FOR T WORTH, Texas -- TCU coach Gary Patterson stood at the podium during his weekly media luncheon on Tuesday and vowed not to dwell on any perceived negatives to the season if the Frogs don't get a chance to play for a national championship.

"I'm not going to turn this into a negative season," Patterson said. "I'm not going to turn this into 'Woe is us and you guys didn't do what we needed to achieve.' It's still going to be a box we've ever gotten to on that pyramid."

The pyramid is something Patterson and his teams have done since he's been in Fort Worth. The team colors in areas as they achieve goals (the pyramid sits in the team room and the entire team signs it). A shot at the national championshp is at the top, just above playing in a BCS bowl and winning it. If TCU wins Saturday against New Mexico they'll complete the school's first undefeated season since 1938 and will make a BCS bowl for the first time.

"Whether we play for a national championship at all, we've already won that battle because our name has been mentioned," Patterson said. "I would think 12 years ago, maybe five years ago, to ever think that we'd be in this situation where TCU would be mentioned in the same breath as a Florida, an Alabama and a Texas, we've already put ourselves in a position that I feel we've already won."

Of course, none of that matters unless TCU beats a one-win New Mexico team this Saturday at noon. Patterson said the university expects around 38,000 fans or so (maybe even 40,000) to attend.