ESPN College Football Preview 2008

It's a telling sign of how far the Texas Christian program has come when last year's 8-5 season was considered a disappointment.

It was only the third time in coach Gary Patterson's seven-year tenure -- and the first time since 2004 -- the Horned Frogs had won fewer than 10 games.

It was an improbable finish considering TCU was the sexy pick to be a BCS spoiler last season. It notched 11 wins in its previous two seasons, and 2007 was the year it was finally supposed to get over the BCS hump.

So it's no surprise college football pundits have downgraded TCU heading into this season and it's given the Horned Frogs more than just a chip on their shoulder.

For the first time since joining the Mountain West in 2005, the Horned Frogs were not picked to win the conference nor were they ranked in either of the preseason Top 25 polls. That distinction was taken by BYU, this year's favorite for BCS stardom. The Horned Frogs were picked third in the Mountain West preseason poll (behind BYU and Utah), received votes in the coaches' poll and are starring in their first underdog role since 2005 -- a year they finished 11-1.

"Eight wins is not acceptable, our coaching staff has let us know that and the players really believe in that," center Blake Schlueter said. "We definitely knew going into the offseason that we were going to work a little harder trying to get ready for this season because we're not going to let that happen again."

So how did TCU go from a non-BCS darling to just another non-BCS team?

Many would point to Aug. 6, 2007, as the date when the journey toward non-BCS supremacy got sidetracked.

That's the date senior All-American defensive tackle Tommy Blake left the team for personal reasons. He missed most of fall camp and the first five games of the season. Blake wasn't just some player -- he was the marquee name for TCU, one of the NFL's highest-rated prospects for the 2008 draft and the key to an undefeated season. He also was battling depression and couldn't cope with the stress of football.

Couple that with the loss of All-Mountain West nose tackle James Vess, who was suspended for the season for a violation of school policy, and TCU's dream season was facing adversity before it even started.

"It probably was a little bit of a distraction and a little bit of a roller coaster not only for the players, but the coaches because you're handling a lot of things in between football that you normally wouldn't be talking about at the same time," Patterson said.

The team started the season 4-4 after its kicker hit uprights against Air Force and Wyoming, ultimately costing TCU those games. After a seven-point loss to Utah, Patterson and his staff re-evaluated the team and the pressure that had been on it through the first three months. The Horned Frogs made some changes in the secondary, got some players healthy -- the team ranked seventh in the nation with 37 missed games by preseason projected starters -- and took some time away from football to clear their heads.

"We kinda got back to the mindset of, 'Hey, we gotta go out and have fun playing this,' because I think there was a lot of people who were mentally and physically tired because of everything we went through," Patterson said. "It's a difference between a Saturday scrimmage where I would have had it off and would have been able to sit for five hours and evaluate it, I was flying down to [Blake's] hometown to talk to him about it. When you've got 29 practices to get ready for a ballgame and you need every minute you can."

TCU went on to win four of its final five, including a 20-13 decision over Houston in the Texas Bowl. It's last year's finish that gives TCU optimism heading into this season despite not having a superstar name to fall back on. The Horned Frogs return 16 starters from last season and a slew of depth because of injuries. As a whole, TCU is relatively unknown, and that's fine with the players.

"One thing I like about this team is that we don't have a couple superstars," linebacker Jason Phillips said. "Last year we had Tommy Blake and Chase Ortiz and both of them were tremendous football players. I think this year we're more of just a blue collar, go out, work hard, play hard kind of team. I think that suits us a lot better."

Last season humbled the Horned Frogs and they learned the hard way that success isn't always achieved by winning. Sometimes it's achieved by getting back to the basics of football, overcoming obstacles and coming out a better team on the other side.

"It kind of feels like the same way when we came off my freshman year in 2004 when we went 5-6 and I was redshirting," Phillips said. "It feels the same. The chemistry is real good. Everybody understands now that the season's not always going to be 11-2 or 11-1. For us to get there, we kinda have to work at it."

Graham Watson is a college football writer for ESPN.com.