.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
No. 4 TCU seeks first back-to-back wins over Texas in nearly 60 years
There's a nationally televised Big 12 game on a major over-the-air network featuring one of the nation's top teams Saturday morning. Nothing unusual about that.
What is unusual is everything else about the matchup that pits Texas against TCU. The No. 4-ranked Horned Frogs are in their fourth year as a member of the Big 12, yet it still sounds odd to call TCU, and not Texas, the heavy favorite.
These days, it's TCU, along with No. 5 Baylor, who controls the conference. Texas, and to an extent Oklahoma, have taken backseats to teams no one could have predicted would grow into Power 5 national-title contenders just a few years ago.
The Frogs have won two of three Big 12 meetings against Texas since joining the league, including last year's Thanksgiving-night romp in Austin. The matchup has taken on a true role reversal with the Longhorns being the double-digit underdog seeking a measure of respect, and TCU bringing the swagger of a champion.
A TCU victory would, in fact, be a monumental one in this longtime series between these two schools located about three hours apart. It would give TCU wins over Texas in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1958 and 1959. Remember, these teams played annually as members of the Southwest Conference before it broke up and formed the Big 12, which excluded the Frogs.
And if Texas has hopes of stealing this one on TCU's home field, the odds are heavily stacked against them. Under coach Gary Patterson, TCU is 34-3 as a top-10 team and 23-1 as a top-five team, as they are in this one.
The Horned Frogs are riding a 12-game win streak dating back to last October's heartbreak loss at Baylor. That streak ranks second nationally behind Ohio State's 17-game win streak. Since 1980, TCU’s Gary Patterson leads all college football coaches with six 12-game winning streaks. He broke a tie with last week's 55-52 win at Texas Tech, surpassing legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden.
(h/t TCU Sports)
