Texas Christian Horned Frogs

2005 Season Summary

Head coach Gary Patterson entered his fifth season at TCU with the program fully "his" as his predecessor's, (Dennis Franchione), players had run out of eligibility. Patterson's first three teams all bowled with straight up records starting in 2001 of 6-6, 10-2, and 11-2 respectively. His 2003 team flirted with a BCS bowl bid before fading at the end.

Setback opened questions

The 2004 season, however, with the majority of players being his recruits, was a disappointing 5-6 campaign in which the Horned Frogs covered just 3 of 11 games against the spread. The setback opened questions about the direction of the TCU program under Patterson and whether it was an exception or a rule of things to come.

A new league

Of equal concern was the fact that TCU struggled in their final season as members of Conference USA as they departed after the 2004 season to become a member of the Mountain West Conference, a definite notch above CUSA in competition.

TCU entered a new league with a questionable defense that was fully exposed in their final season as members of CUSA. Nobody doubted that the Horned Frogs had an explosive offense and it was hoped that if the defense could tighten up, TCU would be back in a bowl.

The year began with back-to-back shockers

TCU opened the 2005 season at Oklahoma against a Sooner team that was expected, (at that time), to again be a national championship contender. OU was a 25-point chalk and a routine victory was expected but the Sooners never got on track against the revitalized Horned Frog defense and suffered a 10-17 loss that shocked the nation.

TCU next traveled to lightly regarded and struggling SMU and was bet up to a 13.5-point favorite after their highly publicized upset win at Oklahoma. The Horned Frogs were stunned in a 10-21 loss as the year began with back-to-back shockers.

Money machine

The SMU loss did much to restore TCU's value as they were considered by the masses as something of a "one hit wonder" as their victory at OU was an accident. They hosted Utah in their Mountain West Conference debut on Thursday Night ESPN TV and scored a 23-20 win as 3-point dogs against the defending MWC champions. Next was a trip to BYU where they were a 3-point dog for the second consecutive week and scored a thrilling 51-50 win as the gun to begin MWC play at 2-0. A 49-28 home win over perennial bowl team New Mexico as 1.5-point chalks followed. Next, as 9-point dogs at a Wyoming team touted as a conference contender, TCU was victorious 28-14 for their fourth consecutive win and cover as the Horned Frogs appeared to be a money machine at this point.

Value dip

TCU's success caused a brief value dip as more gamblers became attracted to them. As a 24-point home chalk against Army they won but failed to cover 38-17. Value seemed to return in their next game at Air Force where they blew out the Falcons 48-10 as 1-point dogs but another value dip followed in their next game at San Diego State, a 23-20 win as 6.5-point chalks. TCU headed down the home stretch in the driver's seat for the MWC title with a 7-game straight up winning streak that included 5 covers.

Couldn't miss

TCU returned home to host Colorado State as a 7-point chalk and scored an impressive 33-6 victory. This was followed by a Senior Day affair against rebuilding UNLV which was a 51-3 blowout win and statement maker as whopping 29.5-point chalks as TCU simply couldn't miss against the oddsmakers at this point.

In their bowl game against the Big 12's Iowa State Cyclones, the Horned Frogs were 2-point chalks and got the cash in a 27-24 win the close the season out with three consecutive covers.