Texas Christian University Horned Frog Football

Living in Ft. Worth for 41 years, I became a hometown fan. After sending two daughters to TCU, I became a bonafide fan!

TCU - Big 12 Football

College football is one of, if not the most popular of fall sports. My favorite team is the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs, located in Fort Worth, Texas.

The 2022 season has TCU being the first team from Texas to be in the four-team College Football Playoff. With a record of 12-1, they will play Michigan on New Year's Eve. Max Duggan has been named a Heisman Trophy finalist. It's a great year to be a Horned Frog!

The college football scene is an ever-changing landscape and the 2022 season is no exception. Teams from all different conferences are switching to other conferences and with the CFP expansion that was announced earlier this fall, it is anyones guess what this sport will evolve into in the near future. The revolving door of the player portal adds an element unseen before. For TCU, changing conferences has been a part of the growth over the last 20 years, and we've played in several BCS games, so it's really nothing new, just an adjustment to be made.

Will this be "the year" for TCU? In the last decade, TCU has had a major impact on CFB. In 2014, TCU was #3 in the nation (just like this year) before the first ever final CFP rankings in which they were dropped to #6 and therefore did not make the 4-team playoff. That "ghost" was finally put to bed with #3 TCU reaching the CFP in 2022. Now the question is, can they win two more games and be the National Champion?

We will not ever forget and hope someday - maybe this year - to be able to show the college football world a #1 Texas Christian University Football Team.

How The Game Is Played

A quick overview of how football is played. The field in play is 100 yards long with two end zones where the scoring takes place. Each team takes turns with ball possession and has four downs, or turns, to move the ball 10 yards. If successful, they get another turn and so on and so on. If in three downs they are unsuccessful, most likely they will use the fourth down (of that possession) to kick the ball to get it farthest away from the opponents end zone so they start their possession deep in their half of the field. So, we go back and forth until someone scores then they automatically give the ball to the other team to try their attempt at scoring.

The main way to score in football is with a touchdown that earns a team six points and a chance to kick an extra point (PAT - point after touchdown). If the PAT is successful, they earn one point to equal seven for the touchdown and extra point. The second most popular way to score is on a field goal. Let's say a team moves the ball to within 20-30 yards to the end zone and is on the fourth down. They may elect to kick a field goal that is worth three points. You can also score two point on a safety. It is usually exciting when a safety happens because that means there has been a great defensive play (or an offensive mistake) but you just have to see that one - it varies so much, it is hard to explain.

The above description sounds so nice and easy right? But there has to be a catch (no pun intended) and there is. At any time a team is running the ball or throwing the ball, the other team can come up with a big play and intercept a pass or recover a fumble on a running play. Many times these lead to points and they are very detrimental to the team that relinquished the possession. Best to play error free - champions almost always have low stats on these categories.

Two great defensive teams might find themselves in a low scoring game and just the opposite for two great offensive teams. People tend to love scoring in college football, but we in Ft. Worth, love our defense too! Again, champions are made when you can balance out offense and defense (scoring and shutting them down).

Football Gridiron Style

The nickname "gridiron" comes from a combination of football and rugby. In gridiron style football, hands are used whereas in international style of football (soccer), no hands are allowed.

Heisman Winner

In 1938, Davey O'Brien won the Heisman Trophy for TCU. Sound familiar? It should because an annual NCAA quarterback award is named in his honor, the Davey O'Brien Award for the nations top QB. In 2000 LaDainian Tomlinson was a Heisman finalist. We haven't won since 1938 but look at this stat.

In 2022, we find our quarterback, Max Duggan, a senior, in the mix for the Heisman. He has the stats but more importantly, he has the heart and has been the driving factor in the Frogs success this year.

2022 TCU Football Schedule/Results

September 2 - TCU 38, Colorado 13 (1-0)

September 10 - TCU 59, Tarleton State 17 (2-0)

September 24 - TCU 42, SMU 34 (3-0) Iron Skillet Game

October 1 - TCU 55, #18 Oklahoma 24 (4-0)

October 8 - #17 TCU 38, #19 Kansas 31 (5-0) College GameDay

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October 15 - #13 TCU 43, #8 Oklahoma State 40 (6-0)

October 22 - #8 TCU 38, #17 Kansas State 28 (7-0)

October 29 - #7 TCU 41, West Virginia 31 (8-0)

November 5 - #7 TCU 34, Texas Tech 24 (9-0) Fox Big Noon Kickoff

November 12 - #4 TCU 17, #18 Texas 10 (10-0) College GameDay

November 19 - #4 TCU 29, Baylor 28 (11-0) Fox Big Noon Kickoff

November 26 - #4 TCU 62, Iowa State 14 (12-0)

December 3 - #3 TCU 28, #10 Kansas State 31 - Big 12 Championship Game, 11:00am AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas - College GameDay

December 31 - #3 TCU vs #2 Michigan - Glendale, AZ, 4:00pm CST

Stats, Facts, and Noteables on TCU Football

as of 12/6/22

TCU quarterback Max Duggan has won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He is also a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. Max was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. He is one of three finalists for the Davey O'Brien Award and one of five finalists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year.

Sonny Dykes was named the Big 12 Coach of the year.

Tre'vius Hodges-Tomlinson has been named one of three finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award.

Coach Garrett Riley has been named one of five semifinalists for the Broyles Award - Top Assistant Coach.

Four players, Max Duggan, Kendre Miller, Steve Avila, and Quentin Johnston have been named semifinalists for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.

Kendre Miller is a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award.

Quinten Johnston has been named a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award

Steve Avila and Darius Davis have accepted invitations to the Senior Bowl.

Steve Avila is a semifinalist for the Outland Trophy.

Tre Hodges-Tomlinson is a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.

Steve Avila is an ESPN MidSeason All-American selection.

Dominic DiNunzio has been named a finalist for the Armed Forces Merit Award.

Andrew Coker has been nominated to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team preseason list and the Wuerffel Trophy Award preseason watch list.

Other Stats:

TCU's 380 game active non-shut-out streak is currently second all-time in NCAA history.

Kendre Miller has scored in 14 consecutive games dating back to last season (thirteen this season); it is the longest active streak in the nation.

TCU is 8-2 in ESPN College GameDay games, home or away. TCU was a part of Gameday three times this season; in Lawrence, Kansas; Austin, Texas; and at the Big 12 Championship Game in Arlington, Texas.

TCU was a part of Fox Big Noon Kickoff two times this season; first in Ft. Worth and then in Waco.

The Horned Frogs were the first team to go 12-0 in the Big 12 era.

By beating four ranked teams in a row in 2022, TCU is only the second Big 12 team to accomplish this feat.

TCU's 13 touchdowns of 40+ yards is the best in the FBS in 2022.

TCU leads the nation in explosive plays of +70 yards.

The Frogs are 5-0 when coming from behind and tied for best in the country in the last 15 years.

TCU had not gone 12-0 since their undefeated season in 2010 when they won the Rose Bowl to finish the season and were 13-0.

Historical Facts

In 2019, TCU was #1 in Total Defense in the Big 12 and 5 out of 8 years while in the Big 12 Conference.

TCU finished the 2017 campaign ranked #9 in the AP poll. This was the 7th time in 13 seasons TCU finishes ranked in the Top 10 of college football. In the state of Texas, all other teams combined equal this stat in the same time frame.

In 2019, the College Football Hall of Fame has named TCU as the 10th best team of the decade. We have the lowest student population among the top ten! A great ratio!

TCU's 2016 Alamo Bowl victory over Oregon was tied (with Texas Tech) for the most points comeback in the history of a bowl game. It was a school record, and it also tied for the second-largest comeback in the history of an FBS game. Since the TX Tech comeback, teams had been 0-1,463 when trying to record a comeback victory. Make that stat 1-1,464! Go Frogs!

Wrapping up the stats, TCU is one of nine programs nationally to have a Super Bowl MVP (Larry Brown), an NFL MVP (LaDanian Tomlinson), and a Heisman Trophy Winner (Davey O'Brien).

But Who Have We Played? According to Phil Steele, Some Good Teams

In the last 10 years, TCU is tied at 11th rank for FBS record. They have played 11 out of the 14 teams listed, including victories over Boise St, Clemson, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Wisconsin (Rose Bowl), and Oregon (Alamo Bowl). Losses were to Ohio State, LSU, Boise State (Fiesta Bowl), Oklahoma, OK State, Georgia (Liberty Bowl) and Michigan State (Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl). They have not played Alabama, App State, and Florida St. That's a good resume, 11th best in the country.

In addition, they continue to put a top-tier FBS Power 5 team on their non-conference schedule unlike many P5 teams these days. We have played Virginia, Northwestern, BYU, Louisville, Oregon State, Minnesota, Purdue, and Cal. We also have a storied cross-town rival game with SMU every year - 2022 was the 101st meeting of the two teams.

Coming up in this decade, TCU has Colorado, Stanford, North Carolina, and Duke as home and homes. The return home and home with Purdue is in 2030.

Best Program in the Storied State of Texas

I'm not making this up, during the past 22 years, TCU has out-performed and played levels above the other storied teams in the state.

Looking at the stats below, TCU currently owns the category of 10+ win seasons among FBS schools in Texas since 2000:

TCU - 13

Texas - 10

Baylor - 6

Houston - 5

Rice - 2

UTSA - 2

SMU, Texas A & M, Texas State, Texas Tech - 1

North Texas and UTEP - 0

Final AP Poll Status History

Per the SID at TCU, since 2008, here are stats for final AP Top 10 rankings. As you can see, TCU has one less finish in the Top 10 than the top five Division I programs in the state.

TCU - 6 times

Texas - 3 times

Baylor - 2 times

Houston - 1 time

Texas A & M - 2 times

All Others - 0

Building the Package

As part of building TCU into an annual powerhouse, TCU has played many prominent and storied programs in the last 15 years: Virginia, Clemson, Stanford, Northwestern, LSU, BYU, Ohio State, Louisville, Oregon State, Purdue, and Cal as their non-conference foes.

Bowl Opponents have been: Ole Miss, Boise State, Georgia, Wisconsin, Oregon, Northern Illinois, Michigan State, Stanford and California.

Frogs in the NFL

TCU currently has 21 players on NFL rosters. Learn more about the history of TCU Football including their two National Championships in 1935 and 1938 in the book, Rif Ram Bah Zoo, Football Comes to TCU.

Darius Anderson, RB (Indianapolis Colts) ROOKIE

Ben Banagu, LB (Indianapolis Colts)

Ross Blacklock, DE (Minnesota Vikings)

LJ Collier, DE (Seattle Seahawks)

Aviante Collins (Dallas Cowboys)

Andy Dalton, QB (New Orleans Saints)

Obinna Eze, OT (Detroit Lions)

Travin Howard, LB (LA Rams) Super Bowl Champion

Jerry Hughes, LB (Houston Texans)

Tre'von Moehrig, S (Las Vegas Raiders)

Joseph Noteboom, OT (LA Rams) Super Bowl Champion

Matt Pryor, OT (Indianapolis Colts)

Jalen Reagor, WR (Minnesota Vikings)

Austin Schlottmann, OG (Minnesota Vikings)

Vernon Scott, S (Green Bay Packers)

Ty Summers LB (Jacksonville Jaguars)

Ke'vonte Turpin (Dallas Cowboys)

Halapoulivaati Vaitai, RT (Detroit Lions) Super Bowl Champion (IR)

Jason Verrett, CB (San Franciso 49ers)

Ar'darius Washington (Baltimore Ravens) ROOKIE

Garret Wallow, LB (Houston Texans)

The End of the Patterson Era

For over 20 years all Ft. Worth has known is Gary Patterson TCU football. That era ended on October 31, 2021. We were in the midst of a few not-so-stellar years with 2021 being the worst. In the business of college football, who always goes when the going gets rough? The coach. It was an end of an era in Ft. Worth when Gary resigned from the program. But Gary and Kelsey Patterson are so much more than football. They continue to live in Ft. Worth and be involved in the community, hooking up with Leon Bridges to create THE BIG GOOD Foundation serving our community. Gary put TCU on the map and for that we shall ever be thankful.

Some key stats from the Patterson Era:

Gary Patterson was 181-99 in his tenure at TCU. He is one of 7+ coaches with 100 wins at the same school. He is the winningest coach in the history of TCU football.

The Horned Frogs were 94-30 at Amon G. Carter Stadium under Gary Patterson's tenure.

TCU was 20-0 at home as an AP Top 10 team under Gary Patterson.

The Horned Frogs had a 44-6 record as a top-10 team under head coach Gary Patterson, including a 28-3 mark when in the top 5 (AP or CFP polls).

Game Day Fun

Activities Galore!

If you've never been to a game, a college football Division I game can be an all day event. The folks in charge at TCU tend to like a family atmosphere so they provide lots of fun and free entertainment in the hours leading up to the game. Frog Alley is where kids can get their faces painted, jump in bounce houses with sports oriented themes, hang out with the local radio station broadcasting from the lawn, and other activities that spur off of the specific opponent or celebration that week. There is always a live band performing right in front of Amon G. Carter Stadium in the hour leading up to the game. It's a maze of purple and white on game day!

While all that kid fun is happening, many other activities are going on too. The band is warming up on campus and getting ready to march through Frog Alley on their way in to the stadium. The players are warming up on the field. The fans are heading into the stadium. Tail gaiting is a buzz and there is good Texas food to sate your appetite.

Game Day Pictures

Fear the Frog in the Student Section

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Amon G. Carter Stadium Implosion - December, 2010

"New Stadium. Same Tradition." The new stadium will be ready in September 2012 for the first home game.

Amon G. Carter Stadium 2012 - An Overhead View

Copyright 2012 Epic Helicopters, LLC. All rights reserved.

TCU Bowl History

Bowls and Scores the past 18 years

In the past eleven years, TCU has played in 3 premier bowl games: The Fiesta Bowl, The Rose Bowl ("The Grandaddy of Them All") and The NY6 Peach Bowl.

2022 -

2021 - DNQ

2020 - Mercari Texas Bowl TCU vs Arkansas - DNP due to Covid

2019 - DNQ

2018 - Cheez-It Bowl TCU 10, Cal 7

2017 - Valero Alamo Bowl #15 TCU 39, #13 Stanford 37

2016 - Liberty Bowl Georgia 31, TCU 23

2015 - Valero Alamo Bowl TCU 47, Oregon 41 (3 OTs)

2014 - Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl - TCU 42, Ol' Miss 3

2013 - DNQ

2012 - Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl - Michigan St. 17, TCU 16

2011 - Poinsettia Bowl - TCU 31, LA Tech 24

2010 - Rose Bowl - TCU 21, Wisconsin 19

2009 - Fiesta Bowl - Boise State 17, TCU 10

2008 - Poinsettia Bowl - TCU 17, Boise State 16

2007 - Texas Bowl - TCU 20, Houston 13

2006 - Poinsettia Bowl - TCU 37, Northern Illinois 7

2005 - Houston Bowl - TCU 27, Iowa State 24

2004 - DNQ

2003 - Plains Capital Bowl - Boise State 34, TCU 31

2002 - Liberty Bowl - TCU 17, Colorado State 3

ESPN Rankings

Part of the fun of college football is to watch the rankings each week. The AP, ESPN and weekly rankings are updated every week during college football season on Sunday around 1:00pm EST. The number of undefeated teams in the Top 25 whittles down each week. The first round of CFP rankings come out in early November. The end of the regular season CFP rankings will determine the four teams in the College Football Playoff (CFP) scenario. A final ranking will be released after the national championship game in January.

In 2022, TCU was part of College GameDay twice, once in Lawrence, Kansas, and once in Austin, Texas. College GameDay will be at the BIG 12 Championship Game in Arlington, Texas on December 3, 2022. TCU's record when GameDay is present is 8-1.

So What Exactly Is A Horned Frog?

A Unique Mascot

According to National Geographic, a horned frog isn't a frog at all! It's a lizard. One of the main characteristics of the horned frog is very unique and helps to protect itself from prey, this little guy spits blood from his eyes, up to 3 feet in length! In 2009, Nike graced TCU with Pro Combat Uniforms including helmets that had two thin red lines down the middle of the helmet to signify the horny toad lizard's spitting blood - guess it worked!

Y'all Come On Down to Ft. Worth for a Game!

Ft. Worth is the 13th largest city in the country and the DFW metroplex has almost 7 million people. Get the best BBQ, night life, shopping, cowboys, and college sports right here in F-Dub! We love the 817!

It has been said to "keep Austin weird, keep Fort Worth funky, and keep Dallas 30 miles away!"

Horned Frog Players with Super Bowl Rings

The following TCU players have been on Super Bowl Championship teams.

Larry Brown - Dallas (Super Bowl XXVII, XXVIII, XXX)

Norm Bulaich - Baltimore (Super Bowl V)

Tommy Joe Crutcher - Green Bay (Super Bowl I, II)

Charles Davis - Pittsburgh (Super Bowl IX)

Norm Evans - Miami (Super Bowl VI, VII, VIII)

Clint Gresham - Seattle (Super Bowl XLVIII)

Travin Howard - LA Rams (Super Bowl LVI)

Gaylon Hyder - St. Louis (Super Bowl XXXIV)

Cedric James - New England (Super Bowl XXXIX)

Bob Lilly - Dallas (Super Bowl V, VI)

James Maness - Chicago (Super Bowl XX)

Mickey McCarty - Kansas City (Super Bowl IV)

Marshall Newhouse - Green Bay (Super Bowl XLV)

Joe Noteboom - LA Rams (Super Bowl LVI)

Jared Retkofsky - Pittsburgh (Super Bowl XLIII)

Bo Schobel - Indianapolis (Super Bowl XLI)

Michael Toudouze - Indianapolis (Super Bowl XLI, XLIV)

Greg Townsend - Los Angeles Raiders (Super Bowl XVIII)

Ryan Tucker - St. Louis (Super Bowl XXXIV)

Josh Boyce - New England Patriots (Super Bowl XLIX)

Marcus Cannon - New England Patriots (Super Bowl XLIX, LI, and LIII)

Halapoulivaati Vaitai - Philadelphia Eagles (Super Bowl LII)

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2011 Joanie Ruppel

A Shout Out For Your Favorite Mascot! - You guessed it - mine is Super Frog!

steadytracker lm on September 02, 2013:

A great lens. I went to Florida State so I am a Seminoles fan until the day that I die.

Torrs13 on October 29, 2012:

I went to TCU and knew a few people who were Super Frog at the games :) Although TCU is struggling in the Big 12 right now, I have no doubt that next year is going to be better. We have such a young team but there is a lot of talent!

anonymous on December 26, 2011:

Alabama's Big Al.

PainMan1 on September 24, 2011:

Both the tiger & the eagle from the Auburn tigers! War Eagle!