Hello Celebritys

Well, the college football season has been underway for almost a week, but TCU finally gets their 2009 campaign underway tomorrow afternoon in Virginia. The Cavaliers are coming off a tough loss to William and Mary, which means they should come out even more fired up for the game on Saturday. It’s time to give my predictions on this year’s Horned Frog football team.

The Frogs are returning 25 offensive and 18 defensive letterman, and none are more important than quarterback Andy Dalton and defensive end Jerry Hughes. Dalton led TCU to an 11-2 record last season throwing for over 2,000 yards. Hughes, who is on basically every watch list there is, finished the season with 15 sacks and 2 interceptions.

To help out along side returning QB Andy Dalton, is the best wide receiver core TCU has had since I have been following them. The key pieces to watch here are Jimmy Young and Jeremy Kerley. Young led the frogs last year in receiving with 988 yards, and should be utilized a lot more. The frogs haven’t had a one-two punch like that in a while, so it should be fun to watch this season.

Last season’s offensive coordinator Mike Schultz left for at job at Illinois which opened it up for something new and exciting. Schultz often took a lot of criticism for his conservative play calling, and lack of putting points on the board. TCU will take a different approach this season having named co-offensive coordinators Jarrett Anderson and Justin Fuente. From all I can gather, look for the Frogs to open up the offense a little more this season.

Everything isn’t peaches and cream for the Frogs either. They have big holes to fill on defense with linebackers Robert Henson and Jason Phillips, and safety Stephen Hodge now playing in the NFL. Those players were keystones for this defense over the past couple of seasons, and they will not be easy to replace. On the offensive side there are a few losses also. Speedy running back Aaron Brown is no longer in the mix, along with tight end Shae Reagan.

With all of that being said, I like this team a lot. I think they have the players and experience to do something special this season. I honestly believe this is the best team Gary Patterson has put on the field since he has been here. I expect the Frogs to run the table, win the Mountain West Conference, and FINALLY bust through the cartel and play in a BCS Bowl Game. The road will not be easy, but there are no teams on this schedule that the Frogs cannot beat.