A Frog’s view

“Luck follows speed,” the legendary Frank Broyles, Arkansas’ former football coach, is known for saying.

Texas Christian Coach Gary Patterson has always believed it, recruited by it and coaches by it. On both offense and defense.

If TCU beats Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl — no small order — the speed of the Horned Frogs will have been the difference, as I see it. There are skills that go with TCU’s speed, and not just with the shifty running backs and lighting wide receivers.

The hitting defense has it too. Wisconsin is famous for its size. That size may prove the difference in the Badgers hogging the ball and burning the clock.

But TCU has seen size. Utah, Brigham Young and Baylor all had larger linemen, though no doubt they weren’t as skilled as Wisconsin’s.

The game is very mysterious because it brings together complete opposites. Notorious Big Ten vs. lowly Mountain West. Bowl Championship Series giant vs. non-automatic qualifying university from Texas. Big state school versus small private school. Size versus speed.

I believe TCU might have Wisconsin out-quarterbacked. TCU will win if Andy Dalton has a good day. He’s a four-year bowl veteran with a strong arm and composure and the ability to run tough with the ball. He’s a strong leader and his statistics are overwhelming. In any normal season, one without so many terrific competitors, he would have been an All-American.

One last word about speed. As former Texas coach Darrell Royal once said: “Speed don’t mean much if you don’t hold onto the football.” That’s a memo to TCU’s ballcarriers and pass catchers.

Finally, a personal word. It would be nice to see the Frogs win, but I’ve already received a great gift: That TCU in my lifetime would make it into the Rose Bowl — the one famous stadium it has never played in — is a truly rewarding thing for this college football fan.

Dan Jenkins was a longtime reporter for Sports Illustrated and is a best-selling author whose work includes the famed football novel “Semi-Tough.” He is a 1953 graduate of Texas Christian.