After the Horned Frogs’ dominating 54-7 victory over the Wyoming Cowboys, the team is now prepared to face the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
“I said before the season that I believed UNLV was the most improved team in the league,” head coach Gary Patterson said. “This is year four for (Rebel head coach) Mike Sanford, and you can start seeing a lot more character.”
Patterson said the Rebels’ offense has the most athletic personnel the Frogs’ have seen since they played the University of Oklahoma.
“They’ve got three or four really good wide receivers. Ryan Wolfe is unbelievable,” Patterson said. “They get the ball to him in a lot of ways. Casey Flair is a senior and Frank Summers is a big running back. Michael Johnson was a quarterback in high school who is playing wide receiver, and they have him returning punts and kicks. He’s a very fast, explosive player.”
But the Frogs’ offense has vastly improved since the return of quarterback Andy Dalton to the starting lineup, and Patterson said the team is moving the ball down the field more effectively of late due to a reduction in penalties.
“We’ve been able to drive the ball. The only thing that held us back early in the year was penalties,” Patterson said. “Those are things that are hard to overcome, and they were more mental instead of physical penalties.”
Overall, Patterson said he was excited about the offense that has vastly improved from where they were a year ago.
“I said before the season that I thought this offensive line could be as good as the 2005 group, and I think they are, if not better,” Patterson said. “I also think our wide receivers are coming into their own, like we had during the Quentily Harmon, Michael DePriest and Cory Rodgers era. We just didn’t have anybody we could go to a year ago to help a young quarterback.”
The coach said with the season winding down there are several goals his team can still accomplish.
“I don’t know if it’s the favorite part of the season, but you’re always more fired up when you’re playing for something,” Patterson said. “That’s the best part about the end of the season. It’s a lot easier to motivate your kids when they have something to play for.”
Football Game
What: TCU at UNLV
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
TV: CBS College Sports Network
