#17 TCU Horned Frogs

Texas Christian had a superb season in '08, and finished 11-2. Both of their losses were to good teams as they lost to the undefeated Utah, and National Championship participant Oklahoma. They finished with a bowl win over Boise State 17-16.

TCU lead the nation in defense last season, and had a top 25 offense. This year things will be a little different as the Horned Frogs only return four starters on defense. However, their offense is ready to carry some of the load with major parts of the depth chart retuning.

Let's take a look at what '09 looks like for the Horned Frogs...



Andy Dalton is returning at QB for the Horned Frogs, and he will have a lot of talent around him. Dalton is an accurate passer who threw 11 TD's along with 2,242 yards. Dalton will be a Junior and has been the starter for the past two seasons; with the weaker defense this season, it is now time for Dalton to take advantage of all the talent around him and get the Horned Frogs back to another bowl game.

Now let's talk about the guys helping Dalton out this year. At RB TCU returns Joseph Turner, turner rushed for 577 yards and 11 TD's last season and will be the Frogs go to guy on the ground this season. The Horned Frogs are a very strong rushing team, and should continue that again this season.

At WR the Frogs have Jimmy Young, Young finished '08 just shy of 1,000 yards. He will continue to be the go to target for Dalton. With Young's explosive talent and Dalton's accuracy, along with the legs of Joseph Turner, this offense should put up points.

Jimmy Young had a breakout season last year and will be the top WR for TCU in '09

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Alright, so last year TCU lead the nation in defense, this season they will look for the younger guys to fill the holes.

They lost Cody Moore, Jason Phillips, and Robert Henson to name a few. The Frogs run a 4-2-5 defense and Phillips and Henson were the two studs in the middle, they will be missed.

If one player in particular has to elevate his already great game it's Jerry Hughes. Hughes had a huge year in '08 as he recorded 15 sacks, and 19.5 tackles for loss. Hughes had a lot of help on the D line last year, therefore he was not constantly doubled. Although he will be doubled more this year I still think he can have another outstanding year and help the Horned Frogs hold their ground. Make sure to keep track of this kid because he is a beast and will go pretty high in the draft when he comes out.

Hughes will have to step up again this year as the frogs lost a lot of starters on defense
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The Frogs will look for their offense to carry them while the defense gets better game by game. If the defense can play well and find some players to fill the voids then they will be a very dangerous team.

Players to Watch: Jerry Hughes, Jimmy Young

Projected Record: 9-3


(credit: qjam6)