Bet TCU Horned Frogs – Horned Frogs Stay Atop The MWC With Balance

Online betting players figured the Horned Frogswould be one of the top “BCS busters” heading into the 2009 season, beginningtheir season with two road wins over ACC teams, Virginia and Clemson, alongwith a 56-21 romp over Texas State in their home opener.  The Horned Frogs never slowed down, rollingover SMU at home, coming away with a three-point win at Air Force and a 44-6rout over Colorado State.  Their firsttest came against then-No.16 BYU on the road, the Horned Frogs passed withflying colors, routing the Cougars 38-7 in one of the toughest places to playin the country.  From there, the rest ofthe regular season was almost a formality for TCU, who won at home over UNLV,then-No.16 Utah and New Mexico, along with road victories at San Diego Stateand Wyoming by an average of 37.4 points. But of course, the unbeaten Horned Frogs were left out of the BCS titletalk and instead, they were paired against fellow “BCS busters” Boise State,who beat the Horned Frogs 17-10 in a hard-fought Fiesta Bowl.

The Horned Frogs came away with the best defense in thecountry, finishing third against the run and sixth against the pass, but theoffense was no slouch either, coming in seventh in the country.  Andy Dalton continued to be startlinglyconsistent, but his three picks in the Fiesta Bowl has to be eating away athim.  He did a great job of spreading theball around as four receivers had 400 yards or more, but no more than 532yards.  Still, the defense was thelynchpin of the team, led by end Jerry Hughes, who had 11.5 sacks. 

NCAA football betting odds for the HornedFrogs should be pretty good as they’re coming off their first appearance in aBCS bowl, but again, because they’re in the Mountain West, they’ll be left outof the national-title conversation. Dalton is back to lead a balanced offense, and even with the graduationof Joseph Turner, the running game is in good hands with Matt Tucker, Ed Wesleyand Dalton himself.  Dalton also has allof his favorite targets back from the 2009 season, but the Horned Frogs willhave to stay solid up front.  On the defense,replacing the departed Hughes will be TCU’s biggest worry as he was easilytheir main pass-rush threat.  They mayhave to use a rusher-by-committee instead of depending so heavily on oneplayer.  The Horned Frogs have depth inthe secondary, where they lost both of their starting corners, but Jason Teagueand Greg McCoy should be able to step in. They may not be as good as 2009, but the TCU defense won’t slip thatmuch.

If you’re going to bet on the Horned Frogs, their seasonopener against Oregon State looks enticing, especially when you see that this“neutral-site” game is at Cowboys Stadium, which is definitely closer for TCUfans.  Still, the Beavers have Pac-10title aspirations, and they’re not going to lie down for the Horned Frogs.  TCU will then host Tennessee Tech and Baylor,before heading for a rivalry game at SMU and another road game at ColoradoState.  The Horned Frogs will welcomeWyoming and BYU to town, and they have to beware of the Cougars, who willsurely want revenge for the home beating they took from TCU in 2009.  The Horned Frogs have another home gameagainst Air Force before heading out on the road to UNLV and Utah, who are intheir final year in the Mountain West before making their way to thePac-10.  The Horned Frogs wrap up theseason with a home game against San Diego State and a trip to New Mexico. 

The TCU offense should be even better than last year,which will make up for a defense that won’t be as dominant as they were in2009.  Still, going undefeated throughthe regular season for two straight years is pretty tough, and someone is goingto catch TCU slipping.  Still, they’rethe class of the Mountain West, so bet on the Horned Frogs’ sports betting odds to win their conference in 2010.