TCU Football: Frogs Look To Make It 10-0 Against Pac-12 Foes
After the last month of conference realignment, the Pac-12 was on life support. After today’s news that Stanford and Cal are headed to the ACC, the Pac-12 is now the Pac-2 with only Oregon State and Wazzu remaining.
With tomorrow’s game against Colorado, TCU has another opportunity to add to the Frogs' impressive winning streak. This century, or more specifically, since 2003, TCU is 9-0 against Pac-12 foes. That includes 2-0 at Amon G. Carter Stadium, 3-0 in true away games, and 4-0 in neutral site games. Those neutral site games include a couple of very memorable Alamo Bowls, the infamously bad (or good?) Cheez-It Bowl, and a win at Jerry World in the Rose Bowl season.
The game against Colorado will be the last time TCU will play a Pac-12 team unless the Frogs meet one in a bowl game this year or if somehow the Pac-12 is reincarnated into a league with many new teams.
So, before tomorrow’s game, let’s take another stroll down memory lane and look back on the 9-0 winning streak.
TCU is 9-0 Against the Pac-12 Since 2003
September 27, 2003 – TCU vs. Arizona
Fort Worth, Texas
TCU wins 13-10 OT
Nick Browne kicked a 33-yard field goal in overtime after missing from 36 and 25 yards in regulation. The Frogs' lone touchdown came on a 98-yard pass play from Brandon Hassell to Reggie Harrell with 2:44 left in the first half. At the time, it was the second-longest play in TCU history and the longest ever allowed by Arizona. The Wildcats had the ball first in the overtime, but Jeremy Modkins intercepted Kris Heavner's pass on the second play. The Frogs ran the ball three times to set up the winning kick.
October 13, 2007 – TCU at Stanford
Palo Alto, California
TCU wins 38-36
Aaron Brown scored on a short run with 4:13 remaining to complete the comeback, and Robert Henson batted away Tavita Pritchard's fourth-down pass to preserve the victory over Stanford. Andy Dalton threw for 344 yards and two touchdowns as TCU ended a two-game slide. Brown rushed for 91 yards and caught five passes for 45 yards and a touchdown, and Jimmy Young caught three passes for 110 yards.
September 13, 2008 – TCU vs. Stanford
Fort Worth, Texas
TCU wins 31-14
It was more a battle of the elements than against the Cardinal. Ryan Christian scored the go-ahead touchdown, and Steven Coleman made a key interception to help TCU get the win. Christian, who rushed for 82 yards on 19 carries, gave TCU the lead for good on a 1-yard scoring run with six minutes left in the third. This game was played six hours earlier than scheduled due to Hurricane Ike. Despite the earlier start time, it began raining harder in the second half, and winds from the storm's outer edge gusted to more than 30 mph in the fourth quarter.
September 4, 2010 – TCV vs. Oregon State
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
TCU wins 30-21
It was the 2nd year JerryWorld was open and the Frogs’ first appearance in the stadium. It was a battle of ranked teams – No. 6 TCU versus No. 24 Oregon State. It was the opening game of a historic season, one in which the Frogs would go 13-0 and capped off the year with a Rose Bowl win and a No. 2 final ranking.
Dalton ran for two touchdowns and threw for another score to make up for his two interceptions. Eight months after Dalton threw three interceptions in a Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State that soured the Horned Frogs' breakthrough season, he scored on a 4-yard keeper at the end of the third quarter to put TCU ahead for good. Dalton became TCU's winningest quarterback by securing his 30th victory and moving ahead of “Slingin’ Sammy” Baugh, who had held the mark alone since the mid-1930s.
January 2, 2016 – TCU vs. Oregon
Alamo Bowl, San Antonio, Texas
TCU wins 47-41 3OT
Change your shirt. Change the momentum. We all know what happened. Your heart probably starts pounding faster just seeing these words. You can’t top this one. It goes down as one of the most memorable TCU games ever. It was No. 11 TCU versus No. 15 Oregon. Down 31-0 at the half, only to come back and win it in triple OT! Gary Patterson infamously changed his shirt at halftime. And Bram Kohlhausen, as the backup quarterback, was the hero of the game.
Read more about Bram’s story here – Remember the Alamo Bowl. And say a prayer for Bram as he continues to recover as after a tragic accident earlier this year.
December 28, 2017 – TCU vs. Stanford
Alamo Bowl, San Antonio, Texas
TCU wins 39-37
Two seasons later, TCU was back in the Alamo Bowl. And once again, they found themselves down to another Pac-12 team. It was No. 11 TCU versus No. 15 Stanford that year, yes, the same rankings as TCU and Oregon had two years earlier.
Kenny Hill passed for two touchdowns, ran for another, and even caught one as TCU rallied from a big early deficit to beat the Cardinal. Cole Bunce's 33-yard field goal with just over 3 minutes to play won it for the Horned Frogs, who trailed 21-3 before storming back behind big plays from Hill and a 76-yard punt return from Desmon White.
Remember the Alamo Bowls – both of them!
December 26, 2018 – TCU vs. California
Cheez-It Bowl, Phoenix, Arizona
TCU wins 10-7
Ah yes. The infamous Cheez-It bowl (before the bowl got moved to Mickey’s hometown in Florida). The name of the game was entertaining enough. The game itself – I’m at a loss for words to describe what happened in Phoenix on that December night. Was it epic or pathetic? Was it spectacular or a mockery of all things sacred to college football? Was it the best, worst bowl game ever, or was it the most beautifully hideous bowl game ever? Whatever it was, both of our teams share that history. It was bizarre. It was an interception-a-thon. Someone had to win, just to put viewing audiences out of their agony. Yes, we won.
September 11, 2021 – TCU vs. California
Fort Worth, Texas
TCU wins 34-32
Zach Evans ran for a career-high 190 yards, and Max Duggan equaled a then-career-best with three touchdown passes while also running for a score as TCU rallied from a pair of 12-point deficits to win a 34-32 thriller. Trailing 26-21, TCU went 75 yards in four plays to take a 27-26 lead with 9:53 to play on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Duggan to Johnson. It was Johnston's second receiving score of the game and part of his team-best five catches for 95 yards.
It was the fifth straight win for TCU, which at the time was the seventh-longest active winning streak in the nation. The Frogs started that season 2-0, would lose to SMU the next week, and within a month, legendary coach Patterson would be out.
For a complete recap of that game, see our recap here, one of the very first articles published on TCU’s FanNation site.
September 2, 2022 – TCU at Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
TCU wins 38-13
Tony Beblowski/KillerFrogs
The very first meeting between the two programs came one year to the date before Saturday’s matchup. It was a Friday night game in Boulder. The game started late due to a lightning delay, and the Frogs started out slow. Before the game, months of speculation ended as Chandler Morris was announced as the starter. He would get injured in the first half. In came Duggan, who never looked back and went on to lead the Frogs to a 12-0 regular season and a berth in the National Championship Game.
For a complete recap of that game, see our recap here.
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