TCU on guard against BYU

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Brigham Young was a lopsided loser on its last trip to Texas Christian, and the result against the Horned Frogs last year in Provo, Utah, was even worse.

And those games were when BYU was still regarded among the nation's best teams -- not the struggling squad the Cougars have become this season, when they have already fired their defensive coordinator.

That is why BYU (2-4, 1-1 Mountain West Conference) is an unprecedented 29-point underdog today at fourth-ranked TCU (6-0, 2-0), even though Frogs coach Gary Patterson remains wary of the Cougars.

"BYU week has always been traditionally, and still is, a tough week," he said. "You always have to be careful. You just don't want to be the next team, the team they break out on."

The Cougars haven't been this big an underdog since at least 1985, according to oddsmaker RJ Bell of Pregame.com. It is only the sixth time BYU has been at least a 20-point underdog during that span.

Two years ago, the Cougars arrived at Amon G. Carter Stadium as the nation's No. 9 team and with a 16-game winning streak, then lost 32-7. They were No. 16 last year at home when TCU beat them 38-7 for their only conference loss.

BYU is averaging only 17 points a game (113th nationally), and its 24-21 victory over San Diego State last week marked its season scoring high.

"They're hungry, the way they played last week was, they were flying around, they were playing with passion," Frogs quarterback Andy Dalton said. "They are kind of fighting for their lives right now. ... They have a lot at stake."

TCU is 6-0 for the second year in a row and the fourth time in 11 years. The Frogs are coming off consecutive shutouts for the first time in 55 years and are the nation's top-ranked defense, allowing 230 yards per game.

While opponents struggle to move the ball against the Frogs, the offense led by Dalton has recently improved its output. TCU has gone from 375 total yards against Southern Methodist three weeks ago, to 474 yards and then 578 last week.

"Again, I've been impressed with them," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, who added the role of defensive coordinator when Jaime Hill was fired after four consecutive losses.

The Frogs held Colorado State to 161 yards in a 27-0 victory two weeks ago and limited Wyoming to 191 in a 45-0 victory last Saturday. Third-ranked Boise State, the other highly ranked team from a conference without an automatic bid to the Bowl Championship Series, also has a 45-point victory over the Cowboys this season.

"I'm sure that's important to some people, but you're not going to get anything from me," TCU center Jake Kirkpatrick said of the identical margins over Wyoming. "(Patterson) has always stressed to win by one point. ... All we can do is show up and play, and everybody else can talk about that stuff."

The first BCS standings of the season come out Sunday.

TCU is playing the second of three consecutive home games, a stretch that wraps up against 23rd-ranked Air Force on Oct. 23. The Frogs have won 17 consecutive home games and 32 of their last 35 games overall.