Jake Trotter | ESPN.com

Gary Patterson uses an interesting but bizarre analogy to explain why he completely revamped his offense this offseason.

"I like Gatorade," he said. "When you have to beat people 17-13 just drinking water, you'd like to be able to go back and find out what the different Gatorades are."

To clarify, Patterson had grown tired of relying exclusively on his defense to win in the Big 12. And instead of trying to slug out more low-scoring affairs, he wanted his offense to produce some routs -- to afford him time to walk behind the bench and sample different Gatorade flavors.

The Horned Frogs actually had a chance to win every game but one last season. But with a stone-age offense unable to score in the fourth quarter, TCU missed a bowl for the first time since 2004.

In turn, Patterson brought in coordinators Doug Meacham and Sonny Cumbie to install a modern, up-tempo attack. He also snagged Texas A&M transfer quarterback Matt Joeckel, who knows how to operate such an offense.

Despite losing Devonte Fields, the preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year who was suspended over the summer after charges of assaulting an ex-girlfriend, TCU should still be stout again on defense, with seven other starters back.

But how the offensive changes pan out will ultimately determine whether Patterson will be drinking water again. Or, as he hopes, Gatorade.