A closet full of roaches. A couch covered in dust and dirt. A mattress on the floor with the springs breaking through.

These are the norms at the one- or two-bedroom apartments families live in at homeless shelters in the area, said Joe Askew, co-creator of a new student organization on campus, Student Outreach Against Poverty, or SOAP.

People with homes like these or no homes at all are those whom the members of SOAP are trying to help.

These guys are down-to-earth students, smiling and making jokes with each other.

The midnight shift is a long one for a campus police officer - it starts at 10:30 p.m. and lasts until 6:30 a.m.

Officer George Steen, who worked for the Fort Worth Police Department for 25 years and started as a university police officer in February, said the midnight shift is generally reserved for rookies who have to work their way up the ladder.

"One night I was working and I looked at (my partner) and said, 'It's 5:00 a.m., we're on South University, we're working midnights. Is it 1981?'" Steen said, referencing his days as a rookie with the FWPD.

In head coach Jim Christian's first season, Horned Frog basketball recovered from a 1-3 start to move to 13-6 and 4-1 in conference play. If only the season could have ended there.

The Frogs fell apart down the stretch, losing 11 of their last 12 games, all to conference foes including a heartbreaking last-second loss to top-seeded Utah in the conference tournament quarterfinals.

This year, Christian is looking to put it behind him and lead the Horned Frogs to a smoother season with more experienced starters.

The Horned Frogs will face several matchups that are very similar to last year's with six common non-conference opponents.

After the Nov. 13 home opener against Mid-American Christian, the team will go to Tempe, Ariz., for the opening round of the Preseason NIT. The Frogs will face Cal State Northridge in the first round.

Northridge advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2009 after a 17-14 season and returns three starters. The winner will go on to face the winner of Arizona State-Texas State.

Frog fans who were not able to make the trek up to Provo, Utah, to see ESPN College GameDay's Lee Corso slip the SuperFrog mascot head on might have a chance to see it in person next week.

GameDay analyst Kirk Herbstreit told ESPN Radio's Galloway & Company that if Ohio State loses to Penn State this weekend, GameDay will most likely be redirecting its bus to Fort Worth for the TCU game against Utah on Nov. 14.

The No. 6 ranked Horned Frogs are looking to keep their hopes at a Bowl Championship Series bowl game alive as they prepare for a tough ball game on the road this week against San Diego State University.

"On defense they're tough, resilient, and on offense they don't stop coming at you," said head coach Gary Patterson.

Patterson stressed the importance of his team not looking ahead to the Utah game and remaining focused on a 4-4 San Diego State team that is on a two-game win streak and is still competing for a berth in this year's Poinsettia Bowl.

A Facebook event urging students to wear all-black to the Nov. 14 football game against the University of Utah - TCU's Pink Out game in support of breast cancer research - has generated debate on campus about what is the appropriate way to show school spirit.

Logan Luzzo, a freshman pre-business major, said he and a few friends decided to create the event in response to recent criticism concerning poor student attendance at home football games. As part of the "blackout," attendees would wear black shirts or pants as a sign of unity and intimidation in the spirit of competition.

Coaches and players alike are looking forward to the upcoming TCU women's basketball season, which officially starts Wednesday when the Lady Frogs take on Cameron University in an exhibition game.The 2009-2010...