FORT WORTH -- When TCU was one of the best teams in the country in 2014, the Horned Frogs fielded one of the nation's best defenses.
That season, coach Gary Patterson's team finished third in the final Associated Press poll and ranked sixth in the country in yards allowed per play.
Last year, TCU finished the year with a 6-7 record, its third losing season in Patterson's 16-year tenure. The Horned Frogs finished 51st in the country in total yards per play.
Patterson knows the defense needs to improve. The odds of that happening are high if the unit plays like it did during the back half of the season.