An open letter to TCU coach Gary Patterson

Dear Coach Patterson,

As a BYU fan, it would be very easy to let the recent results of the BYU-TCU rivalry get the best of me and rationalize and make excuses for the outcome of the Saturday's game (trust me, I did last year). It would be very easy to both figuratively and literally hate you and all associated with the TCU football program. It would be very easy to be blinded by that hatred, causing me to try to come up with reason why TCU is overrated.

Only...I'm not.

What you have done at TCU is outstandingly impressive. Last year I sat in my living room - nearly 4,000 miles away from Forth Worth, TX - and was semi-literally scared for my own safety as I watched your players dismantle my BYU Cougars. This year, the outcome was even worse. I won't minimize your team's accomplishment. I still think my team is very good - and the Horned Frogs trashed us. You guys could play with any team in the country, and I look forward to the opportunity you'll have in to do so in a BCS Bowl.
Anger and pure dislike consume me with any other rivalry (ex. BYU-Utah), but respect is all that comes to mind with BYU-TCU. You beat us ... and badly. As a Mountain West Conference fan, I am proud at the prospect of TCU carrying the non-BCS torch into a BCS game, but I would like to issue some warnings:

• Please do not take any of the games remaining on your schedule lightly. Don't look past any team.
• Keep your team humble and hungry.
• Don't let your players read/believe the press clippings.

I don't want anything to happen that would derail your team's chances. The team representing the non-BCS schools should be tested beforehand. Your team has earned the right to be there over other non-BCS schools by beating more than one ranked team and going on the road out of conference, proving yourselves to NOT be 2007 Hawaii.

Signed,

All Things and Everything

Third-person Sports - BYU: Why the BCS bubble may not have burst just yet

Photo credit: AP

Admittedly, last Saturday was a very disappointing day in Cougar Nation. I, like any other fan of a non-automatic-qualifying team, loved having my team be the center of attention, even if it was only for a couple of weeks.

With the image of a game-winning touchdown catch by McKay Jacobson still only two weeks old, BYU got outplayed by Florida State at home, the first home loss since 2005. And that's the nicest way to describe a 54-28 drubbing.

Frankly, the Cougars were the ones who looked like they hadn't played at that altitude before. The defense that had all the ESPN talking heads paying so much attention to Provo couldn't stop a team Jacksonville State nearly beat.

That said, can BYU salvage the season? While I don't want to underestimate the rest of BYU's schedule, I don't believe a BCS Bowl is completely out of the question for these three reasons:

1. Florida State is not a bad team. Has anybody been following the team Florida State barely lost to? Miami has proven to not be a bad team. In fact, they are now in the top 10 after beating FSU and Georgia Tech, both of which were ranked. And after the way the Seminoles played against the Cougars, I think Miami's ranking, along with continued success from FSU, can only help BYU chances.

2. The Oklahoma game still happened. Yes, BYU has lost a game, and no non-BCS team has ever gone to a BCS Bowl with a loss on its record. But if someone was going to do it, don't you think a team with a win over Oklahoma (who is not playing poorly, by the way), as well as possible wins against TCU and Utah (who could both be ranked at that point), is in the best position to do it? Frankly, even with one loss, BYU's resume would still be a lot more impressive than an undefeated Boise State (one win at home against Oregon).

3. The polls were actually pretty kind to us. OK, a 12-spot drop is never good news. However, nine games are still left on the schedule. Don't think it's impossible to slowly climb the rankings, especially with the TCU and Utah games still left. Especially, since the four or five undefeated SEC teams ahead of BYU have been feasting on a schedule Boise State would call weak. I would expect most of those teams to lose two games. BYU could very easily find itself in the top 10 once again.

Obviously, there are a lot of assumptions:

This is assuming Max Hall and the Cougars can shake off the loss and win the rest of their games.

This is assuming Boise State loses a game - even though the Cougars would be far more deserving than the Broncos.

This is assuming Florida State really is a good team.

This is assuming TCU and Utah will win every other game possible.

A lot of assumptions? Yes. But I am not - and no BYU fan should be - ready to give up on the 2009 Cougars.