Despite entering the game as a 10-point favorite, TCU struggled for most of the night against Louisiana Tech before pulling off a comeback victory in the Poinsettia Bowl Wednesday night. Perhaps TCU took their opponent too lightly. Maybe Louisiana Tech came out with more energy and the game meant more to them from the opening whistle. Or, is it possible that Louisiana Tech gained an advantage by stealing signals? TCU head coach Gary Patterson got that feeling.
“We changed the signals in the second half,” Patterson explained, implying that he thought the Bulldogs knew his team’s signs in the first half.
Naturally, Louisiana Tech spokesman Patrick Walsh denied the allegation when a reporter asked about it. Patterson said two Louisiana Tech coaches worked under him at TCU when he was the defensive coordinator from 1998-2000. And?
“Of course not,” Walsh said when asked about signal-stealing. “If they have the same signals as 10 years ago, they’re not doing their job.”
Good point. We hear about signal-stealing in baseball all the time, but that is something that goes on during the game and develops rather quickly. If Patterson and his staff have the same signals that they had in the late 90s, there is no theft involved. Coaches change teams and move up in the ranks. If they thought they had inside information that dated back to when they were a member of their opponent’s staff, how could they not use it? It sounds more like a case of sour grapes from Patterson — who needed an excuse for why TCU didn’t blow the Bulldogs out — rather than any type of developing scandal.
