WEEK ONE - Under the Radar

TCU

at
New Mexico

(Saturday, 5pm, VS)

TCU has owned Rocky Long’s Lobos since joining the Mountain West. Last season the Frogs played their best game of the season and won by a whopping margin of 37-0.

New Mexico’s hopes of reversing the recent trend ride squarely on the shoulders of quarterback Donovan Porterie and running back Rodney Ferguson. There is no doubt this is one of the best backfield duos in the conference.

Porterie is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the nation. However he played one of the worst games of his career against TCU in 2007. Porterie was hurried all game long by the aggressive Horned Frog defense and the UNM offense managed to pick up only six first downs.

In order to keep the pressure off Porterie, Ferguson will have to step up his game. Expect to see backup Paul Baker in this game if Ferguson’s bruising running style is once again shut down by the aggressive TCU defense. Baker’s speed could be a nice change of pace for the offense.

Solid defensive play has been a staple of the Gary Patterson era. Defensive tackle James Vess is back after sitting out last season due to a suspension. He joins Cody Moore and Kelly Griffin to form the best trio of tackles in the MWC. These three will once again be tasked with shutting down Ferguson.

The TCU offense is nothing to write home about though. Sophomore Andy Dalton has proven to be nothing more than a serviceable quarterback so far in his career. Against the veteran Lobo secondary, which features All-MWC corner DeAndre Wright, expect Dalton to struggle in the passing game.

New Mexico has the home field advantage in this game, as well as the superior offensive skill talent, but TCU has a fine defense that can take the crowd out of the game. Plus Gary Patterson has had Rocky Long’s number, winning the last three matchups by a combined score of 113-49. Porterie will play much better than he did in this game last season, but in the end the TCU defense is just too good.

J.Pikes Pick: TCU 18, New Mexico 13

Thanks to the Helmet Project for the team helmet logos