TCU's Going Against The Odds

Horned Frogs have a tough task Saturday against Texas

Sept. 5, 2007

By Tom Hart

Special to CSTV.com

	TOM HART Tom Hart calls football play-by-play for CSTV and is a contributor to CSTV.com. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- FOOTBALL 1/4: Traveling Party 12/19: That Ill Feeling 12/12: Not For Everyone 12/5: Buckeyes Take The Cake 11/29: Don't Count Out Missouri 11/21: Giving Thanks 11/14: Guarantees And Gestures 11/8: Woe Be A Missouri Fan 11/1: Don't Buy The Bulldogs 10/24: Loony Weekend In Loony Year 10/17: Bulls On To Something 10/10: Magic Reappearing Act 10/3: Making Sense - And A Ballot - Of It All 9/26: Processing The Process 9/19: Behind Closed Doors 9/12: Poll Questions 9/5: TCU's Going Against The Odds 8/29: All Roads Lead To Commerce 10/30: H Is For Home 10/13: Like Father Like Son? 10/3: Wolfe in a Sheep's Conference 9/14: The Rivalry Game 9/7: There's Something About Rivalries 8/29: Are You Experienced?

Sometimes we don't know how close we are to pulling off the impossible. For those who accomplish the unexpected, I like to think it's because they were the only ones who expected it. 

You already think this is about Appalachian State, and it is to a degree. But it's about more than one football game. Some people are lucky enough to be part of a miracle once in their lifetime, others pull off the seemingly impossible every day.

It seems like just yesterday that thousands of Penn State fans showed up at their spring football game wearing Virginia Tech colors in support of the Hokies. Saturday, many of those same fans gathered in the concourse at Beaver Stadium to support the Mountaineers of Appalachian State. What are the odds?

Ohio State band members played "Hail to the Victors" on their way out of The Horseshoe. Did you ever think you would see that? About as likely as pictures of kittens plastered on a Michigan fan site.

I hope you stopped the sports talk wagon long enough this week to give credit to Jerry Moore and App State. Moore, a Texas native with previous stops at Texas Tech and North Texas, has molded the entire program into a winner. 

At TCU, head coach Gary Patterson wrapped up a tumultuous 30 days heading into the season opener against Baylor. Preseason All-American Tommy Blake did not play against the Bears. James Vess has been suspended for the season. The Horned Frogs are led by a redshirt freshman quarterback who went more than a year without taking a snap.

Saturday, they travel to Austin to take on the Longhorns. My broadcast partner Trev Alberts stressed that it would be "a miracle" if the Frogs win the game.

That comment didn't make the people in purple happy, but I have a feeling the ones who matter aren't listening.

Kicker Drew Combs hasn't ever listened to people who tell him what can't be done. Combs, a congenital amputee, has a left arm that ends just past the elbow. Football isn't his only game, though. He plays golf, can bench 350 pounds, used to play quarterback and threw the discus and shot put in high school. The walk-on transfer from Arkansas has won the kickoff duties for one of the nation's best teams thanks to his combination of distance, hang time and precision.

I say the most unconventional thing about Combs is his kicking style. A straight on kicker with a flat-toed shoe straight out of the Sammy Baugh era, Combs booms kickoffs end over end.

Odds makers have TCU as an underdog this weekend. What's the money line on a miracle?