Midnite Madness Looks At The Alamo Bowl, Gary Patterson, And The Games That Built TCU Football

Part 2 looks back at the moments, games, and figures that give TCU's Alamo Bowl history its lasting significance.

In the 1998 Sun Bowl, the TCU Horned Frogs Upset the USC Trojans. | Photo submitted by a fan, to KillerFrogs, from the 1998 Sun Bowl

Part 2, of Tom Burke's two-part Alamo Bowl series revisits TCU's History and the legacy that still gives this match-up meaning.

Well before bowl games lost their shine, one game against the USC Trojans helped change the trajectory of TCU Football, which is why there is, of course, extra significance to the Horned Frogs (8-4 overall, 5-4 Big 12) match-up against the Trojans (9-3 overall, 7-2 Big 10) in the Alama Bowl. The game is a rematch of the 1998 Sun Bowl, when bowl games still held significance. That game in El Paso resulted in the underdog Horned Frogs of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), under the guidance of first-year head coach Dennis Franchione, stunning the heavily favored Trojans of the mighty Pac-10, 28-19. 28-19. It was TCU's first bowl win since a 28-27 victory over Syracuse in the Cotton Bowl on January 1, 1957, when bowl games really mattered.

A Familiar Opponent with Deeper Meaning for TCU

The Sun Bowl victory ignited the Frogs' resurgence in the late 1990s. TCU won four
conference championships in the next seven seasons and recorded double-digit win totals under Franchione and Gary Patterson in nine of the next 13 seasons. Patterson was TCU's defensive coordinator when Franchione was the head coach, from 1998 to 2000. When Franchione jilted the Frogs for the University of Alabama before the 2001 season, Patterson was elevated to what would be his first and only college football head coaching job.

TCU running back Basil Mitchell scores on a touchdown run during the 1998 Sun Bowl against USC. Fan Submitted Photo. | Photo courtesy of Fan Submission | TCU Athletics

The Frogs' success as a Group of Five team under the leadership of Patterson, including an appearance in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl and a 21-19 victory over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2011, led to TCU being invited in October 2011 and joining the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2012. It was a move the university had sought since the Big 12 was formed in 1994 and began play in 1996.

Gary Patterson's Legacy and National Recognition

The Davey O’Brien Foundation recently announced that Patterson, who became the winningest head football coach in TCU history, is this year’s Davey O’Brien Legends Award recipient. Patterson is the second coach to be named a Legends Award recipient since the Foundation expanded the award’s criteria in 2024, alongside Mack Brown. The Legends Award recognizes a college or professional quarterback or coach who has made a significant contribution to the game of football, distinguished himself as an extraordinary leader, and demonstrated exemplary conduct both on and off the football field.

Patterson, who is one of only four coaches to have won the AP College Football Coach of the Year in multiple seasons (Curt Cignetti, Brian Kelly, Nick Saban), distinguished himself as an extraordinary leader in TCU’s previous two Alamo Bowl appearances.

In the Alamo Bowl, played on January 2, 2016, No. 11 TCU defeated No. 15 Oregon 47-41 in triple overtime. Oregon led 31-0 at halftime, giving many TCU fans an excuse to hightail it out of the Alamodome and continue their New Year’s partying in the bars and restaurants along the San Antonio Riverwalk. In the final two quarters of the game, the Horned Frogs mounted an improbable comeback that was led by quarterback Bram Kohlhausen, who was thrust into a starting role because star quarterback Trevone Boykin had been suspended before the game. Kohlhausen accounted for four second-half touchdowns, including a tantalizing and deciding eight-yard touchdown run in the third overtime. His legendary performance earned him the game's Most Valuable Offensive Player award.

Dec 28, 2017; San Antonio, TX, United States; TCU Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson (left) hugs quarterback Kenny Hill (right) after defeating the Stanford Cardinal in the 2017 Alamo Bowl at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In the Alamo Bowl, played on December 28, 2017, No. 13 TCU rallied from a 21-3 deficit to defeat No. 15 Stanford 39-37. A 33-yard field goal by TCU's Cole Bunce, with 3:07 remaining in the game, proved to be the game-winner. An interception by TCU's Innis Gaines thwarted a final drive by the Cardinal with 2:01 to go in the game. 

This will be TCU's third appearance in the Alamo Bowl, which has been played since December 31, 1993, when California defeated Iowa 37-3. TCU last appeared in a bowl game after last season. The Horned Frogs (8-4 overall, 6-3 Big 12) defeated Louisiana 34-3 in the New Mexico Bowl, which was played on December 28, 2024, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This will be USC's first appearance in the Alamo Bowl.

USC's Season and Bowl Game History

For the 2025 regular season, the Trojans finished 9-3 overall, 7-2 in the Big 10, and 16th in the final College Football Playoff rankings. USC last appeared in a bowl game after last season. The Trojans defeated Texas A&M 35-31 in the Las Vegas Bowl, which was played on December 27, 2024, in Paradise, Nevada. The Frogs are 3-2 all-time against USC. The two teams have not met since TCU’s win in the Sun Bowl. Here are the results of the other four games:

October 27, 1951: USC 28, TCU 26, in Los Angeles
October 8, 1954: TCU 20, USC 7, in Los Angeles
September 24, 1960: TCU 7, USC 6, in Los Angeles
September 24, 1977: USC 51, TCU 0, in Los Angeles 

USC's head coach is Lincoln Riley, who took over the Trojans' program in 2022. He is 35-17 overall over his four years at USC. Before joining USC, Riley was head coach of Oklahoma from 2017 to 2021, during which time the Sooners were members of the Big 12 Conference. TCU was winless in five Big 12 games against Riley-led Oklahoma teams: 

2017: lost, 38-20, in Norman, Oklahoma
2018: lost, 52-27, in Fort Worth, Texas
2019: lost, 28-24, in Norman
2020: lost, 33-14, in Fort Worth
2021: lost, 52-31, in Norman

Familiar Coaching Connections on Both Sidelines

During the 2022 season, Lincoln Riley's brother, Garrett Riley, was TCU's offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. After the Frogs lost to Georgia in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Garrett Riley joined Clemson as its offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. 

USC has former TCU running backs coach Anthony Jones, Jr., on its coaching staff. He was at TCU in 2022 and 2023. He is the Trojans' running backs coach/run game coordinator. 

TCU's Bowl Tradition and Place in College Football History

TCU has an 18-16-1 bowl record. The Alamo Bowl will be TCU’s 36th bowl game, not including the College Football Playoff Fiesta Bowl victory over Michigan on December 31, 2022, or the Frogs’ national championship game loss to Georgia on January 9, 2023. Sixteen of TCU’s bowl games were earned when Patterson was the Frogs’ head coach.

TCU’s bowl-game history began with a loss to Centre College in the Fort Worth Classic on January 1, 1921. The Fort Worth Classic was a one-time bowl game played at Panther Park in Fort Worth. TCU played in the first Cotton Bowl Classic, defeating Marquette 16-6 on January 1, 1937. Marquette never again played in a bowl game and discontinued its football program after the 1960 season.

January 1, 2011; Pasadena, CA, USA; TCU Horned Frogs quarterback Andy Dalton (14) and linebacker Tank Carder (43) celebrate after winning 21-19 against the Wisconsin Badgers at the 2011 Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

In 2014, TCU became the fourth college football program in history to have competed in all six of today’s College Football Playoff bowls (Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Cotton, Peach, and Orange). TCU joined Florida State, Miami (FL), and Tennessee as the only schools to have earned this distinction. TCU has a combined 7–6–1 record in those bowls. TCU has played in seven Cotton Bowls (2-4-1); two Sugar Bowls (2-0); one Orange Bowl (0-1); two Fiesta Bowls (1-1); one Rose Bowl (1-0), and one Peach Bowl (1-0). Of course, until the Horned Frogs again qualify for the College Football Playoff, they won’t be playing in any of those six historic bowl games. Instead, like this post-season, they will be relegated to a bowl game that amounts to nothing more than a “participation trophy.”

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