Wyoming won their second game of the season against Toledo 20-15 last weekend. The Cowboys will face a much tougher test against the No. 5 Horned Frogs. TCU remains ranked fifth for a second week and is competing with Boise State in the rankings. Boise State was passed by Oregon in this week’s polls. Wyoming offers a direct comparison between TCU and Boise State since the Broncos throttled Wyoming 51-6 September 18. TCU must use this game to gear up for tougher games on this schedule such as Air Force and Utah.
When TCU has the ball
The Horned Frog offense failed to show up as many predicted it would against Colorado State. The Horned Frogs scored only 27 points against Colorado State, but they should play better against the Cowboys. Quarterback Andy Dalton had his lowest passing totals since his freshman year, going 11-24 for 109 yards in Colorado. However, the combination running back attack amassed 346 yards on the ground. The running backs should have another big day against the porous 85th ranked Wyoming defense. This means Dalton will not have to throw the ball as much. The Wyoming defense has had trouble stopping the high-powered offenses of Texas and Boise. The Cowboys also gave up 374 yards rushing against Air Force. Look to TCU to run the ball all day to control the clock. Wyoming is young and inexperienced as a defensive line and they have had only five sacks all year. The team’s sole standout in the secondary is Chris Prosinski. The senior safety made a key tackle to preserve the Wyoming win against Toledo. He is third on the team in tackles with 48 and has one interception on the year.
When TCU is on defense
The Horned Frogs pitched a shutout against Colorado State and should be excited about playing the 119th ranked offense at home this weekend. Although its offensive ranking is low, Wyoming pulled out its bag of tricks against Toledo by using several fake plays. The Cowboys normally play in the spread offense, but they used a unique rushing wing formation against Air Force that generated a season high rushing total of 174 yards. However, when they reverted back to their spread offense they got 93 yards rushing against Toledo. Their starting running back Alvester Alexander had 35 yards against Toledo and he has struggled mightily against other highly-ranked defenses, rushing for 29 yards and seven yards against Texas and Boise respectively. Wyoming quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuel has had a rough year and has struggled in most of his games. He has thrown five interceptions this year. Look for the Frog defense to swarm and confuse the pitiful Wyoming offense.
TCU should have little trouble against Wyoming. The Cowboys simply do not have the talent or coaching to match up with the Horned Frogs. Gary Patterson’s team must be alert to the possibility of trick plays. Other than that, TCU should stomp the Cowboys and be 6-0 going into the game against BYU.
Allen Kellogg is a sophomore journalism major from Alexandria, Va.
