Patterson wanted to be like the Ducks, now he hopes to beat them

By foxsports
Published

A year ago after the TCU Horned Frogs were snubbed by the College Football Playoff committee, coach Gary Patterson said his goal is to build up TCU's brand name much the way the Oregon Ducks had done in recent years.

Oregon made last year's playoff field and crushed Florida State in the national semifinal before losing to Ohio State in the national championship game. One reason TCU was excluded from the final four even after the committee had ranked it No. 3 in the second-to-last rankings, some say, was it didn't possess a widely recognizable "brand" name.

"Oregon hasn't been on the (national) stage a long time, but they're new royalty where they've gained the respect of the national media and a few people, and I think that's what TCU has to do," Patterson said a year ago. "People say [TCU] won ballgames, but they did it in the Mountain West. Well there were a lot of good players and a lot of good teams and our record was good against teams that were a part of that system.

"For us [to become] royalty, I think it can be as [early] as [2015], and almost it was this year."

The Frogs certainly gained national attenion after destroying Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl, earning a No. 2 ranking in the 2015 AP preseason poll. Patterson believes that a victory over the Ducks in the Jan. 2 Alamo Bowl in San Antonio will continue to enhance TCU's national reputation, or build its brand. Patterson on Thursday called the bowl, a "resume game."

"To play against this level of competition, I think, lets us know what we have to do in the offseason, win or lose, to keep getting better so we can jump back and have a chance to win a conference title and get back into one of those four-team playoff games," Patterson said Thursday during a press conference with Oregon coach Mark Helfrich at the Alamodome. "Oregon is playing at a very high level. I felt the same way last year against Ole Miss when we played in the Peach Bowl. It’s one more chance for our seniors. It’s a resume game."