With BYU and Utah both losing last weekend, the hopes for a Mountain West conference BCS bowl bid could very well be left in the hands of TCU. The Horned Frogs, who are currently ranked 14th in the country, travel to South Carolina this weekend to take on the Clemson Tigers.

"They are a very fast team and a big ACC school. They have some great players and one of the best running backs in the nation. Defensively, we have to be on guard and do what we have to do," said senior cornerback Rafael Priest before Thursday's practice.

TCU has led the nation in total defense three times in the last nine seasons. No other school has finished first as many times as TCU in that stretch. Currently through two games, the Horned Frogs are allowing 213.0 yards per game, ranking eighth in the country.

This will be the second time this year that TCU Coach Gary Patterson and crew will travel to the east coast to take on an ACC school. They started 2009 with an opening 30-14 victory against Virginia. Prior to that game, the Frogs had not played an ACC opponent since 1997.

"Playing against a team like this makes you focus in more. You come to college to play the best. This is a big game for us," said Priest. "It will be a big crowd and a big stadium. You always look forward to those opportunities. That is why I came to TCU, so I could play in those types of games. Hopefully we will bring some purple in the stands and have a good game."

While the Tigers did have trouble with Boston College's defense last weekend, failing to score an offensive touchdown, their speed and athleticism has Coach Patterson's attention.

"They have some weapons. Both (C.J.) Spiller and (Jacoby) Ford can take it to the house in various different means, whether it's on special teams or on offense," said Patterson. "We have a lot of work to do, but it's not the first time that we have played against really good skill players."

Spiller and Ford have combined for 59 touches on the offensive side of the football, resulting in 462 yards of offense. Dating back to 2002, TCU is 12-3 in its last 15 games against teams from conferences with automatic BCS bids.

"I think the hardest thing is that we have to go to their house and play in front of a big crowd, but that is why guys came to TCU," said Patterson. "We have played at Oklahoma and we have played at Texas. For us, it's going to be fun to go do that again."

Included below is what AccuScore predicts for the game. Just click on the picture to enlarge:

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