Frank Lorenzo
(7) Kansas State Wildcats at (6) TCU Horned Frogs (-6, 57.5 o/u)
After surviving a trip to West Virginia, the No. 6 TCU Horned Frogs (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) face another stiff challenge tonight when they host the No. 7 Kansas State Wildcats (7-1, 5-0 Big 12). The is at 7:30 p.m. Eastern at the Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth.
Both teams need a win to stay in the College Football Playoff conversation. If either can win out, they should find themselves in the augural four-team post-season.
TCU has the second best offense in the nation, scoring 48.0 points per game. In their worst outing of the season to date, the Frogs put up 31 points against West Virginia. The point total looks more impressive than the performance actually was. In reality, the defense got the job done for the Frongs in Morgantown, forcing the Mountaineers into five turnovers. TCU is confident the offense will get back on track this weekend against a Kansas State defense that is 12th in the nation in scoring (18.6 PPG).
“I’m a happy camper. They have to come to our house,” Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson said. “Because of our mindset, this will be a different team than they have played the last two years. Both of us can play ground and pound or play action. It’s a different animal.”
After a 61-58 loss at then-No. 5 Baylor, TCU has reeled off three straight wins, including two over ranked opponents (No. 15 Oklahoma State and No. 20 West Virginia).
Kansa State is also coming in on a hot streak. The Wildcats have won five straight, including a 48-14 victory over Oklahoma State last week. Like TCU, K-State’s only loss this season was against a top-five team (20-14 at home versus then-No. 5 Auburn). With one quality loss on their resume, it’s hard for the Wildcats not to think about what could be if they win their four remaining games. But coach Bill Snyder is taking it one game at a time.
“My only thinking right now is TCU, and we will worry about the others when we come to them,” said Snyder. “We all know the quality of TCU’s football team, players and coaches.”
TCU is a six-point home favorite, and the over/under is at 57.5 points.
Trends: the Wildcats are 36-14-1 ATS in their last 51 conference games. The Horned Frogs are 6-1 ATS this season against teams with winning records.
(Photo credit: Dirk (Flickr: Jeremy Kerley) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)
