How 2015 TCU is, in a way, better than 2014 TCU

FORT WORTH, Texas — Gary Patterson came in from the rain and cold, cracked open a can of Dr. Pepper and whispered something in the ear of his wife, Kelsey, that made both of them smile.

He was tired. And glad. Not just for the 28-21 double overtime victory against Baylor but for the luxury of being able to wake up on Saturday without having to put together another gameplan, without having to figure out out how the duct tape was going to stick this week for a team that started falling apart physically in the preseason and never got healthy.

"I'm glad the regular season's done," Patterson said. "It's just been a long year."

TCU isn't going to the College Football Playoff. It's probably not even going to a bowl game as prestigious as last season when the Horned Frogs made the Peach Bowl and felt shortchanged at a chance for the national title.

TCU ends Baylor's Playoff hopes in double OT 28-21

But in so many ways, TCU's 10-2 record was as impressive and as satisfying as any season in Patterson's tenure, which is saying something given that the Horned Frogs have finished in the top-10 five times in the last decade and went unbeaten in 2010.

"Hey, I mean with everything we've gone through," Patterson said, "it's been a whole building success story because between our trainers, equipment guys, strength coaches doing what they were supposed to do, nobody really lost faith in what was going on."

This was not the season TCU hoped for three months ago. All summer, the Horned Frogs had the nation's No. 2-ranked team and projected, even expected, to be playing Baylor for a spot in the College Football Playoff on Friday.

Then injuries hit, a rash of them on defense where TCU already lacked depth and experience after losing so many great players last season. The Horned Frogs kept winning, but they needed a miracle fourth down catch to beat Texas Tech (while giving up 52 points) and a double-digit comeback at Kansas State to reach 8-0. Then when their Heisman candidate quarterback Trevone Boykin injured his ankle, TCU suddenly seemed like a house of cards ready to collapse.

Patterson wouldn't let them. The Horned Frogs lost soundly at Oklahoma State but had a legitimate shot to win at Oklahoma last weekend, coming within a two-point conversion of pulling the upset with a backup quarterback nobody had heard of. Then came Friday in the cold and the wind and the rain with Boykin nowhere near 100% and TCU winning despite a mere 148 passing yards.

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So in a strange way, beating Baylor make this season even more successful than 2014 when TCU was ranked No. 3 in the second-to-last week but inexplicably dropped to No. 6 by the selection committee after blowing out Iowa State.

"When you see how many injuries we had on our roster, to be able to come out with 10 wins is really something you'll remember even better than last year," Boykin said. "We wish we could have had more guys, but you won't hear us complain. We're pretty happy."

The Big 12 may not feel the same way. After getting snubbed last year, the league enters Saturday in a precarious position. If Oklahoma loses to Oklahoma State, the Big 12 could miss the playoff for a second consecutive season, which would prompt an existential crisis with ripple effects across the college sports landscape.

But that wasn't TCU's concern after stopping Baylor on a fourth-and-1 in the second overtime, prompting students to flood the field with people instead of rain. This was about the Horned Frogs beating a rival, about grinding out a great season despite losing half their defensive starters and circumstances that should have relegated them to the middle of the pack.

This was about surviving a game played in crazy weather where both teams had to throw the gameplan out the window in the fourth quarter and rely on instincts and athleticism. This was about TCU building a program that is built to survive everything.

"It's an amazing year for everything they've gone through," Patterson said. "Any time you get into double digit wins, it's hard."

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