BYU game day

[IE]

TCU (5-4, 2-3) at BYU (6-2, 4-0)

Haze and clouds with a high around 60 and a low of 38.
Today, 7 p.m. ? LaVell Edwards Stadium (64,045/grass) ? Provo
Ticket information: XXXXX
TV: Versus (DirecTV Ch. 603, Dish Network Ch. 151, Comcast Ch. 34)
Radio: 1160AM, 102.7FM

PLAYER TO WATCH

TOMMY BLAKE, defensive end: The MWC's preseason player of the year missed most of the season due to an undisclosed medical problem, but this pass rusher is back and out to make up for lost time.

KEY MATCHUP

BYU OFFENSIVE LINE vs. TCU'S DEFENSIVE FRONT: The Horned Frogs will bring different looks and pressure schemes at Cougar QB Max Hall, who has been prone to turnovers when protection has broken down.

THE STAKES

For TCU ... The Frogs need another win to be bowl-eligible. They can get it today in Provo, at home against UNLV or on the road against San Diego State.

For BYU ... The Cougars have a 12-game MWC win streak on the line, and a win would set up BYU for a run at another undefeated league championship with games against Wyoming, Utah and San Diego State remaining.

THE TRENDS

For TCU ... After league losses to Air Force, Wyoming and Utah, the Frogs stunned the league with a convincing 37-0 thrashing of New Mexico in Fort Worth last week.

For BYU ... The Cougars are looking to notch their sixth straight win this season and extend their league-record win streak to 13 games. A win at home would be the 11th in a row.

THE EDGE

TCU will win if ... the Frogs can force numerous turnovers from the Cougars, allowing short-field scores so TCU's offense won't have to risk turnovers of its own.

BYU will win if ... the Cougars stop TCU's run game, contain speed on special teams and force the Frogs to put the ball in the air.

 

[IE]

Up in the air: The bowl picture remain muddied for MWC teams


While the end of the 2007 college football season is in clear sight with less than one month left, the bowl picture remains muddled.

That's because there are still plenty of key games to play before everything falls into place. The Mountain West Conference has four guaranteed bowl slots ? Las Vegas, Poinsettia, Armed Forces and New Mexico ? and, for now, it has four bowl-eligible teams.

BYU (6-2 overall), Air Force (7-3), Utah (6-3) and New Mexico (6-3) have all qualified for a bowl. Two more teams, TCU (5-4) and Wyoming (5-4), are one win away from bowl eligibility.

MWC commissioner Craig Thompson said it's much too early to speculate on the bowl scenario at this point.

"It depends on how things shake out," he said. "Certainly, to give you any kind of thought of who's going to be where of the four contractual bowls, I wouldn't even begin to guess."

If the Cougars continue to win, they are considered a lock for the Las Vegas Bowl. However, BYU must still play the Horned Frogs, Cowboys and Utes, and the results of those games will likely determine where each bowl-eligible team will land.

The Cougars have made two consecutive trips to the Las Vegas Bowl, which recorded sellouts in each. Last year's Las Vegas Bowl, which saw BYU hammer Oregon, 38-8, attracted the largest crowd to attend a team sporting event in the history of the state of Nevada.This year's Las Vegas Bowl, to be played on Dec. 22, has been sold out since October.

Meanwhile, representatives from the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, Calif., will be on hand to watch tonight's BYU-TCU game and Saturday's Utah-Wyoming contest.

Chances are more than four teams will become bowl-eligible before the season is over. If that is the case, Thompson said there aren't any at-large berths out there for the MWC to fill, meaning that at least one MWC team may be left out in the cold come the holiday season.

"Right now, in our early look, there aren't any openings," Thompson said. "There's possibly going to be an opening against us in Fort Worth (the Armed Forces Bowl) if the Pac-10 doesn't get a sixth team or if one moves up to the BCS as an automatic qualifier."

Thompson added that at the beginning of the season, there was only one at-large slot available ? the Poinsettia Bowl. But it has a contingency agreement with Navy, which is well on its way to becoming bowl eligible.

"We do have a contingency agreement with the Texas Bowl, but it looks as though there will probably be a Big 12 team and there will probably be a Big East team and there might be a 6-6 Conference USA team (to fill that spot)," Thompson said.

 

[IE]

Winning streak on line for BYU

Tonight's game with TCU could be bowl-like











PROVO ? The Cougars look to break the cycle of the road football team winning as they resume their series with TCU tonight.

BYU (6-2, 4-0) plays host to TCU (5-4, 2-3) tonight at 7, before what is projected to be a near-sellout crowd at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

"We have three games left, and we have to win one to become bowl eligible," said TCU coach Gary Patterson.

His counterpart, Bronco Mendenhall, welcomes another home game as the Cougars hope to continue a league-record win streak.

"We anticipate, and are hopeful, for another full stadium," Mendenhall said. "We think it adds a tremendous advantage to our team."

The last time TCU came to Provo, the outcome was both exciting and controversial, with the Frogs scoring the winning touchdown that some argued came after a goal-line fumble.

Back in 2005, TCU forged an 18-point comeback in a 51-50 win over the Cougars. BYU returned the favor with a 31-17 win in Fort Worth last year, a springboard to Mendenhall's first MWC title and an 11-2 season.

"We look forward to preparing as hard as we can, as diligently as we can, improving our football team as much as we can and look forward to playing our best," said Mendenhall.Tonight's game is a meeting of the preseason MWC favorite Horned Frogs and the predicted runner-up Cougars. As the season has progressed, BYU has overtaken TCU as the targeted conference leader, and the Frogs have dropped to sixth place in the standings.

Still, because TCU blanked New Mexico 37-0 last week, today's contest is being viewed as a league-championship-type contest ? even if the Cougars have a two-game lead on the rest of the field.

BYU's objective tonight is holding home court, a place the Cougars have a 10-game win streak. But TCU and BYU have traded wins on the road the past two seasons.

In the Frogs, the Cougars will face a fast proactive defense. In the Cougars, TCU will face the only program in the league that has scored more than 28 points on its defense, and BYU has done it twice in consecutive meetings with 50 and 31 points.

BYU sophomore quarterback Max Hall will surely be under the gun to perform because TCU simply doesn't allow many rushers to gain yards on the ground.

"They have one of the better defenses we face," said Hall, who compared TCU to UCLA. "They play a different kind of defense, a match defense, and they like to fly around a lot. They will blitz me a lot."

Patterson, whose team had trouble with BYU's John Beck the last two outings, recognizes Hall is capable of putting up big plays.

"Max Hall is doing a lot of good things," said Patterson. " It's not about how many yards you throw for but how many games you win. That offense will put up numbers. (BYU offensive coordinator) Robert Anae gives the offense that physical demeanor because he's an offensive line coach by trade."

 

[IE]

BYU: Cougs look forward to facing TCU's defensive line



Horned Frogs' defensive ends present challenge for Cougars







PROVO - TCU defensive ends Chase Ortiz and Tommy Blake have flattened plenty of quarterbacks and provided headaches to several offensive linemen.
But BYU starting tackles Dallas Reynolds and David Oswald aren't dreading the thought of facing the highly touted duo on Thursday night. They are embracing the opportunity.
"I look forward to it," Reynolds said. "Each and every week there is different challenges here and there, and this is going to be a good challenge for me personally to see where I am at. I respect Tommy Blake and what he has done and I am excited to go up and play with him."
TCU's 6-foot-3 seniors joined forces again last week against New Mexico when Blake made his return to the lineup after missing four games with an unexplained medical leave of absence.
Blake's presence coincided with TCU's finest defensive performance of the season. The Horned Frogs held the Lobos to only 117 yards in a 37-0 victory.
BYU quarterback Max Hall can expect to feel the heat from every direction against TCU. The Horned Frogs are tied for the conference lead in sacks with 28.
After BYU's victory over Colorado State, coach Bronco Mendenhall expressed his concern about Hall continuing to take hits from the blindside.
Offensive line coach Mark Weber said the unit is working to ensure Hall remains on his feet with time tothrow.
The Cougars held Ortiz and Blake to just one sack last season, and Weber expects a similar effort this week.
"These guys are competitive and they like playing against good competition," Weber said.

A healthier outlook

The BYU fans have voiced their pleasure at Fui Vakapuna's return to the field with their "Fui" chants. But nobody is happier about it than Harvey Unga.
The redshirt freshman running back says having Vakapuna healthy should improve his own durability for the stretch run.
"I say it a lot, but it's a blessing having another guy to take some of the pounding," Unga said.

Quick hits

TCU has blocked four punts this season, and two resulted in touchdowns. Sophomore Daryl Washington has three of the blocked punts. Senior Brian Bonner is averaging 13.5 yards per punt return and junior Donald Massey is averaging 18.4 yards on kickoff returns. . . . TCU coach Gary Patterson said BYU can expect to see two quarterbacks Thursday. Andy Dalton is the starter, but Marcus Jackson also receives playing time. . . . About 1,000 tickets remain for the 7 p.m. game.

 

[IE]

TCU pounds the rock




Patterson sends message to Horned Frogs with rock and roll

FORT WORTH ? With TCU fresh from its best effort of the season and facing its most important conference game, coach Gary Patterson turned DJ.

The players got a taste of late '70s rock when Patterson played Trooper's "Raise a Little Hell" over the loudspeaker at practice this week.

"We have three games left, and we need to play with reckless abandon," said Patterson, whose team travels to Mountain West leader Brigham Young on Thursday.

"There's no reason to worry about what's happened thus far. We had a 16-day break and a four-game season left. Right now, we're 1-0. We have a lot of football left to play in a short amount of time."

Nor was Patterson just idly scrolling through his iPod for a song that was a hit before any of his players were born. He even praised the lyrics by the Canadian group, one set of which goes:

In the end it comes down to your thinking

And there's really nobody to blame

When it feels like your ship is sinking

And you're too tired to play the game

In other words, a coach's dream.

"I looked around the field and everybody had an extra bounce in their step," said wide receiver Marcus Brock, who liked the tone-setting message.

The Horned Frogs are 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the Mountain West, but dismantled six-win New Mexico, 37-0, in their last game.

The next goal is to get a sixth victory for bowl eligibility. Safety Brian Bonner said the veterans had reminded the underclassmen about the importance of a bowl game.

"You never want to sit at the house when everybody else goes to a party," he said.

If that win comes at BYU, it would also make a statement about the Horned Frogs.

BYU has won 12 consecutive conference games and blew out Oregon, 38-8, in the Las Vegas Bowl last season. Among Patterson's office memorabilia is part of a goalpost from a 58-56 win over BYU when he was an assistant at Utah State in 1993.

"I've been at three different schools and played BYU," Patterson said. "It doesn't matter who the head coach has been or where the game has been played, because they've always been good at what they do."

The Horned Frogs say they're ready.

TCU is probably as healthy as it has been since the opening game against Baylor, a by-product of the extended 16-day layoff immediately followed by the New Mexico win.

"I feel we are a rejuvenated football team," Brock said. "I do believe we are going to see the team that we've finally been working toward."

 

[IE]

Patterson discusses BYU game