.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
TCU's Patterson ably guides Horned Frogs to 10 wins yet again
Gary Patterson won Coach of the Year honors last season for launching TCU onto the national scene as a playoff contender.
This season, Patterson won't be in consideration for guiding TCU to a 10-2 record. Expectations were sky high as the Horned Frogs opened the season at No. 2 in the AP top 25 poll, and the now-No. 19 TCU bowed out of the playoff chase a few weeks ago. Yet 2015 just might go down as one of Patterson's best coaching jobs during his 15 seasons at the program helm.
Friday's 28-21 double-overtime victory against No. 7 Baylor on Friday didn't win TCU the Big 12 title, as so many thought the winner of this game would. But considering the multiple season-ending injuries to the Horned Frogs' defense, a unit that already was replacing a half-dozen starters from last year's dominant group, getting the patchwork Frogs to 10 wins was practically a minor miracle.
Gary Patterson won Coach of the Year in '14, but the job he's done to get #TCU w all its injuries/departures to 10-2 is almost as impressive
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 28, 2015
Add to those personnel setbacks, the wrist injury that forced out star receiver Josh Doctson in the first quarter of TCU's playoff-crushing loss at then-No. 6 Oklahoma State, and the absence of Doctson and Heisman candidate quarterback Trevone Boykin in the 30-29 loss at then-No. 7 Oklahoma last week, were killers. Patterson gambled at the end of regulation at OU, going for a two-point conversion to win the game instead of playing for overtime. Had it not, TCU's conference title chances would still be alive.
The Frogs accumulated double-digit wins in consecutive seasons now just four years into their Big 12 membership. It's the sixth time in eight years TCU has at least 10 wins and it is the 10th time in Patterson's 15 years.
The Horned Frogs went undefeated at Amon G. Carter Stadium to extend their home winning streak to 13 games, the third-longest streak in the nation among Power 5 programs.
With so many coaching jobs already open, and more to come (LSU?), Patterson is likely to be mentioned as a candidate for multiple jobs. But as he's done throughout his time at TCU, expect him to quickly say thanks, but no thanks.
He has another bowl game to get his team ready to play, and an 11th game to win.
