TCU in good hands with Dalton at QB

The main reason TCU is on the verge of taking the college football scene by storm isn't what most people think: that back-breaking Frog defense.

Under Gary Patterson, TCU has been outstanding on defense for years. It's been among the NCAA leaders in several categories including sacks, total defense, rush defense, scoring defense and pass defense at times the last four years. That's come to be expected from his squads as he uses a mixture of athleticism and speed to disrupt opposing offenses.

Old news.

No, the reason TCU is killing opponents this season is QB Andy Dalton.

Like New Mexico teams of the past, the Frogs have been pretty on defense but struggled to put a hammer-type offense on the field to complement its great defense — until this year.

In years past, playing the Frogs was like dealing with half a team. A typical TCU winning score would be 17-3 or 21-10. No more.

This season, Patterson has the full and complete window dressing and that's what makes his No. 4 Frogs so dangerous. Dalton, a big-time, accurate, smart quarterback is big, fast and very capable of hurting defenses with his legs.

Because of Dalton, TCU enjoys elevated status and will challenge for a national title should the Frogs run the table. If TCU gets past Utah, it'll only face Wyoming and New Mexico, teams with a 4-14 record and with expected wins in all, an undefeated Frog team could put tremendous pressure on human voters to place them No. 2 and face the Florida-Alabama winner or Texas.

If TCU wins out, it will put the BCS system in a quandary it's never dealt with since its inception: What if voters make the non-BCS Frogs from the MWC No. 2?

Not only will human voters in the complex system be challenged, but the BCS computers, part of the formula instigated to keep the BCS championship out of the hands of the unwashed non-BCS will be on alert to see if the sophisticated algorithms do their dirty little exclusion job.

That is why this game is so important and why ESPN's GameDay crew is in Fort Worth for the weekend.

It is also a stage in which Utah's Kyle Whittingham excels. You have to look no further than the Sugar Bowl.

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, who knows both coaches and programs very well, said he is intrigued by this matchup "because of strategies" and that's what he'll be looking at most. He refused to name a pick on Monday.