An undefeated Horned Frogs team led by Davey O’Brien crushed an undefeated Baylor University Bears squad 39-7 on Oct. 29, 1938 before going on to win the national championship.
On Saturday, in front of a sold-out crowd at Amon G. Carter Stadium, the Frogs will face a Baylor team that’s 2-0 for the first time since 2005.
Quarterback Andy Dalton made his collegiate debut in 2007 against Baylor. As a redshirt freshman, he threw for 205 yards and a touchdown, leading the Frogs to a 27-0 victory.
Three years later, Dalton is one win away from tying the Mountain West Conference record for most wins, held by former Brigham Young University quarterback Max Hall. If Baylor, led by sophomore quarterback Robert Griffin defeats the Frogs, Baylor will have its first win against a Top 5 team since 1985.
Griffin, who missed most of the 2009 season with an injury, threw for just under 300 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-6 win over University of Buffalo on Saturday.
TCU football head coach Gary Patterson said Griffin is a great athlete with world-class speed.
“You have to worry about that. He can throw the football. He makes good decisions,” Patterson said. “The team plays with a lot more confidence when he’s on the field than they did a year ago.”
Patterson said he was also impressed with the improvement of Baylor’s defense.
“I admire the job they’re doing,” Patterson said. “They’ve gotten a lot faster on defense. They are very physical.”
Patterson also said the rivalry hasn’t gone away for alumni.
“It’s going to be a fun game,” Patterson said. “It will be kind of like the old Southwest Conference. We’re even going to play in the daytime.”
The series began in 1899 with a scoreless tie. The two schools played every year (sometimes twice a year) until 1996, when the Southwest Conference disbanded.
Saturday’s matchup is the 106th between the two schools. The all-time series is tied at 49-49-7. Patterson said the game is also special because many of the athletes played each other in high school.
“Whether it’s Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M or Texas Tech, or even Oklahoma, you see a bunch of kids giving hugs and shaking hands after the game,” Patterson said. “They played against each other in high school or played on the same teams.”
First-team All-Mountain West Conference offensive lineman Marcus Cannon and starting wide receiver Antoine Hicks will play Saturday after missing last week’s game against Tennessee Tech, Patterson said. Safety Tyler Luttrell will miss the game with a hamstring injury.
Kickoff for the contest will be at 3:30 p.m. The game will air on Versus.
TCU vs. Baylor
When: Saturday, Sept. 18
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Where: Amon G. Carter Stadium
Televised: Versus
