TCU won’t pour on points

Oregon opened the season by thrashing New Mexico 72-0, the beginning of many lopsided victories for the Ducks, who have been rewarded with the nation's top ranking.

Texas Christian, which is barely ahead of Boise State for third place in the Bowl Championship Series standings, has a chance for its own statement against New Mexico on Saturday.

Oddsmakers expect another massive Lobos loss, making them 44½-point underdogs. But even though a rout is expected -- and perhaps demanded regarding the BCS rankings -- don't expect TCU to hang 72 points on its Mountain West Conference rival.

"I can promise you that even if I had a chance to do that, that would never happen," Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson said. "Do I want to get an opportunity to play for a national championship? Yes. But not at the expense of teaching my young people a life lesson.

"I think you have to be able to do things the right way, and I'm one of those guys that still believes that's what college football's all about."

Patterson is careful to say he won't politic for TCU to be included in a BCS bowl -- or make the national championship game -- but it's doubtful the slam against Oregon was by accident.

And he looked like someone on the campaign stump last week, spending Friday at ESPN in Bristol, Conn., and Saturday in Chicago on the set of that network's popular "College GameDay."

TCU probably will be passed in the BCS standings if No. 4 Boise State defeats UNR on Friday. Both non-BCS teams are not only fighting for berths in one of the five premiere bowls but for a possible spot in the title game.

Because so much rides on the two BCS polls, Patterson knows public opinion can be crucial, and the barrier is higher for schools that don't have automatic-qualification status.

"I've always felt like the teams that played in those (major bowls) were the best teams in the country," Patterson said. "There's a lot of talk around the country that it's more about ticket sales and how many people come to the game and all of that, and I understand the financial part of it.

"But also being a fan ... I'd be very disappointed if any team was undefeated and they were in the top five in the nation and they weren't allowed to play in a BCS game, because I think that's what the fan wants to see."

n CHANGING TIMES -- Brigham Young meets No. 23 Utah for the final time as conference rivals.

The Cougars will become a football independent, and the Utes leave for what will be called the Pac-12 Conference.

That means the rivalry won't be the same after Saturday. Gone will be league implications and the buildup to the season-ending showdown.

Emotions, though, will be high whenever these teams meet, and BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall appealed Monday to the better natures of both sides.

It's such a crazy week that he was barefoot when he took part in the Mountain West teleconference Tuesday.

"I don't know where my shoes are right now," Mendenhall said. "Everything's kind of a blur."

n LAST-DITCH EFFORT -- Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson was in Las Vegas on Tuesday trying to persuade Hawaii athletic director Jim Donovan not to take his football team to the Mountain West.

Both were here for the WAC volleyball tournament at the Orleans Arena.

Despite the WAC's attempts, the Warriors are expected to move their football team to the Mountain West in 2012 and take its other sports to the Big West.

You know times are tough for the WAC when North Texas isn't interested in joining.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.