Final hurdle coming for TCU to become BCS buster

FORT WORTH (AP) Fort Worth is turning the river near campus purple, and a spot in the Bowl Championship is waiting for the fourth-ranked Horned Frogs if they can complete their first undefeated regular season in 71 years.

All they have to do is beat a one-win New Mexico team on Saturday.

"You can't look at the 1-10 record. ... They have a lot of momentum now coming into this game," linebacker Daryl Washington said. "We're staying focused. New Mexico is just going to be another team that we have to get ready for."

Patterson told a tale to his players and the media about being an assistant coach at Tennessee Tech, saying the Golden Eagles were winless heading into their last game before beating undefeated Middle Tennessee and knocking their rival out of the playoffs.

While the coach may have gotten his seasons confused — it was a one-win team that beat a one-loss team in 1983, a year before Tech didn't win a game — the message he was trying to relay was clear.

"You're always worried about somebody that's got their back against the wall," Patterson said. "That's where New Mexico is. ... They can make their season by knocking off the fourth-ranked TCU Horned Frogs, and if our kids don't understand that situation, then they're in a lot of trouble."

These Frogs (11-0, 7-0 Mountain West), though, haven't given Patterson much to be concerned about this season. They have taken care of their business week after week.

TCU has a 13-game winning streak, one shy of the record set by the 1938 team that won the school's only national championship with Heisman Trophy winner Davey O'Brien at quarterback.

Andy Dalton, the junior and third-year starter, goes for his 29th career victory to match "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh's school record (1934-36) — 11 more than O'Brien had his three seasons.

The Frogs have won their last six games by a combined margin of 278-63, including lopsided victories over BYU and Utah — the Mountain West's other perennial Top 25 teams. They have already clinched a share of the conference title, their first since 2005, the year they joined the league.

"We can't go into this game thinking, OK, they have a bad record, let's not take this game seriously," running back Joseph Turner said. "There's too much on the line."

Most significant is TCU's chance to finally become a BCS buster. No other team from a conference without an automatic bid has been this high in the BCS standings this late in the season. TCU is fourth behind Florida, Alabama and Texas.

New Mexico (1-10, 1-6) is coming off its lone win for first-year coach Mike Locksley. The Lobos ended a 14-game losing streak with a 29-27 win over struggling Colorado State, a week after missing two field goals and having another one blocked in a 24-19 loss at 18th-ranked BYU.

"We were able to validate some of the things that we've been saying here for the last couple weeks with a win," Locksley said. "We have a great opportunity this week. ... If we can't get excited about this opportunity, then we're in this for the wrong reasons."

The Lobos have lost all four meetings since TCU joined the Mountain West, the last two by a combined score of 63-3. New Mexico is more than a six-touchdown underdog.

"I love it. I think it's fair, as the people who create the odds down in Vegas have it down to a science," Locksley said. "We'd like to be able to prove them wrong. We know it's a tough challenge, but it's a testament to the type of team TCU has and what they've been able to do. (Patterson) really has his team peaking right now."

So are the Lobos, in their own way, after getting a spark from two true freshman running backs last week. Desmond Dennis ran for 133 yards and a touchdown and Kasey Carrier had 15 carries for 87 yards.

"New Mexico with a new coaching staff, everything they've done is really coming on. They've injected some young players the last three or four weeks," Patterson said. "We've got to get ready to go. I don't think it's any different than any other week."

Except a win this week finally takes the Frogs somewhere they've been trying to get for so long — into the BCS.