The Wiz of Odds

Texas Christian's 'Small-Time Thinking'

Is Texas Christian coach Gary Patterson behind the banishment of student reporter Brian Smith?

Smith made headlines two weeks ago after he said that freshman quarterback Casey Pachall, who graduated early from high school to enroll at TCU, is good enough to unseat Andy Dalton as the starter.

Smith made the comment during an appearance on The Mtn. show "On Campus Cam," where student reporters from conference schools are asked to give their opinions. The video is below.

TCU director of media relations Mark Cohen decided to ban Smith from using the remote camera. Although the camera belongs to The Mtn., network officials agreed beforehand that Cohen would supervise the camera.

Patterson finally came out from hiding and told Jim Reeves of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that if you're looking for someone to blame, "Blame me."

TCU Bans Student Reporter for Criticizing Quarterback

Meet Brian Smith, a senior broadcast journalism major at Texas Christian. He's also a student reporter and had been a regular contributor to "On Campus Cam," a talking heads-style show on The Mtn. where student reporters from conference schools are asked to give their opinions.

On an April 14 broadcast, Smith said that freshman quarterback Casey Pachall, who graduated early from high school to enroll at TCU, is good enough to unseat Andy Dalton as the starter.

"I think it's going to be tough to tell if Andy's really as solid a starter as everybody believes he is," Smith said. "And I think the reason for that is because Casey Pachall, a true freshman who enrolled in January, really looked good during drills and during the Purple and White game, and in my opinion he really could challenge Dalton for that starting spot.

"He can manage a game and he can play not to lose, but I don't really think he's the kind of guy who can win you a game. And Casey Pachall is that kind of guy."