My mind is already at midfield

Here’s hoping that all of you had a great summer and you’re ready for another year of Horned Frog Athletics. The LSU game may still be three weeks away, but know this:  it’s football season. The Frogs are busy going through fall camp and getting ready for a collision with the “Bayou Bengals.” I’m headed to practice this afternoon.

Speaking of TCU vs. LSU, here’s some late-breaking news for you regarding the Cowboys Classic game day at AT&T Stadium:

2 p.m. – AT&T Stadium parking lots open

6 p.m. – AT&T Stadium plazas and gates open

8 p.m. – Kickoff

Other thoughts as my mind turns toward midfield for the coin toss:

1. Frogs roll out at No. 20 in the USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll. That’s a little low in my book, but it's a good launch pad.
2. The good news for Texas A&M is they have Johnny Football. That’s also the bad news. I’ve said all along that, for a number of reasons, J-Football would have a hard time getting to the fifth week of the season. Now that looks like I was being generous.    
3. Who’d would have imagined that TAMU pre-season talk would center around a possible quarterback controversy that features Matt Joeckel from Arlington (who has thrown exactly 11 passes in his career) and true freshman Kenny Hill from Southlake Carroll?
4. Keep an eye on the Targeting Rule in college football this year. It’s been expanded beyond being a 15-yard personal foul. Now, when a player is called for targeting, he’s immediately ejected from the game. However, the ejection can be turned over by the replay official, but the 15-yard mark-off stands no matter what.
5. KEY FACT you need to know: If a player gets ejected during the first half, they’re out for the remainder of that game. If they get ejected during the second half, they’re gone for the rest of the current game AND they’re out for the first half of the next game.
6. TCU lost a valuable piece of its football history last month when former TCU head football coach Fred Taylor passed away at 93. He was the last of a breed from a bygone era. He was a guy who played for his alma mater and eventually became head coach – that seldom happens anymore. Coach Taylor had lots of foresight, but in the world of college football, even in the late-1960s, it wasn’t enough the please everyone.   As Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said at Big 12 Media Days in Dallas, “You’re never totally appreciated. I’ve never been totally appreciated, even in 2000 [when the Sooners won the National Championship.]” Count Fred Taylor as appreciated in my book.

Finally, the logo at the top of this post will be at mid-field during the TCU-LSU game.  

Kick ‘Em High!