FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - TCU and coach Gary Patterson are finding out just how difficult a Big 12 schedule is.

Even so, the Horned Frogs (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) have already obtained bowl eligibility in their first season in a BCS league.

The Frogs are home Saturday night against third-ranked Kansas State, Patterson's alma mater and where he started his coaching career. He was a graduate assistant for the 1982 Wildcats team that was the first in school history to go to a bowl.

Led by Heisman Trophy front-running quarterback Collin Klein, the Wildcats (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) are in the thick of the national championship chase. They are the highest AP-ranked team to visit Fort Worth since 1970.

After K-State, TCU still has to play 19th-ranked Texas and No. 14 Oklahoma.

Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.