October 29, 2009

Mike Huguenin
Rivals.com College Football

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A non-Big Six team is guaranteed a BCS spot in two ways. One is if it finishes in the top 12; the other is if it is ranked in the top 16 and its ranking is higher than that of a conference champion that has an automatic berth. This week, the Horned Frogs are higher than any team from the ACC and Big East.

Under BCS rules, only one non-Big Six team is guaranteed a spot if it meets the criteria. Any others would be at-large candidates.

TCU is 7-0 for the first time since 2003, when it won its first 10 games, and for only the third time since 1942. The Horned Frogs have won nine in a row overall. But coach Gary Patterson said that - unfortunately - his team needs to look ahead, not back.

The Horned Frogs play host to UNLV on Saturday, and Patterson said Tuesday that his team had to forget about the BYU rout.

"Everybody else gets a chance to enjoy it - except for the players and coaches. As soon as you get done with one game, you start on the next one the next day," he said. "The coaches and players don't get to enjoy it as much as the fans and media."

Boise State coach Chris Petersen, meanwhile, said he wouldn't dwell on the BCS standings, noting that there still are six weeks remaining in the season.

"[The players] would be frustrated if they paid attention to that stuff," Petersen said. "That's why we don't pay attention to that stuff."

It's hard to see Boise jumping back ahead of TCU in the BCS because of the Broncos' relatively weak schedule the rest of the way, though continued success by Oregon will help Boise State. The Broncos opened the season by beating Oregon, and victories by the Ducks - and by Oregon's opponents - help Boise's computer rankings.

Boise State, which cruised at Hawaii last week, returns home to play San Jose State this week. The Spartans are 1-5, but their only win is over an FCS team. Boise State also has games remaining against, among others, Louisiana Tech, Utah State and New Mexico State - which have a combined five FBS victories.

KEY MATCHUP: Central Michigan QB Dan LeFevour vs. Boston College's defense. LeFevour has guided the Chippewas to seven consecutive victories, including an upset of Michigan State, since a season-opening loss at Arizona. LeFevour, who is fifth in major-college history in total offense with 13,921 career yards, has thrown 16 TD passes and rushed for another nine scores this season. Given that BC has had issues in pass defense, a big game from LeFevour could mean an upset for the Chippewas. A victory almost certainly would get CMU into the top 25 and put them in great shape for an 11-1 record heading into the MAC title game.

PLAYER ON THE SPOT: Marshall RB Darius Marshall. Sunday's Marshall-UCF game in Orlando, Fla., is an important "shakeout" game in Conference USA. Marshall still is in the hunt for the East Division title, while UCF already is worried about bowl positioning. Darius Marshall is the nation's second-leading rusher and the focal point of the Thundering Herd's offense. The Herd can win when he has a bad game, but that puts a lot of pressure on QB Brian Anderson, who's still learning on the job. Darius Marshall ran for 109 yards against Virginia Tech and 82 against West Virginia. UCF is the rare C-USA team that wins with defense. The Knights have a solid defensive front seven and lead the league in rushing defense; they held Miami to 70 rushing yards two weeks ago. UCF wants a low-scoring game, and for that to happen it must hold Darius Marshall to less than 100 yards.

NUMBERS GAME: Temple has won five in a row, its longest such streak since it won five in a row in 1985. The last time the Owls won six in a row was 1973. This week, the Owls play Navy, which also has won five in a row.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:

"The streak is a media invention at a different place and at a different time. I kind of had to expect that a little bit. The worst part is it rubs off on your players. [The media] can say what they want about me, but that's totally irrelevant to the experience I'm in now. I've made peace with it." - Ball State coach Stan Parrish, whose personal winless streak of 34 consecutive games ended last week. The streak started when he was coach at Kansas State in the late 1980s

"It is nice to get this game on a Sunday because I think we are the only football game on in town. I believe my Yankees are going at it, but the NFL does not have a late game Sunday night." - UCF coach George O'Leary, a New York native, on playing on Sunday night this week

"I've never been 0-7, so I don't know how to act. I just have to keep going." - Eastern Michigan coach Ron English

"It was good to win. Winning's fun." - San Diego State coach Brady Hoke, whose team beat Colorado State last week

"It sounds like a broken record when I get up here and talk, which is bothersome to me, but we need to do a better job of coaching and we need to do a better job of playing. We're not doing either right now." - Tulane coach Bob Toledo

"It's great to be back. It's been a difficult 10 days for me because it's been 30 years since football was not a part of my everyday life. It's given me a little time to reflect. You learn to appreciate things that you love and cherish when they're not a part of your life." - New Mexico coach Mike Locksley, who returned from a 10-day suspension earlier this week

Etc.: First-year New Mexico coach Mike Locksley returned to his job after a 10-day suspension for his role in an altercation with an assistant last month. Locksley said he watched last week's loss to UNLV on TV. Locksley wasn't allowed on campus during the suspension, which was served without pay - and cost him about $29,000. ... Ball State's MiQuale Lewis ran for 301 yards and teammate Cory Sykes for 203 yards against Eastern Michigan last week. It marked the first time in FBS history that a team had a 300-yard rusher and a 200-yard rusher in the same game. ... Utah has won 11 consecutive Mountain West Conference games, dating to Nov. 24, 2007. The Utes' current streak is the second-longest conference winning streak in the country, behind Florida's 12 in the SEC and one ahead of Boise State's 10 in the WAC. ... Northern Illinois backup QB DeMarcus Grady will start again this week, against Akron, in place of the injured Chandler Harnish (knee). ... Louisiana Tech is 0-3 this season when scoring a touchdown on its first possession. ... Toledo is hopeful senior QB Aaron Opelt, who has missed the past two games with a shoulder injury, can play Saturday against Miami University. If he can't go, third-stringer Alex Pettee will get the start because No. 2 QB Austin Dantin still has an injured ankle. ... Louisiana-Monroe isn't sure who will start at quarterback in its Sun Belt showdown game at Troy. Junior starter Trey Revell is recovering from thumb surgery. Redshirt freshman Cody Wells is the backup. Troy QB Levi Brown, meanwhile, threw for a school-record 469 yards in last week's win over North Texas. He was named the Sun Belt's offensive player of the week for the fourth time in five weeks. ... Boise State is 32-0 at home all-time in WAC games. ... Air Force is plus-19 in turnover margin this season. Air Force has forced at least two turnovers in six of eight games this season and in 19 of the past 24 overall. ... Louisiana-Lafayette starting QB Chris Masson will be playing in front of his hometown fans when the Ragin' Cajuns play at Florida International on Saturday. Masson is a former standout at Miami's Columbus High. ... Nevada has won four in a row, over UNLV, Louisiana Tech, Utah State and Idaho. Nevada's senior class will leave having never lost to any of those four teams. ... Western Kentucky has lost 15 in a row, the nation's longest losing streak. ... Each of Utah State's past three games has been decided by three or fewer points. The Aggies are at Fresno State on Saturday. ... New Mexico faces former coach Rocky Long on Saturday. Long, a Lobos quarterback from 1969-71, is in his first season as the Aztecs' defensive coordinator. This will be the first time Long will be on the opposite sideline from his alma mater since he was an assistant at Wyoming from 1981-85. ... Fresno State's three losses are to teams that are a combined 19-2 (Boise State, Cincinnati and Wisconsin).

Mike Huguenin is the college sports editor for Rivals.com. He can be reached at mhuguenin@rivals.com.