When TCU joined the Big 12 conference in 2012, no one expected the Horned Frogs to compete for Big 12 titles, but they have been a thorn in the Longhorns’ side.

“It’s a team that quite frankly has had our program’s number for the last few years,” Texas head coach Tom Herman said in September 2018 before UT’s game against TCU.

Herman and company won that 2018 matchup, but the win was a rare occurrence for the Longhorns. Last season, then-junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger threw four interceptions in Texas’ upset loss in Fort Worth.

Texas has held the all-time 63–26–1 record ever since the two teams first played in 1897. After a 1995 Longhorn victory, the two squads would only meet once in 2007 before TCU joined the Big 12 in 2012. Since then, TCU has been one of Texas’s toughest competitors. 

GAME TO REMEMBER:

There’s no better game to sum up recent Texas-TCU history than the first time the two teams met as conference foes in 2012.

The Horned Frogs had just joined the Big 12 and were headed to Austin for Thanksgiving Day.

The 8–2 Longhorns were ranked No. 18 and still had slim BCS bowl game hopes with sophomore quarterback David Ash at the helm.

But the underdog Horned Frogs, in a role they would continue to play over the next decade, didn’t make things easy for the Longhorns.

Ash led Texas right down the field on the first drive of the game, but the quarterback made a mistake that would foreshadow the rest of the day for Texas when he threw a red zone interception, one of four turnovers for the Longhorns.

TCU followed the interception with a 94-yard drive. The Horned Frogs, who had contributed 217 yards on the ground, held a 20-6 lead in the fourth quarter after another red zone interception and a fumble from Ash in the second quarter.

But hope came for the Longhorns in the form of backup quarterback junior Case McCoy, who delivered a touchdown in the fourth quarter to bring Texas within one score at 20-13.

After the defense did its part and forced a three-and-out, the Texas offense received the ball with 1:44 left in the game and a chance for McCoy’s second last-minute Thanksgiving Day comeback after he led the Longhorns past Texas A&M in dramatic fashion in 2011.

But McCoy threw Texas’ fourth turnover of the game, dousing any comeback hopes for the Longhorns and eliminating the outside chance of a BCS bowl.

The 2012 matchup was an eerily similar game to the 2019 loss, where the Longhorns also notched their third loss of the season due to four turnovers, dashing their Big 12 title hopes.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING:

Oct. 26, 2019: UT at TCU, Amon G. Carter Stadium, 27-37

Sept. 22, 2018: UT vs. TCU, Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, 31-16

Nov. 4, 2017: UT at TCU, Amon G. Carter Stadium, 7-24

Nov. 25, 2016: UT vs. TCU, Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, 9-31

Oct. 3, 2015: UT at TCU, Amon G. Carter Stadium, 7-50