A native of Rozel, Kansas, Gary Patterson went on to play college football at Dodge City Community College and K-State. Patterson has of course been the head coach at TCU for 12 years, and will face his Wildcats for the first time on Saturday night in Fort Worth. “I’m very proud as an alumnus,” Patterson said. “I have the same problem as a lot of my friends do. For three hours when they get here on Saturday, I’ve got to find a way to beat them, and they’ve got to hate me. Then, we become friends when the game is over.”
Patterson is faced with an interesting predicament on Saturday night if he leads his Horned Frogs to victory, because his alma mater would likely be out of the BCS title game picture. He admits he wouldn’t be sure how to feel. “It is a dilemma,” Patterson said. “Like everybody else, you’ve got to do what you have to do. It would be mixed emotions, but obviously most of my emphasis has to be my family, my team, my community and fans.”
Patterson was a member of K-State’s Independence Bowl team in 1982, which was the first Wildcat squad to reach postseason. Since then, Coach Snyder has built his program into a national power for a second time as they sit at 9-0 and ranked #2 in the BCS Standings. “They’re one of those teams that comes right at ya,” Patterson said. “They try to make you say no más. They come at you on both sides and special teams. You have to get ready for a three and a half hour mental drill if you want to win a ballgame.”
Meanwhile, TCU is 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12, and searching for another marquee win against K-State. The Horned Frogs last week knocked off West Virginia 39-38 in double overtime in Morgantown. After hosting the Cats, TCU travels to #17 Texas on Thanksgiving, and then hosts #12 Oklahoma on December 1st.
#2 K-State will kickoff with TCU this Saturday night at 6:00pm at Amon Carter Stadium. Powercat Gameday begins at 2:00 at Frankie Sports in Fort Worth on KMAN.
