No L.T., but Frogs are still motivated

By BERNIE WILSON Associated Press - 11/7/2009


SAN DIEGO — The No. 6 TCU Horned Frogs will have to do without their good-luck charm when they play in San Diego for the fifth straight season.

The Horned Frogs are 4-0 in Qualcomm Stadium with alum and San Diego Chargers star LaDainian Tomlinson cheering them on from the sideline. That includes two games against San Diego State and two appearances in the Poinsettia Bowl.

Tomlinson will miss Saturday's game against the Aztecs because his San Diego Chargers play at the New York Giants on Sunday.

"He makes everybody want to play a little bit better," running back Joseph Turner said. "He's a star. You want to play good in front of stars. Just him cheering us on, that helped us out a lot."

The Horned Frogs should do OK on their own, considering that they're 24-point favorites.

Still, even an absent L.T. will be an inspiration.

"Of course. We're playing in his stadium," Turner said. "As much as he did, we've got to go out and represent."

TCU (8-0, 4-0 Mountain West Conference) will try to remain unbeaten and stay on track for a chance to become the latest BCS-buster.

"They're pretty good. Not better than we were, but they're pretty good," Tomlinson said with a smile.

"It's interesting, because this team has grown. It seems like they win 10 games almost every year now," Tomlinson said. "I know when I was there it was something that was big for us. But now it seems like it's not even a goal anymore. BCS, national championship, that's what's being talked about around that campus. I'm happy to see where they are now. I hope they keep building and keep playing good football."

Tomlinson retains such strong ties to his alma mater that when he takes a direct snap, the Chargers call it the wildfrog offense rather than the wildcat.

Tomlinson said he's become a fan of San Diego State and its first-year coach, Brady Hoke. Hoke seems to have the Aztecs headed toward respectability after 11 straight non-winning seasons. They're 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the MWC.

Final pre-bowl coaches’ poll to be open ballot

WACO, Texas — The final regular-season ballot of every voter in the USA Today college football coaches’ poll will remain public.

The coaches had considered making those votes confidential. But Grant Teaff, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, said Friday it will stay an open ballot.

The coaches’ poll helps decide which teams play in the BCS national championship game.

Ballots in The Associated Press’ college football poll are available to the public from the preseason to the final post-bowl vote.




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