Everyone knows about the Iron Skillet, the battle between SMU and TCU, and the matchup between TCU and Baylor. But there is another rivalry in the Big 12 conference: The Battle for the Saddle, a game between the TCU Frogs and Texas Tech Raiders. 

According to TCU Athletics, the Saddler Trophy was made by M.L. Leddy’s Boots & Saddlery of Fort Worth. The trophy has the logos of TCU and Tech on it, representing the years-long rivalry.

This battle is also known as the West Texas Championship-Battle for the Saddle. This trophy, passed to the winning team each year, features plaques with the score.

TCU and Tech have been rivals since 1926. The Saddler Trophy was later implemented from 1961-1970. However, the trophy went missing, and the rivalry title disappeared. The battle was brought back in 2017.

TCU and Tech played each other every football season from 1926 to 1995 as non-conference opponents. The first time they played each other in an actual conference game was when Texas Tech became a part of the Southwestern Conference in 1958. 

After declaring rivalry in the Southwestern Conference, the teams stopped playing each other in 1995 after the conference was demolished.

After the Southwestern Conference was demolished, both teams joined different conferences, and they ended up not playing each other at all. Forcing TCU to get more involved with other rivals they had like Baylor, SMU and UT.

When Tech and TCU did get the chance to play each other, it was a home series game that only happened in 2002 and 2006. Both teams won at their home field during this period.

When TCU joined the Big 12 on July 1 of 2012, the rivalry returned. TCU and Tech have been competing against each other every year ever since. 

At the beginning of the time in which TCU and Tech started to play each other, TCU beat Texas Tech every single year until 1936, when Tech defeated TCU for the first time with a score of 0-7.

To date, TCU has won seven out of the last 10 meetings with Tech. They hope to make this weekend the eighth.

Texas Tech had the longest winning streak with six wins in a row from 1973-1978 and then 1985-1990. However, TCU had the largest scoring game when they beat Texas Tech 82-27 in 2012.  This was also the most points scored in Big 12 conference history.

Last year, Tech took home the Saddle Trophy after beating TCU 35-28. This TCU loss against Tech snapped their 4-game winning streak.

The Frogs take on the Raiders this Saturday at home with kickoff starting at 2:30 p.m. CDT. The game can be streamed on Fox Sports.