Football Preview: Texas vs. TCU

#7 Texas (1-0) vs. #19 Texas Christian (1-0)
Time: 6 pm, Saturday, Sept. 8
Location: Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium
TV: Fox Sports Southwest
Radio: KVET (98.1 FM, 1300 AM)

For the past week, all signs have been pointing to "upset" in this game. Texas looked unsteady at times in its 21-13 win over Arkansas State, while TCU shut out Baylor, 27-0.

While the Longhorns' performance in the opener was shaky, at least it was not of Appalachian State-over-Michigan proportions. Coach Mack Brown and his staff were able to point to some good aspects of the game (defensive tackle Frank Okam and receiver Nate Jones had one of their best games) while zeroing in on areas that need work (running game, finishing strong).

Now TCU comes to town intent on showing that they can be this year's Boise State, an unheralded team that forces its way to a major bowl game. The Horned Frogs make their name on defense - preseason All-American Tommy Blake leads a group that ranked second in the nation in total defense in 2006 and has gone 21 consecutive games without allowing a 100-yard rusher.

Texas and TCU have been playing each other in football for more than 100 years, dating back to 1897. They were rivals in the old Southwest Conference, but have not played each other since 1995, the final year of the SWC. Texas holds a 60-20-1 advantage in the series.

Photo by MotherPie on flickr

Game Notes

Streaks: Through last week, teams from the Big 12 have lost 17 straight games to ranked opponents from other conferences. TCU is 5-0 against Big 12 foes dating back to 2005, and has won nine games in a row since the middle of last season.

Opponents to Watch: Defensive end Tommy Blake shared the cover of Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine this year with Texas' Colt McCoy and A&M's Stephen McGee. The star lineman did not play in TCU's opener against Baylor because of an undisclosed illness, but went through his first full practice in more than a week this week. Leading rusher Aaron Brown (801 yards in 2006) injured his right knee against Baylor and his status remains in doubt for Saturday.

Longhorn Injuries: Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo is out after injuring his right knee against Arkansas State. Receiver Billy Pittman is still nursing a shoulder injury, but now has been suspended for three games for violating NCAA rules when he borrowed a car from a friend this summer. Pittman will be eligible to rejoin the team Sept. 22 against Rice. Backup quarterback Sherrod Harris is out with a knee injury and receive Jordan Shipley (hamstring) is questionable.

Cricket Invasion: The UT campus has battled huge numbers of crickets throughout the summer, even turning off the lights in the tower for two weekends in early July to help keep the critters away. Fans at last weekend's game found thousands of crickets - both live and dead - around the stadium despite the efforts of crews to clean them up during the week. The return of rains this week prior to the game could bring the unwelcome visitor back for Saturday night's contest, so fans should be forewarned.

Tickets: The game is sold out, although tickets are for sale online and at ticket brokerages.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jeff Beckham in Other on September 7, 2007 11:27 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

guest

hgjfhgyhgjfkdhghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhgggggggggggggg

guest

UT: 8,348

TCU: 0

kenneth1

TCU will win. Mark my words.

A bold prediction from someone logged in as "Guest." Here's mine:

Longhorns: 24

Texas Horned Lizards: 7

guest

fuck tcu.

guest

Should be a good game. Looking forward to yelling till my voice gives out tomorrow.

guest

"I may be a UT student and I may not give to shits about football.."

and you may not know the difference between too to and two, but don't let me judge you on that, frogman.

guest

TCU will win. Mark my words.

guest

GO FROGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

guest

TCU won 28-0 over baylor, not 22.

heyzeus

TCU beat Baylor 27-0.

also, wow: a UT student rooting for TCU?

Joel Nihlean

I may be a UT student and I may not give to shits about football and TCU may not know the difference between a toad, a frog and a lizard but...

GO FROGS!!!