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TCU's Patterson dislikes spotlight
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Photo by The Associated Press
TCU coach Gary Patterson congratulates his players after a scoring drive in Saturday's 56-21 win over Texas State.
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Apr. 10, 2012 | 9:20 a.m.
At least there's Boise State.
That must be what Texas Christian football coach Gary Patterson thinks now that Brigham Young has blown its chance of crashing the Bowl Championship Series and perhaps playing for the national title.
Patterson is no big fan of the media and would rather they focus on somebody else. It's apparently nothing personal; he just views reporters as a distraction -- and he hates distractions.
So Patterson doesn't want to hear talk about his No. 15 Horned Frogs being the Mountain West Conference's best hope for a BCS game. It's true, of course, but No. 8 Boise State is the front-runner among BCS outsiders.
"I've never been one of those guys who talks about the BCS," Patterson said Tuesday. "We've got to win the conference championship first."
The Frogs were picked by the media to win the league title, but BYU's 14-13 victory over Oklahoma on Sept. 5 shifted the focus.
Then the Cougars imploded with a 54-28 home loss to Florida State on Saturday and Utah lost 31-24 at Oregon, leaving TCU to carry the BCS torch for the Mountain West.
Patterson would rather focus on the Frogs' next game, Saturday at Clemson.
"That may be as talented as the Oklahoma team we'd seen a year ago," Patterson said.
He might not like the spotlight, but Patterson knows how to talk up an opponent to the media.
• LOSS? WHAT LOSS? -- BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall insisted the Cougars' goals remain the same even after losing to Florida State.
He's right in that BYU still can win the conference title, but gone is any shot at making history and playing for the national championship or, for that matter, playing in any BCS game.
"It's always first and foremost in our thoughts to play really well in our league," Mendenhall said.
He hopes some good can come from the loss to Florida State. Mendenhall pointed out the Cougars' Mountain West titles in 2006 and 2007 occurred after opening 1-2.
"You don't learn anything without those losses," he said.
• FOCUSED UTES -- Utah's nation-leading 16-game winning streak ended in the loss at Oregon, and Utes coach Kyle Whittingham echoed Patterson and Mendenhall in putting the emphasis on league play.
"If you drop a ballgame, does that mean your season is completely lost?" Whittingham said. "The BCS has become this big monster that is consuming everybody. Whatever conference you're in, your first and foremost objective should be to win that conference, and that's pretty much where we're at."
• FLU HITS UNLV -- Rebels wide receiver Phillip Payne and second-team quarterback Mike Clausen didn't practice Tuesday because of the flu.
Coach Mike Sanford said he didn't know whether they would play in Saturday's noon PDT game at Wyoming.
Also, Sanford confirmed wide receiver Rodelin Anthony and safety Marquel Martin, who each have concussions, will not play.
Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Read the latest UNLV football updates at lvrj.com/blogs/unlv_sports.
The MWC from top to bottom:
Air Force (2-1, 1-0 MWC) vs. San Diego State (1-2, 0-0): The Falcons have forced multiple turnovers in 15 of their past 19 games.
Colorado State (3-0, 0-0) at No. 19 Brigham Young (2-1, 0-0): The Rams are 3-0 for the first time since 1994.
No. 15 Texas Christian (2-0, 0-0) at Clemson (2-1): The Horned Frogs defense has at least one sack in the past 26 games.
No. 19 BYU (2-1, 0-0) vs. Colorado State (3-0, 0-0): The Cougars have won 12 consecutive home conference games.
UNLV (2-1, 0-0) at Wyoming (1-2, 0-0): The Rebels are 9-8 all time versus Wyoming, the only league opponent they have a winning record against.
Utah (2-1, 0-0) vs. Louisville (1-1): The Utes have intercepted at least one pass in each of the last seven games.
San Diego State (1-2, 0-0) at Air Force (2-1, 1-0): The Aztecs are last in the league in rushing, averaging 81 yards per game.
Wyoming (1-2, 0-0) vs. UNLV (2-1, 0-0): The Cowboys have gone nine quarters without an offensive touchdown.
New Mexico (0-3, 0-1) vs. New Mexico State (1-2): The Lobos have lost seven in a row, their longest losing streak since 1990, 1991.
FIVE BEST PLAYERS
1. Jerry Hughes, DL, TCU: The senior had three sacks against Texas State, giving him 41/2 for the season.
2. Vincent Brown, WR, San Diego State: The junior has four consecutive 100-yard games and is averaging 17.7 yards per catch.
3. Ryan Wolfe, WR, UNLV: The senior is the first Rebels player to break 3,000 yards receiving.
4. Max Hall, QB, BYU: The senior slides from No. 2 because of his tendency to make mistakes in big games, underscored by his six interceptions this season.
5. Matt Asiata, RB, Utah: The senior is the only MWC back averaging more than 100 yards per game.
THEY WROTE IT ...
CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd, on BYU's 54-28 loss to Florida State: "How in the name of LaVell Edwards do the Cougars not show up in one of their biggest home games in years? It was the home opener, for gosh sakes, against a Florida State team that looked outmanned. BYU just played itself out of the BCS championship and into the Las Vegas Bowl."
ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach, on the conference's rough weekend: "What we thought we knew: The Mountain West would be BCS-worthy. What we know: The MWC is good, but let's not get carried away."
THEY SAID IT ...
San Diego State offensive coordinator Al Borges, on a 34-20 loss to Idaho: "It's embarrassing. You can't rush for 55 yards and expect to win a game. We're bad."
BYU defensive end Jan Jorgensen, on the loss to Florida State: "It's actually embarrassing. ... We couldn't even make a tackle. They ran the ball on us, and when a team does that, it takes the life out of you."
New Mexico coach Mike Locksley, on his team's 10 turnovers: "The turnover bug is like the flu. Eventually, if you can shake it, get on a roll, you can build off it. But right now, we've got a bad dose of it."
COMPILED BY MARK ANDERSON/REVIEW-JOURNAL
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Sufferin - BYU was totally exposed with the lack of speed. While the Utes are not the Utes of the past, they still have a ton of speed, as does UNLV, and TCU. The Yners will struggle with those speed teams. I don't see them going undefeated the rest of the way. If UNLV is smart they will throw the jump ball to Payne every pass against BYU. Why would BYU recruit and start a player that is 5'5 at corner. He is going to get picked on for the rest of the season. Go Rebels, GO UTES!
I actually wrote "realistic" shot, but that word did not make print. Of course, BYU has a shot, but a lot has to happen, including running the table and beating TCU. Also, Boise State still probably will finish with a higher ranking even if BYU goes undefeated the rest of the way, and then would receive the automatic bid.