TCU's new perfect pursuit gets quick test from Oregon St.
ARLINGTON — TCU is pursuing perfection again.
After coming so close last season, finally being a BCS buster only to lose the Fiesta Bowl, the sixth-ranked Horned Frogs know the only chance for a major bowl do-over is to have another undefeated regular season.
``I don't want to have that taste in my mouth again, so everything I do and my teammates do, we're working to be perfect,'' center Jake Kirkpatrick said.
Eight months after the disappointing finish to its BCS breakthrough, TCU starts over Saturday night — with the school's highest preseason ranking and a quick challenge in its opener against No. 24 Oregon State.
``I think it helped the players in the offseason to understand we didn't finish,'' coach Gary Patterson said. ``Once we got in two-a-days, you start thinking about losing, then losing takes over. You've got to talk about how you can become what you want to become.''
Oregon State came close last season to its first Rose Bowl in 45 years. The Beavers had to settle for the Las Vegas Bowl after losing to rival Oregon and being tied as the Pac-10 runner-up.
The Beavers have a new starting quarterback in sophomore Ryan Katz, but still have running back Jacquizz Rodgers and receiver James Rodgers, the brothers from Texas who are getting to play a few hours from their Houston area home.
``When I found out about the game, I thought it would be a great thing for my family and friends to be able to watch me in person,'' said James Rodgers, a senior. ``It's going to be a great experience, but it still is going to be a business trip, and that cannot distract me.''
Jacquizz Rodgers was the Texas AP player of the year in 2007 after running for 43 TDs to lead Lamar Consolidated to its first state title. He ran for 8,245 yards in high school.
The Texas return for the Rodgers brothers is part of a made-for-ESPN matchup at Cowboys Stadium, the $1.2 billion NFL showplace that hosts the next Super Bowl. It is one of only two games Saturday matching Top 25 teams.
``I love opening up on this stage because you get an understanding of where the game is at,'' said Jacquizz Rodgers, who ran for 1,440 yards and 21 touchdowns last season as a sophomore for the Beavers.
The Frogs had to go only about 20 miles from campus for two workouts at the massive stadium that features the world's largest high-definition screens hanging over the field. The Beavers planned their Friday workout there.
``I have a former coach friend that played there last year, he said to go do a practice the day before the game to get the `wow' factor out of the way,'' coach Mike Riley said.
What a setting for Katz to take over for Sean Canfield, who graduated after throwing 21 TDs and completing a school-record 68 percent of his passes last season.
``It is a big stage and a big opportunity,'' Katz said. ``We are comfortable right now, with having a lot of the guys around during the summer, I threw to all of them. Our timing is down, and it's where we're at the point of feeling comfortable.''
Andy Dalton is going into his fourth season as TCU's starter. His 29 victories are tied with ``Slingin' Sammy'' Baugh for the most in school history, a mark that had stood alone since the mid-1930s. They are the most among active FBS quarterbacks.
Dalton is the Frogs' career passing leader, and last season helped TCU set school records with 498 points and 5,937 total yards.
But Dalton threw three interceptions in the Fiesta Bowl. One was returned for a touchdown and another came after TCU had reached the Boise State 30 in the final minute of the 17-10 loss.
``To know we didn't play as well as we should have hurts a lot of us inside,'' Dalton said. ``That's just motivation for us to get back there and prove that we can go the whole season and play pretty well.''
That has to start right away for Dalton and Co., who are pretty much intact from a season ago with nine returning offensive starters. Leading rusher Joseph Turner is gone, but he was one of three running backs with at least 650 yards.
TCU has won 13 of its last 16 games against teams from conferences with automatic BCS bids, a string that includes that season-opening 17-10 upset at No. 7 Oklahoma five years ago. The Mountain West Conference champions had road wins against ACC teams Virginia and Clemson last September.
``The more you're in a spotlight, the less your kids act like it's a spotlight,'' Patterson said. ``I don't worry about this football team as much as I would maybe three or four or five years ago.''
