Week 7: TCU at Colorado State

While BYU and Utah are hogging all the attention among Mountain West schools, TCU is still positioning itself to do something in the conference race, with BYU coming to Fort Worth next week.

For now, the Horned Frogs have to deal with a Colorado State team that at least has bowl aspirations in coach Steve Fairchild's first season. An upset of TCU would push the Rams much closer to that goal. This is the MWC's most intriguing game of the week, matching CSU's offense against TCU's defense.

It had to be frightening for Fairchild and his offensive staff and players to watch the film of TCU's 41-7 win over San Diego State. The Aztecs have a capable offense, but they managed only 85 total yards against TCU (including minus-13 rushing yards) and scored only on a 1-yard touchdown drive following an interception.

The Frogs are No. 1 in the country in rushing defense at 22.3 yards and total defense at 208.8 yards. They're also second in sacks at 3.5 a game and have allowed an average of 12.1 points, even accounting for Oklahoma's 35 points against them. Not even the Sooners have scored in the fourth quarter against TCU.

So that's what CSU is up against this week, although the Rams are feeling confident after posting 510 total yards in a 41-28 win over UNLV. They won't keep scoring 14 points in nine seconds, the way they finished that game. CSU drove 80 yards for the winning touchdown, then added a score via fumble return on the kickoff.

CSU does have nice balance, as Gartrell Johnson rushed for 191 yards against UNLV and Billy Farris passed for 294 yards, completing 15 of 21 attempts. Of course, this was against a Rebel defense that had allowed 620 total yards to Nevada the previous week. And San Diego State was coming off a very productive game against Idaho before running into the Frogs.

On the other side, TCU gained 383 rushing yards against SDSU as quarterback Marcus Jackson replaced the injured Andy Dalton and ran for 131 yards.

So this will be a telling game in the Rams' development, and a chance for TCU to build momentum going into the game with BYU. Either way, we'll know a lot more about these teams.

Things to watch

With its offense and defense equally responsible, TCU kept the ball for 43 minutes, 29 seconds against San Diego State.

Moving the ball and scoring is even more important to CSU than most teams. The Rams rank second to last in the nation in net punting at 27.0 yards.

While TCU's defense is among the most aggressive in the country, CSU ranks second to last in tackles for loss with 3.2 per game.

Thanks mostly to quarterback Billy Farris, in addition to the return of coach Steve Fairchild, CSU has returned to the productivity that marked Fairchild's tenure as offensive coordinator under former coach Sonny Lubick in the 1990s. CSU is 27th in passing (260.8 yards) and 45th in total offense (391.4 yards).

Key player (Horned Frogs) — Jerry Hughes, DE

After dealing with Chase Ortiz and Tommy Blake for three years, Mountain West coaches now are having to plan for Hughes and fellow end Matt Panfil, who have combined for 9.5 sacks. Hughes will have plenty of chances to chase CSU quarterback Billy Farris.

Key player (Rams) — Gartrell Johnson, RB

After gaining 191 yards against San Diego State, Johnson will face the top rushing defense in the country. He's averaging 98.2 yards a game; TCU is allowing 22.3 yards.

TCU by 14