It's not the easiest week for either TCU or West Virginia to prepare for Saturday's Big 12 game in Morgantown, W.Va.
TCU (5-3, 2-3 in Big 12) is a tired football team and coach Gary Patterson knows that. He gave his banged-up Frogs the day off Sunday.
West Virginia's difficulties in preparing have nothing to do with injuries or being tired. The Mountaineers (5-2, 2-2) were idle Saturday which gave them ample time to prepare for the Frogs.
It's a good thing too since there are plenty of distractions surrounding West Virginia because of the damage Hurricane Sandy is doing on the East Coast.
While the weather hasn't slowed the Mountaineers' practice yet, it's impossible for the Mountaineers to ignore.
"We've got a lot of kids from that area," West Virginia head coach Dana Holgerson said. "We've got a lot of kids from New Jersey and Baltimore and Washington D.C. so we're monitoring those kids and their families to make sure everything's fine. Our thoughts and prayers are with that part of the country no doubt."
Holgerson doesn't think the weather will impact his team's preparations because they started game planning for TCU last week. Holgerson expects the weather to blow through the area long before the Horned Frogs make their way to Morgantown Friday.
Just what shape the Frogs will be in for the game remains to be seen.
TCU redshirt freshman quarterback Trevone Boykin injured his knee during Saturday's 36-14 loss to Oklahoma State and left with less than two minutes remaining in the contest. TCU head coach Patterson is tight-lipped when it comes to injuries, but did say Monday that he expects Boykin to be fine for the game.
"I think he'll be all right," Patterson said.
The Frogs need that to be the case as they are thin without him. The Frogs are already without Casey Pachall. Matt Brown replaced Boykin in that game but he's only thrown four passes this season and all four came Saturday.
Another quarterback — sophomore Scott Kujak — has a cast on his arm. One thing Patterson doesn't plan on doing is taking the redshirt off freshman Tyler Matthews.
"I'm not in that situation yet I'd still have to go through two quarterbacks to do that," Patterson said. "We'd have to see."
Despite all the injuries and roster changes the Frogs have endured this season, Patterson isn't using that as an excuse for his team dropping three of its last four games. His first goal now is to get his team another victory to get it bowl eligible, which would garner the Frogs more practice time.
"If we're going to try and get where we want to go we've got to grow this football team up one way or the other, whether it's with a backup of the backup or a backup because that's what good programs do," he said. "We've got to keep moving forward. Once I decide I'm going to make that excuse, they're going to make that excuse. We're trying to get to one more ballgame where we can get that extra practice."
