SAN DIEGO ---- TCU will have to do without its good-luck charm when it plays in San Diego for the fifth straight season.

The sixth-ranked Horned Frogs are 4-0 in Qualcomm Stadium with alum and Chargers star LaDainian Tomlinson cheering them on from the sideline. That includes two games against San Diego State and two appearances in the Poinsettia Bowl.

Tomlinson will miss Saturday's game against the Aztecs because his Chargers play at the New York Giants on Sunday.

"He makes everybody want to play a little bit better," running back Joseph Turner said. "He's a star. You want to play good in front of stars. Just him cheering us on, that helped us out a lot."

The Horned Frogs should do OK on their own, considering that they're 24-point favorites.

Still, even an absent L.T. will be an inspiration.

"Of course. We're playing in his stadium," Turner said. "As much as he did, we've got to go out and represent."

TCU (8-0, 4-0 Mountain West Conference) will try to remain unbeaten and stay on track for a chance to become the latest BCS-buster.

"They're pretty good. Not better than we were, but they're pretty good," Tomlinson said with a smile.

"It's interesting, because this team has grown. It seems like they win 10 games almost every year now. I know when I was there it was something that was big for us. But now it seems like it's not even a goal anymore. BCS, national championship, that's what's being talked about around that campus. I'm happy to see where they are now. I hope they keep building and keep playing good football."

Tomlinson retains such strong ties to his alma mater that when he takes a direct snap, the Chargers call it the wildfrog offense rather than the wildcat.

Tomlinson said he has become a fan of San Diego State and its first-year coach, Brady Hoke. Hoke seems to have the Aztecs headed toward respectability after 11 straight non-winning seasons. They're 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the MWC.

"I hope, obviously, TCU wins in the end, but I hope it's a good game," Tomlinson said. "I think it will be."

While the fans talk about the Horned Frogs' BCS chances and undefeated record, coach Gary Patterson is simply trying to keep his team focused.

"Can we get through the next three to four games without a letdown? That's the hard part," Patterson said. "And if you do, can you still find a way to win? Not that they don't want to win, it's hard to keep that level of intensity for X-amount of ballgames. And you always probably need it more on the road than you do at home."

Patterson is trying to keep the focus anywhere but on the BCS and talk of how TCU just regained the No. 1 ranking nationally in total defense. He certainly doesn't want his players looking ahead to Utah.

"I think players take the coaches' lead," Patterson said. "We're talking about things we need to. If you want to talk about something, why talk about Utah and BCS? Talk about the three turnovers we had in the first quarter. We have got to find a way to win."

In 2007, TCU had to rally from a 17-0 deficit.

"The last time we were in San Diego, we had to stop them, and we had to go on fourth-and-1 to keep the ball when they had no timeouts left to preserve the win," Patterson said.

If Patterson is looking ahead at anything, it's the kickoff time.

"The good part is not playing in the middle of the night," he said "We're going to play at 1 o'clock, play in the sunshine of San Diego."

Patterson points to San Diego State's 3-1 home record and how the Aztecs hung in against BYU before losing 38-28.

"They have got a chance, with two wins, to get a bowl game and go to the Poinsettia Bowl, the first time they've been able to do that in a long, long time," Patterson said. "For us, we've got to keep our noses down and understand we're going to have to fight and claw and scratch and do everything we can."