at a high tempo on the road and be ready to go.”
Asked about the upset by Mountain West Conference mate BYU, Patterson lauded the Cougars, who jumped 11 spots to No. 9 in the Associated Press poll. They were No. 12 the USA Today Coaches’ Poll. TCU is 16th in both polls.
“I’m excited for them and for our conference. They showed that the best teams in our league can play with anybody in the country. I said that before the game that I thought BYU would compete with Oklahoma.”
In the most startling comment of the media session, Patterson opined about the NCAA’s encouraged pregame handshake. Asked if he liked the rule, Patterson responded with a quick no, then turned to leave, stopped and elaborated.
"If we're not careful, we're going to ruin the game of football. It's like this thing with the head-to-head contact. Now it's a defenseless player. I saw at least 10 defensive players get crackbacked or blocked when they weren't looking the other night and just getting laid out. Not a one of them got called. It's supposed to be head-to-head contact, not defenseless player. I thought it was a turning point in the Oklahoma State-Georgia game. They had a third and 12 and throw the ball down the middle. The defender gets there right when the ball does and they throw the flag. I think it's a bad call. If that's what we're doing, we might as well put on flags. Take off shoulder pads, put on flags and pull 'em. … I think it's hard to play defense. The game's been about who's the most physical and right now. I mean what I'd do if I was an offensive coordinator, I'd throw the ball down the middle all day long. I mean you can't come up and be physical."