TCU vs. Stanford

Talent ?
Coaching?
Getting more with less?
Recruiting the right guys?
Blind luck?
Probably all of the above except luck. GP is smart, knows how to prepare his team and make in-game adjustments pretty well. I don’t know why he isn’t pursued by some bigger name programs.
 
Coaching... recruiting the right guys... I don't think luck factors in much at all. Coaches like Patterson have a plan, a system, and an identity. They know what they want to do, what types of players fit in with that, and how to develop them. Then, they stick with it.

Consistency and system... year in and year out... I think it's what builds dynasties. Not to beat a red herring here but compare that Mack Brown trying to play follow the leader and picking a new team to emulate each year... big difference.
 
Probably all of the above except luck. GP is smart, knows how to prepare his team and make in-game adjustments pretty well. I don’t know why he isn’t pursued by some bigger name programs.
He has found his home in Ft. Worth. Good pay, town and school absolutely adore him and absolutely no pressure (at least for now).
 
I really did not expect anyone to say luck had anything to do with it however some of those plays in the second half it looked like a parting of the sea took place. 97 yard run seems impossible. One would think Stanford would have been expecting a run.
 
Good posts about why GP is / has been successful at TCU. I didn't realize he had so many 10 win seasons.... I'm a little envious of that.
 
I didn't realize he had so many 10 win seasons.... I'm a little envious of that

No doubt. Throw in that he's pulled that off at a 10k enrollment private school < .500 before he arrived and a school that's probably not even third fiddle in their own state. He's got to sell TCU against the likes of Texas, A&M, OU, OSU and others... I mean what he's done there is amazing. I don't see why the Big 12 doesn't get more respect.. there are some damn fine coaches here along with Patterson.
 
Just the confidence those kids showed to keep fighting when down so far, twice no less, tells me everything about what kind of coach he is. Very impressive victory against real competition.
 
No doubt. Throw in that he's pulled that off at a 10k enrollment private school < .500 before he arrived and a school that's probably not even third fiddle in their own state. He's got to sell TCU against the likes of Texas, A&M, OU, OSU and others... I mean what he's done there is amazing. I don't see why the Big 12 doesn't get more respect.. there are some damn fine coaches here along with Patterson.

Great points. I'll take it a step further.

I grew up in FW and attended many TCU games in my youth - Frogs were always 2nd fav team to the Horns. Outside of some successful years with Jim Wacker and Dennis Fran, TCU was generally football poor.

I think Patterson's success has gone a long way toward revitalizing, growing and helping to bring $$$ to that program and to the university. Enrollment has increased during his tenure, the football & basketball facilities have been upgraded along with various growth of campus buildings. He obviously doesn't get credit for all of that but he certainly had a role in it happening...
 
We might also mention our new AD, Chris del Conte, and his contributions to TCU's success. I don't know if he had that much to do with football though.
 
We might also mention our new AD, Chris del Conte, and his contributions to TCU's success. I don't know if he had that much to do with football though.

Yes. Clearly del Conte deserves a great deal of credit for the more recent program building & athletic success at TCU. Not only football, but baseball and basketball too.
 
I don’t know why he isn’t pursued by some bigger name programs.
I know a guy who knows a guy who says Patterson has been considered by some bigs, but he (his agent) has quickly nipped 'em in the bud.

He is a demigod in Fort Worth – all the money men view and treat him as royalty. If a major FTW charity is able to secure him as an auction item or "prize" for their annual Ball/Special Event, he always brings in top dollar.

Basically, he's set for life in Cowtown.
 
Talent ?
Coaching?
Getting more with less?
Recruiting the right guys?
Blind luck?

I think teams like TCU and Boise State are more talented than most people realized. No, they don't have the 50-deep lineup of uberathletes that Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and USC can pull in, but they are up there with just about anyone else.

he's pulled that off at a 10k enrollment private school < .500 before he arrived and a school that's probably not even third fiddle in their own state. He's got to sell TCU against the likes of Texas, A&M, OU, OSU and others... I mean what he's done there is amazing. I don't see why the Big 12 doesn't get more respect.. there are some damn fine coaches here along with Patterson.

I think the problem is that commentators, pollsters, etc, are biased towards bigger-name, historically prestigious schools (see how often Texas has started the year ranked higher than we deserved b/c of being Texas). A conference gets rated higher or lower partially depending on whether the best teams in the conference are the ones that are "supposed" to be the best - which is why TCU and Baylor got left out of the playoffs when Oklahoma or Texas would have gotten in with the same schedule and results, meanwhile Ohio State got in that year when Rutgers or Northwestern would have been left out with the same schedule and results. And the best two coaches in the Big 12 right now are at Kansas State and TCU, which are like the 5th and 9th most prestigious schools out of 10. (Riley and Herman might soon turn out to be the best two, but you can't put them above those guys yet).
 
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