G-Patterson Has No Style

S-T columnist Randy Galloway suggested that TCU made a huge mistake in its Week 1 win against Oregon State when it elected not to go for another score late in the fourth quarter of a game that was decided.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/09/08/2454147/tcu-coach-could-use-a-little-snake.html

Teams that need to impress voters, or computers, do sometimes need a few extra touchdowns here or an extra field goal there.
Because "the game" isn't always decided by "the game" in college football, style points matter. It's a fact that TCU coach Gary Patterson doesn't particularly like.
"I tried to get out of this philosophy of people thinking you have to have style points to be a great program. We tried not to be that here," GP said this week. "I don't think they matter as much as they did unless you have a bad game."
It took one week for Boise State to lose votes because its Week 1 opponent, Va Tech, lost at home to I-AA James Madison.
I asked GP if such scenarios caused him to re-think his decision not to add another score against the Beavers.
"No. At the end of the day I have to be able to sleep at night," he said. "If it comes down to me running up the score or score seven more points to win a national championship, if that's what it takes for the people out there ... in some ways that's wrong with society that you'd have to do those kinds of things. A win is a win. In this day and age, as much parity as we have in college football, to get one more point 12 straight games is hard to do."
I like the answer, but unfortunately the voters don't seem to agree. In an AQ world, points matter for the non-AQers.
So even if TCU is in a position to blowout Baylor this weekend - Vegas installed the Frogs' as a 21.5 point favorite - don't expect GP to go for two unless needed.

- Mac Engel

Comments

[truthof the matter]

G-Patterson has style, class and more coaching talent than anybody out there now.

[Tom]

Thankfully Galloway isn't a great judge of character. He does not understand the meaning of the word "class". Who is he to rip GP for calling off the dogs? Maybe Randy idolizes Jackie Sherill and other coaches of questionable repute.

[Florida Frog Fan]

I am 64 years old and have been a Frog Fan since I watched a PeeWee football game in Amon Carter Stadium in 1960. I suffered through the mediocre years, the bad years, and one or two memorable ones until Patterson came along. I would vote for GP as President, I just wouldn't want him leading the troops into battle.
Would I have him run up the score on Tennessee Tech, absolutely not. They had already surrendered. But Oregon, absolutely! Baylor, I would embarass them. TCU doesn't get many chances to play these kind of games and they have to take advantage of them when they can. Unfortuneately that is the nature of the beast.
I admire Gary's principles but he also has to think about the 50 kids on that team that want to be national champs and sometimes the way to get there is by scoring just one more time.