Daily Skiff

On campus, the buzz about an upcoming TCU football game has reached levels of craziness that would drive any Horned Frog to spit blood out of its eyes. But that hype surrounds the Utah game, which is in two weeks, and the Frogs still have San Diego State to get through before the Utah game.

The Aztecs come into the game a mediocre 4-4, with wins over four very poor teams - Utah State, New Mexico, New Mexico State and Colorado State. Their rush defense ranks very low in the Football Bowl Series, coming in at a dismal 66th.

But there is one surprising stat that could really hurt the Frogs this weekend. San Diego State comes into this Saturday's game ranked No. 19 in passing offense, averaging 278.5 yards per game. While TCU is ranked in the top ten in all aspects on the defensive side of the ball, pass defense has been the one small hole in the Frogs' well-run machine.

The Frogs have only faced two teams that presented big time passing threats this season. They dominated BYU quarterback Max Hall holding the Cougars to 298 yards of total offense. The other air attack team was a Football Championship Series team, Texas State. Texas State put up 249 total yards on the Frogs, with 219 coming through the air. TCU let the Bobcats stay in the game because of their inability to stop the quick pass.

Now, this Frog team is completely different than that young team at the beginning of this season that couldn't quite figure out how to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. But since then, namely in the Air Force and Colorado State games, the Frogs found a way to be dominant in all three aspects of the game for the first time. If they come out Saturday like they did in Provo, fans have every right to look forward to what will be an amazing home game against Utah.

But if the Frogs are looking ahead toward that game and are caught sleeping, the Aztecs have the tools that could cause the Frogs to stumble. And it would be a stumble that leads to a fall out of everything the Frogs have worked for this season.

Despite the excitement involving this season and the Utah game, head Coach Gary Patterson has always done a good job keeping his players focused and ready to play each game, looking to "win by one point." If the Frogs show up, which I have no reason to think otherwise, they should withstand a good warm up for the excitement to come - another shot at Utah.

Sports Editor Travis L. Brown is a senior news-editorial journalism major from Dallas.

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