The Associated Press

FORT WORTH, Texas - The phone calls offered little comfort for TCU coach Gary Patterson.

"There aren't any good words," Patterson said Friday.

A day after a 40-28 loss at Southern Mississippi, the 10th-ranked Horned Frogs (10-1) went through their normal postgame routine: a team meeting and a review of game films.

But this was not a normal postgame.

That one loss will keep the Horned Frogs from finding out whether they would have become the first team from a non-BCS conference to play in one of the four big-money bowls.

No perfect season, no Bowl Championship Series and maybe not even a share of the Conference USA title.

"You go out on that branch for that best apple, and sometimes the branch breaks and you fall," Patterson said. "It's a lot better than hugging the core of the tree and not ever letting go. Then you never find out how sweet the apple is."

TCU finishes the regular season at winless SMU but still can make a little school history.

No other TCU team has won 11 regular-season games, and the Horned Frogs will play in their sixth straight bowl game, another first.

"It's harder probably today," Patterson said. "You have a little time off and are starting to get ready for SMU, then you start playing the 'what-if' game.

"We still have a lot of things to play for."

The BCS idea ended after a furious comeback fell short. TCU trailed 31-6 in the fourth quarter but pulled to within a field goal with seven minutes left before their fourth turnover sealed the game.

"We always knew that if we lost, it'd all be over," defensive end Bo Schobel said. "We just have to rebound and win our next game."

TCU made it as high as sixth in the BCS rankings, a spot which would have given it an automatic BCS bid. Patterson said his team stood a good chance to gain a BCS spot if it finished with a perfect record.

"I think we would have had an opportunity for one simple reason, just the attraction of people finding out if we could or couldn't," Patterson said. "I have to believe somebody out there really would have said, 'We have to do this.' "

Though there is great disappointment at TCU, Patterson reminded his team of its incredible BCS ride.

"We're excited that we got a chance to be part of it," he said. "It's kind of like being a pilot on the jet. You don't own the jet, but it takes you above the clouds and you get a chance to live up there. But pretty soon you have to come back and get out of the jet."

Southern Mississippi (8-3, 7-0 C-USA) can clinch the outright league title and Liberty Bowl invitation by winning its season finale at East Carolina next Saturday.

The Frogs just have to wait and see which bowl game they will get.

If Southern Miss loses, Liberty Bowl officials get to chose from co-champions. Last year, TCU went to the Memphis game instead of Cincinnati, which had shared the title and beat the Horned Frogs during the season.

The other likely options are the GMAC Bowl and Fort Worth Bowl, a first-year game that will be played on the TCU campus.

MISSOURI: Coach Gary Pinkel agreed to a contract extension Friday that will keep him at the school through 2008 and give him a raise of nearly $60,000 a year.

Pinkel has two regular-season games remaining in his third year as coach of the Tigers. He is 16-17 since arriving but has guided Missouri to a 7-3 record this season, making the Tigers bowl-eligible for the first time since 1998.

Missouri can win the Big 12 North with victories against No. 19 Kansas State Saturday and Iowa State Nov. 29.

No. 20 Boise St. 31, Fresno St. 17

FRESNO, Calif. - Ryan Dinwiddie passed for 273 yards and two touchdowns, and Tim Gilligan caught six passes for 149 yards and a score in No. 20 Boise State's eighth straight victory, 31-17 over Fresno State on Friday night.

At the site of the biggest win in school history two years earlier, the Broncos (10-1, 6-0) clinched at least a share of their second straight WAC title with their 16th consecutive conference victory.

T.J. Acree, one of the three walk-on receivers who lead the school in catches, also caught a TD pass as the impressive Broncos took a 21-point lead in the first half. They never were threatened by Fresno State (7-5, 5-2), which had its four-game winning streak snapped.

As a sophomore in 2001, Dinwiddie led Boise State to a monumental upset victory over then-No. 8 and unbeaten Fresno State at Bulldog Stadium. He was just as sharp while quarterbacking the favorites this time - and Dinwiddie, who also rushed for a score, fell just 37 yards shy of setting the school's single-season passing record.

Bernard Berrian scored on a 68-yard punt return for the Bulldogs, who fell to 34-6 at home under coach Pat Hill. It was Fresno State's first loss in November since 2000, and its first on Senior Day in Hill's seven-year tenure.

Boise State is 20-2 in conference play since joining the WAC prior to the 2001 season. The Broncos also won the Big West title in their final two seasons in that conference, giving them four league victories in their last five seasons.

The Broncos made a proficient 12-play drive to open the game, with David Mikell scoring on a 3-yard run. Late in the first quarter, Gilligan - the WAC's leading receiver - caught a short pass across the middle and sprinted untouched for a 73-yard score.

Fresno State's Paul Pinegar threw an interception on the first play of the second quarter. Dinwiddie then scored on a 5-yard bootleg, silencing the chilled near-capacity crowd.

Marque Davis caught an 18-yard TD pass from Pinegar moments later, but Acree scored 3:32 before halftime. Neither team managed more than a field goal until Berrian ran untouched up the Fresno State sideline for a score with 8:28 to play.

Pinegar was 28-of-51 for 290 yards in his sixth consecutive start since returning from a torn pectoral muscle, but fans began streaming out of the stadium late in the third quarter.

Even if Fresno State wins its season finale at UTEP next weekend, the Bulldogs might be shut out of a bowl for the first time in five seasons.

If Tulsa finishes with a 6-2 conference record with a victory at San Jose State on Saturday, the Golden Hurricane would be expected to get a bid to the Silicon Valley Classic. The Bulldogs have played in the San Jose bowl in each of its three seasons of existence.