John Denton poses for a photo on TCU’s campus as ESPN prepares for College GameDay. Photo by Rob Muggleston

The stretch run for the Frogs starts tomorrow with No. 23 West Virginia – the Frogs will play eight games in a row. Tomorrow’s TCU-WVU matchup has become the center of the nation’s football attention. Two explosive offenses that both average nearly 500 yards per game and tons of speed on both sides. Add to it ESPN College GameDay and you have an atmosphere on campus that looks more like homecoming. It’s not just another weekend. Rece Davis and David Pollack were on-site for interviews this morning and the Campus Commons is abuzz with all kinds of activity. It’s GameDay’s first visit to TCU since 2009 and my guess is that Frogs fans and TCU students will show the GameDay crew that we know how.

But back to business on the west side of Stadium Drive. West Virginia is a tough team. Always has been – they like to come out, be physical, hit you in the mouth and see how you’ll respond. The Mountaineers rattled off three straight wins over East Carolina, Delaware State and Kansas since losing their opener to Virginia Tech. They could easily be 4-0.

Quarterback Will Grier, in his first year at WVU after transferring from Florida (where he won six games in 2015 before being suspended), is a 65 percent passer who has thrown 13 touchdown passes in four games. He can run, too. NOTE: This guy is really good and he’s given head coach Dana Holgerson everything he could have hoped for in a quarterback.

Grier throws to a talented group of wide outs led by veteran Gary Jennings, Jr. and his 29 catches. Former quarterback David Sills is a 6-4 red zone target with seven touchdown catches in the first four games. Ka’Raun White (younger brother of former WVU great Kevin White) and Marcus Simms round out the production heart of the fleet. Running back Justin Crawford must be respected at 7.4 yards per carry and 113 yards per game.

Defense is where it gets interesting for West Virginia. Injuries and youth have shown themselves often so far this season. Two weeks ago, Kansas ran for 367 yards against a beat-up unit. WVU is expected to get some of their starters back for TCU, but lost linebacker Brendan Ferns for the season. West Virginia runs an interesting 3-3-5 defense that involves lots of movement and looks to confuse with pressure coming from all angles and spots.

The “Fear the Frog” banner hangs at the west end of TCU’s Campus Commons in preparation for ESPN’s College GameDay. Photo by John Denton

My suggestion for the Frogs is stick with what’s worked so far. A dominant power running game (that gets Kyle Hicks back) and a controlled passing game that eats yards and the clock will produce results similar to the first games. Darius Anderson has been a road warrior – all three of his 100-yard rushing games have come on the road (at UT last year, Arkansas and OSU). Time for Darius to put on a show for the home folks at “The Carter.”

The series is tied at 3-3. The Frogs and Mountaineers first met in the 1984 Bluebonnet Bowl. Since the two schools joined the Big 12, each team has taken a turn beating the other badly at home and the other three games have been fist fights with the winning margin in the three games totaling five points.

The day starts early with ESPN GameDay and then we roll into the game from there. It’s the kind of day you’ve dreamed about, Frog Fans. Take it all in. And don’t take West Virginia for granted.