When this season’s inaugural College Football Playoff rankings are revealed Tuesday night, TCU coach Gary Patterson said he won’t be watching.

Instead, he and the Horned Frogs will be finishing practice and grabbing a bite to eat.

“We shouldn’t be worried about that until four weeks. Our kids should be eating and going to study hall tonight,” the coach said at his weekly press conference.

The normally close-to-the-vest Patterson touched on a host of topics, including the number of teams in the playoff, quarterback Trevone Boykin’s Heisman Trophy chances, and a not-so-private midfield conversation with West Virginia coach Dana Holgerson.

But most immediate on Patterson’s radar is the Frogs’ undefeated opponent this week, Oklahoma State, who he said has had a similar path this season.

“They’re a little bit like us,” he said. They’ve won some ballgames on the road and found a way to win some close games.”

Like the Frogs, Oklahoma State has found ways to win with the game in the balance. One three occasions, the Cowboys have gone into the final minute of a game without the lead (at Texas, at West Virginia, Kansas State) and still won. Oklahoma State has also rallied from double-digit deficits to beat Texas Tech and Kansas State.

Patterson believes there’s even some commonality between his tenure at TCU and that of Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, who has been the head man the Cowboys for 11 seasons.

“One characteristic is just consistency, being somewhere for a while and understanding your program and what you need to get done,” Patterson said. “They’ve always done a great job defensively, kind of modified what they do offensively compared to what they did a few years ago.”

The Cowboys will play big, physical receivers and feature both slashing and bruising runners on offense, he said. On defense, they still have Big 12 sack leader Emmanuel Ogbah with nine sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss, setting up TCU’s biggest test this season.

“Obviously, [Ogbah] has had a sack in a bunch of games. He’s relentless. He comes after you,” Patterson said. “They’ve got big corners. They’ve got secondary guys that can play man on you. They’re a challenge all the way up and down the field.”

The Frogs will also be ready for the Cowboys’ two-quarterback system with Mason Rudolph and J.W. Walsh.

“Kansas State had that a couple of years ago. They both run the offense. One probably runs a little bit better, and they both throw it,” he said.

Then there’s the venue itself. Stillwater is a place the Frogs have not won since joining the Big 12. Its sidelines are narrow and close to the fans, creating a loud, hostile environment.

But after trips to Lubbock, Manhattan and Ames, the Frogs are prepared.

“I don’t think it’s going to be any more emotional than the other ballgames we’ve had on the road,” Patterson said. “We’ve had some very emotional, some very big crowds. It’s always a great place because they love their football in Stillwater. It’s always a great ballgame to be a part of.

“If you want to win championships, you’ve got to be able to go do that. You’ve got to be able to play in those kind of environments.”

Other Patterson gems from a wide-ranging question-and-answer session:

• On quarterback Trevone Boykin’s chances to win the Heisman Trophy: “I want to be able to help Trevone reach his goals. He’s helped us as a university and as a football team to reach ours. My job is to do everything in my power to help control the defense to give him an opportunity. Because he has a better chance of reaching everything he wants to reach if we can win the next four ballgames.”
• On his players following the College Football Playoff standings each week: “I know my kids are going to see the rankings, but we have to play three of the teams that a combined 22-1. We’ll worry about it in a month.
• On the fact that there are 11 undefeated teams and eight one-loss teams in the Top 25: “I look at it right now, and I watch and I think, This year, we’re going to come down wishing that we had an eight-team playoff, not a four.”
• On Boykin giving West Virginia’s Holgerson a high-five during the third quarter of the Frogs’ 40-10 victory: “I don’t know what else you could do. He probably get in trouble if he gets mad at his own guys.”
• On Boykin’s dedication to the Frogs: “He wants to win badly. He’s turned down a lot of interviews. He plays better when he stays focused with what he does. He wants to show he’s the best. That is why is he the way he is. He’d play in the parking lot.”
• On his mid-field question to Holgerson about TCU’s chances versus Baylor: “Everybody wants to make a big deal of it, and it’s not a big deal. I call and ask coaches all the time the same question. I ask it just because they played them last. I ask that question all the time. I’ve asked that question against every person we’ve played this year, except the first couple. I get phone calls all the time asking the same question.”

When the College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday night on ESPN, the Frogs were No. 8. The Frogs are ranked third in the USA Today Amway Coaches Poll and fifth in the Associated Press poll.