Maxwell Football Club President Ron Jaworski has announced that TCU's Gary Patterson is one of three finalists for the 2009 George Munger Award for the Collegiate Coach of the Year.
The other finalists are Temple's Al Golden and Cincinnati's Brian Kelly.
Patterson has led TCU to a No. 4 ranking and 11-0 record. The Horned Frogs, with just six seniors in the starting lineup and 13 on the roster, have clinched a share of the Mountain West Conference championship and can win the league outright with a victory over New Mexico on Saturday.
TCU is the only team in the nation to have three victories (BYU, Clemson, Utah) over teams currently ranked in the top 20 of the USA Today coaches’ poll. The combined victory margin is 107-45 with two of the three wins on the road.
TCU is fourth in the nation in total defense (238.8 yards per game) and fifth in total offense (472.6 yards per game), making the Horned Frogs the only team to appear in the top 14 in both categories.
TCU has won 13 in a row for the nation's third-longest current winning streak (Florida 21, Texas 15). The Horned Frogs are one of six undefeated teams in the nation.
A win over New Mexico would give TCU the first 12-0 record in program history and just its second 12-win season. No TCU team has ever won 12 games in a regular season. The 1935 national championship team was 12-1 after a 3-2 Sugar Bowl win over LSU.
The Horned Frogs are 11-0 for the second time in their history and the first time since their 1938 national championship team finished with that mark.
Patterson has produced six 10-win seasons in the last eight years, including five 11-win campaigns since 2003. No other coach in TCU history has more than two 10-win seasons.
Patterson’s .757 career winning percentage (84-27) ranks fifth among active coaches (minimum of five years) in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Since arriving at TCU as defensive coordinator in 1998, Patterson has guided the Frogs to five conference titles. The Horned Frogs will be making their 11th bowl appearance in 12 seasons. TCU is one of just seven programs to have a current bowl winning streak of at least four games.
Maxwell Football Club President Ron Jaworski has announced that TCU's Gary Patterson is one of three finalists for the 2009 George Munger Award for the Collegiate Coach of the Year.
