Former backups key to winning season
‘Unknowns’ lead Frogs into national spotlight, to possible 11-0 season
By Carlos Alvarado
Commentary

A Conference USA game will never mean as much on the national level as tonight’s showdown between the TCU Horned Frogs and the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles.

In a game billed as the C-USA championship game, a TCU win would put the Frogs one game closer to an undefeated season and give the Frogs their second consecutive C-USA championship. It could also put them on the brink of entrance into an elusive BCS bowl.

TCU storms into the contest with a cast of unlikely heroes. Junior quarterback Brandon Hassell started the season on the bench, as did Robert Merrill, Chris Peoples, Ranorris Ray and countless other Frogs.

They were players who were expected to play here and there, in relief of the star players in front of them. No one saw them as the reasons why the Frogs would be on the verge of greatness.

After a tough spring, Hassell was not seen as an answer but merely as a stop-gap, definitely not the quarterback to lead this Frogs team to BCS glory.

All the naysayers were affirmed when the offense struggled early with Hassell at the helm, including a 13-10 overtime squeaker over inept Arizona.

“I was a bit nervous and I had a lot of jitters,” Hassell said of those early games. “I needed time to settle down and relax.”

Hassell was unsure if he would receive any more playing time because Tye Gunn’s return from injury put him back on bench.

The stay would not be for long; Gunn severely injured his groin against UAB forcing Hassell into the limelight once again — this time for good.

Unlike those early games, Hassell has taken the offense to new heights. He has accumulated a 146 passer rating and given the offensive coordinator Mike Schultz the ability to run any play any time.

“Once I got more comfortable and got more repetitions, I got rid of the jitters, and the game has slowed down,” Hassell said.

Hassell is the symbol of an entire team of backups playing beyond expectations as many key Frogs have been lost for the season.

Patterson feels players like Hassell have kept the team together.

“Very easily, we could have quit, the wheels fallen off,” Patterson said. “When they were asked to fight, they fought.”

TCU’s season has been filled with obstacles and challenges carrying with it a movie-like aura.

“This story is about a bunch of kids that have overcome a lot of things,” Patterson said. “One of my favorite movies is ‘Hoosiers’ and this season’s kind of like that.”

Hassell and company will do their best to ensure the season ends much like a good movie with a win tonight in Hattiesburg.