Limp Lizard
Full Member
There are a few of ways TCU can go bad:
1. Physically and mentally exhausted. Ninth tough game in a row (we didn't imagine the OU game would be so easy).
2. Overconfident/looking ahead.
3. Tight, which Sonny has said already happened this season.
Sometimes teams are too fired up to play well, and play tight instead, at least early. Two interesting examples from long, long ago.
1935 TCU vs SMU. Both undefeated and untied, with the Rose Bowl for the winner. Dutch Meyer gave a super rah-rah speech about how the players would always regret not playing their best in the game. SMU got out to an early lead 14-0, then TCU finally relaxed and tied, only to have SMU win late. Meyer often spoke how he got the players too wound up that they did not play well early. SMU lost their bowl game and TCU won their bowl game. The one rating system that counted bowl games awarded the Frogs with the NC. SMU got it from the AP and others, before the bowl games.
Another story happened about 30 years later. The great HS coach Chuck Curtis (who played QB at TCU in the mid-50's) in 1964 or 1965 had (again) another one if his teams deep in the playoffs. Pregame, he noticed the players looked nervous and tight. So just before time to take the field, he had them sing the Roger Williams silly pop song "Chug-A-Lug". They laughed, loosed up and easily won the game. Genius.
Two interesting stories about the same malady.
Hopefully our players will come out relaxed, confident, and relatively rested and in good health. And beat the crap out of the Bears, allowing our starters to rest during the second half.
1. Physically and mentally exhausted. Ninth tough game in a row (we didn't imagine the OU game would be so easy).
2. Overconfident/looking ahead.
3. Tight, which Sonny has said already happened this season.
Sometimes teams are too fired up to play well, and play tight instead, at least early. Two interesting examples from long, long ago.
1935 TCU vs SMU. Both undefeated and untied, with the Rose Bowl for the winner. Dutch Meyer gave a super rah-rah speech about how the players would always regret not playing their best in the game. SMU got out to an early lead 14-0, then TCU finally relaxed and tied, only to have SMU win late. Meyer often spoke how he got the players too wound up that they did not play well early. SMU lost their bowl game and TCU won their bowl game. The one rating system that counted bowl games awarded the Frogs with the NC. SMU got it from the AP and others, before the bowl games.
Another story happened about 30 years later. The great HS coach Chuck Curtis (who played QB at TCU in the mid-50's) in 1964 or 1965 had (again) another one if his teams deep in the playoffs. Pregame, he noticed the players looked nervous and tight. So just before time to take the field, he had them sing the Roger Williams silly pop song "Chug-A-Lug". They laughed, loosed up and easily won the game. Genius.
Two interesting stories about the same malady.
Hopefully our players will come out relaxed, confident, and relatively rested and in good health. And beat the crap out of the Bears, allowing our starters to rest during the second half.