Columnist Ron Kantowski: How TCU’s Horned Frogs, have brought respectability to a mediocre league

Friday, Nov. 11, 2005 | 9:30 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's column appears on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

Upon further review, I think it is time to toss my red replay flag into the air, like UNLV's Mike Sanford does every time a Rebel receiver tries to get a foot in bounds while trying to catch an overthrown pass.

Only I'm throwing my flag on myself.

Nearly two years ago in this space, I said that unless the NCAA was planning to grant Slingin' Sammy Baugh a fifth year of eligibility, I couldn't understand why the Mountain West Conference presidents voted to accept TCU into their little mid-major tea party on the first ballot.

Other than a fairly competitive football team, I wondered then, what else could TCU bring to the MWC table?

Now I know the answer.

Respectability.

In their first year as a MWC member, the Horned Frogs clinched the conference football championship before the Halloween candy was gone. That's saying something.

What it probably says is that after Utah's attempt to raise the Mountain Time Zone to the same level as its Eastern, Central and Pacific counterparts proved to be short-lived, the MWC has returned to its mediocre self between the 20s.

But TCU didn't have any control over that. All it could do was win every conference game on its schedule. Which it has.

In fact, were it not for an inexplicable toe-stubbing against SMU way back on Sept. 10, just a week after they knocked the wagon wheels off the Sooner Schooner in Norman, the Frogs might be this year's Utes: Undefeated, unappreciated and undeterred in the quest to put a few more warts on the Bowl Championship Cartel -- er, Series.

Not bad for a team that was picked to finish sixth in the nine-team MWC on football media day.

What's more amazing is that the Horned Frogs, who Saturday will entertain UNLV as well as one of their own all-time greats, San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson (who will be honored at halftime), pretty much kept that lack of respect under their helmets.

"When we heard we were picked to finish sixth in the conference, we just looked at each other," said safety Brian Bonner, who had two interceptions and two sacks in the exclamation point to TCU's blitz of the Mountain West, a 33-6 blowout of second-place Colorado State last week.

It was a look of disbelief. Sort of like the one Lyle Lovett had when Julia Roberts said "yes."

"Sixth? That was our motivation," Bonner said.

Actually, a bigger motivation might have been drawing Oklahoma in the season opener. That was before the Sooners became the Swooners -- Oklahoma was O.K. with a No. 5 rating at the time -- and the Frogs won, 17-10. The loss to SMU followed, but then it was time for the easy part of the schedule.

TCU, 9-1 and 7-0 in the Mountain Worst, is ranked No. 18. At 51-19 (.729), the Frogs have the 14th-best record in Division I-A over the past six seasons, something the MWC spin doctors will be glad to point out come bowl season.

The MWC coaches, on the other hand, haven't been as complimentary. Their opinions on the Horned Frogs' ability to run and pillage right out of the box have run the gamut.

UNLV's Sanford says TCU is as good as advertised. That's probably because the Rebels are playing there this week.

New Mexico's Rocky Long, on the other hand, says TCU is lucky. "They've been living on borrowed time," he said in reference to the Frogs' 23-20 and 51-50 overtime victories against Utah and BYU and a narrow escape (23-20) at San Diego State.

Colorado State's Sonny Lubick says TCU is a bunch of cheap-shot artists.

And Air Force's Fisher DeBerry ... well, let's just say he believes the Horned Frogs have a lot of guys who can run really, really fast, and leave it at that.