After one game, TCU's Gary Patterson has stages of relief

MINNEAPOLIS — Gloom will come later to Gary Patterson, as the third emotion felt in the wake of TCU's narrow victory against Minnesota, but first things first: relief.

Relief at the thought of escaping here with a six-point win against the Golden Gophers is joined by a similar sentiment, gratification, at the thought of being able to once again talk with his good friend, Jerry Kill; the lines of communication between the two coaches had been cut off in advance of the opener, but can now be renewed as both turn toward the rest of the regular season.

Some happiness will come next, as Patterson and TCU revel in the continuation of a winning streak that began last October and continued unabated — picking up steam along the way — as the Horned Frogs made a rags-to-riches ascent to the top of last season's Big 12 Conference.

This will last until Patterson moves toward film study, as hints of anger bubble during a 60-minute perusal that may reveal more questions than answers for a team pegged once again for national-championship contention.

Yet TCU knew this was coming: Patterson told them it wasn't going to be easy, and did so in early January, days after the Horned Frogs' Peach Bowl romp against Mississippi capped a 12-win season.

"I told them in January, it's not going to be like last year," Patterson told Paste BN Sports. "It's going to be a war."

The bull's-eye on TCU's back was on full display against Minnesota, which had designs on making its own national noise by defeating the second-ranked team in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll — a distant second to Ohio State, true, but one of three teams, joining the Buckeyes and Alabama, to earn first-place votes in the debut standings.

For the first time in its modern existence, TCU is learning what it's like to sit on the inside track; the program has made inroads in its 14 seasons under Patterson, but always as title-picture interlopers, not standard-setting frontrunners. Ohio State and Alabama know what to expect: nothing less than each opponent's best, as teams look to capitalize on name recognition and national reputation.

Welcome to life in the driver's seat, a double-edged sword that gives (respect, the benefit of the doubt) and takes (questions, nitpicks) in equal measure for any team, particularly those, like TCU, that can only be described as the nouveau riche to the old guard of Ohio State, Alabama and others.

"No game is going to be easy," quarterback Trevone Boykin said. "We're the No. 2 team in the country, and we're going to get everybody's best swing. We have to counterpunch."

Last year's over; the first three digits are all 2015 shares with 2014. Last season's Horned Frogs played all but two of their regular-season games inside the state of Texas. This year's group will play in Minneapolis, Norman, Ames, Manhattan and elsewhere.

Last year's defense was brimming with fourth-year talent and experience. Thursday night's unit was down key contributors on the defensive line, including end James McFarland, started a true and redshirt freshman at linebacker, and rolled with new faces in the secondary.

TCU struggled inside the red zone. Missed a short, makeable field goal. Committed nine penalties. Turned the ball over twice. Boykin, a leading Heisman Trophy contender, overthrew three potential touchdowns, per Patterson's postgame count.

Minnesota's fourth-quarter touchdown to draw within six points came on the same slant-and-go route used to great effect by Texas Tech, the Frogs' first opponent in conference play Sept. 26 — a worrisome sign, but one that speaks to the night's one positive takeaway: TCU has found a starting point without stubbing its toe against an opponent with sights on a Big Ten Conference divisional championship, and will find immediate and long-term benefits in its wake from September through the end of the season.

"Lot of people wanted this to be an upset," Patterson said. "So for us to come out with a win, I'll take it a positive. If you had your perfect ballgame so everybody learns a lesson, this would be it. Because we found out it's not going to be easy."

One positive, as was the case a year ago, is in how a victory in Minnesota may provide an end-of-season boost in the College Football Playoff dialogue — a potential bonus in TCU's corner when held against conference rival Baylor's paltry non-conference slate of SMU, Rice and Lamar.

Another is in the play of a defense built at its very basic level to defend up-tempo, spread-you-out offenses, not the Golden Gophers' grinding style. At times Thursday, the Horned Frogs traded a fifth defensive back for a third linebacker, dropping out of its unorthodox base set for a more traditional approach to Minnesota's run-based system.

Upcoming games against Stephen F. Austin and SMU will prepare TCU for the pass-heavy offenses in the Big 12, but there's profit to be found in the experience gained from battling a team of Minnesota's bent; the Gophers aren't a test study in advance of Baylor, for example, but a team cut from a similar cloth may be on the horizon in postseason play, perhaps even from the same conference.

"I'm glad we're 1-0," Patterson said. "We can't care about where they rank us. It's like Ohio State last year, you've just got to keep getting better every week."

An optimist may look at the Frogs' performance and suggest the following: TCU played near its worst — or near its sloppiest, at the very least — and defeated a team in the top half of the Big Ten, home of the defending national champions, and a team more than capable of winning the league's West Division.

This optimism will last until Sunday, when the Horned Frogs return to the practice field and attempt to remedy their opening-game missteps. Positivity will soon be replaced by reality: TCU should be content with a win, but more will be expected moving forward from a team counted among the elite of college football.

"We've got work to do, but we wanted to get one under our belt," said Patterson. "Besides getting home at five in the morning, I think everything's a positive."

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