The football team’s game against Stanford on Saturday will be more of a preview of TCU’s upcoming season than its first two games have been, head coach Gary Patterson said Tuesday at the weekly media luncheon.

Patterson said both teams will have to play hard, and the game will be good preparation for later games against the University of Oklahoma and Brigham Young University,

“They’re going to line up and say, ‘Here we come, can you stop it?'” Patterson said about teams like Stanford, BYU and OU.

Patterson said he was optimistic about the game after the weekend game against Stephen F. Austin.

He said he was pleased with the amount of play many players got Saturday, especially at quarterback.

Sophomore Andy Dalton took 34 snaps Saturday because of the ease TCU had scoring against the Lumberjacks. Junior Marcus Jackson took 51 snaps, leading the Frogs in the second half. Linebacker Jason Phillips saw limited playing time after TCU got up big.

“At the Division 1 level, you’re not going to play 12 ball games without something hurting,” Patterson said. “Anytime you can take guys off the field . you cut it in half.”

Patterson also discussed the effects the first home game of the season can have on players, especially the freshmen. The hype of the home crowd can cause players to act out of character, Patterson said, citing the personal fouls senior kicker Drew Combs took Saturday.

“Sometimes, the first home game is worse than the first road game,” Patterson said. “Especially freshman, they’ve never played in front of our own home crowd.”

Playing at home can be more nerve-racking than playing on the road, Patterson said.

Patterson said any changes to Saturday’s game plan because of the possible leftovers from Hurricane Ike would be decided the day of the game.

There is 10 feet of sand underneath Amon Carter Stadium so it can withstand a good amount of inclement weather, he said. If bad weather occurs, then Patterson said he would like to see the game moved to the afternoon so neither team would have to deal with storm issues.

As far as the weather affecting play, Patterson gave the edge to Stanford.

“We’re built on speed, and they’re built on power so that probably favors them,” Patterson said.