Baylor–TCU Football Rivalry
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Baylor–TCU football rivalry, also referred to as The Revivalry, is an American college football
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
between the Baylor Bears and
TCU Horned Frogs The TCU Horned Frogs are the athletic teams that represent Texas Christian University. The 18 varsity teams participate in NCAA Division I and in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for football, competing mostly in the Big 12 Conference. The sc ...
. The first game of the 118-game series was played in 1899, making the rivalry one of the oldest and most played in FBS college football.


History

Baylor was chartered in 1845 by The Republic of Texas and founded as a Baptist institution in the same year with its original location in Independence, Texas. Baylor permanently moved to
Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...
forty years later, in 1885. TCU was founded in 1873 as AddRan Male and Female College by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark, in Thorp Springs, Texas, and was later renamed AddRan Christian University and relocated to Waco in 1895. AddRan was renamed Texas Christian University in 1902 and finally relocated to Fort Worth in 1910 after a fire destroyed the school's main administration building in Waco. First contested in 1899, and having been played 117 times, the rivalry is one of the oldest and most-played series in college football history. The two schools, which were once both located in Waco, Texas, are separated by only 90 miles. Between 1899 and 1910, when both schools were located in Waco, the Bears and Horned Frogs frequently faced off multiple times per season. In the early years of the rivalry, TCU and Baylor did not play as conference foes. Like most schools of that era, Baylor was independent until becoming a founding member of the
Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...
(SWC) in 1915. TCU subsequently joined the SWC in 1923, after competing as an independent (1896–1913 and 1921–22). After TCU joined, Baylor and TCU played 69 times as SWC foes, until the SWC disbanded in 1995. After a 10-year hiatus, the universities renewed the rivalry in a non-conference series in 2006–2007 and 2010–2011. During this series, TCU competed in the
Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations ...
. TCU joined Baylor in the
Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...
in 2012, and the rivalry game is now played annually as part of the teams' regular season conference schedules. The 2014 contest marked the first time in 110 meetings that both Baylor and TCU faced off as ranked teams (#5 Baylor hosted #9 TCU). In one of the wildest games of the season, the Bears won an offensive shootout 61–58, overcoming a 58–37 deficit in the 4th quarter. The loss effectively cost the Horned Frogs a chance at making the first ever College Football Playoff. Since Baylor lost to West Virginia the following week, they too were left out of the Playoff as they finished as Big 12 co-champions along with TCU. The committee chose Big Ten Champion Ohio State instead of Baylor or TCU. This prompted controversy as TCU was ranked #3 heading into conference championship weekend (and fell to #6 afterwards), although they did not play in a conference championship, as the Big 12 did not have one at the time and simply awarded the championship to the team with the best record in the conference. The 2015 contest again featured two ranked teams (#15 TCU hosted #7 Baylor).


Parity

The rivalry is one of the most unusual in college football, not only because it features two private Christian schools, but also because of its historic and recent parity. In 117 meetings, TCU leads the series 57–53–7. Since resumption of the rivalry in 2006, the series is led by TCU 10–4, and since TCU joined Baylor in the Big 12 in 2012, the Big 12 series record is held by TCU 7–3. Only the
ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
between the Virginia Cavaliers and North Carolina Tar Heels, SEC
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
between the Georgia Bulldogs and
Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...
,
Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
between the
Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...
and
Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...
, and non-conference
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
between the Kansas Jayhawks and
Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...
are similarly competitive over 100+ meetings.


Game sites

The Bears have used several playing sites throughout the rivalry. No records are available to determine where Baylor hosted home games prior to 1902. From 1902 to 1925, Baylor hosted most of their home games at Carroll Field, an on-campus facility, and at Waco's old Cotton Palace, off campus. Baylor played all home games at the Cotton Palace from 1926–29 before returning to Carroll Field for all home games from 1930–35. The Bears moved off the main campus in 1936 to the newly built Waco Stadium, renamed Municipal Stadium in 1942. From 1950 through 2013, Baylor home games were played at Baylor Stadium, renamed Floyd Casey Stadium in 1989. Since 2014, Baylor home games have been played in
McLane Stadium McLane Stadium is an American football stadium in Waco, Texas owned and operated by Baylor University. Originally named "Baylor Stadium", the facility's name was changed to "McLane Stadium" in December 2013 to honor Baylor alumnus and business ma ...
, adjacent to Baylor's campus and the Brazos River. The Horned Frogs played their Fort Worth home games at Clark Field until 1930, when TCU opened the new
Amon G. Carter Stadium Amon G. Carter Stadium is an open-air football stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. It is the home stadium of the TCU Horned Frogs football team. It is named after Amon G. Carter, a prominent Fort Worth busin ...
. Since the 1930 opening, Amon G. Carter Stadium was expanded and renovated on multiple occasions, the most recent of which cost approximately $164 M, was completely funded by private donors, and was completed in 2012.


Close games and shutouts

Football games between Baylor and TCU have been decided by 7 points or less 44 times, including 7 ties. Several of the Bears and Horned Frogs' meetings since the rivalry's annual renewal in 2010 have featured memorable, close contests. In 2011, Baylor notched a season-opening 50–48 win, with Robert Griffin III, leading a fourth-quarter Baylor drive to set up Aaron Jones' game-winning field goal over the Horned Frogs. In 2014, Baylor came back from a 21-point, fourth quarter deficit by scoring 24 unanswered points to win the game 61–58 with a last second Chris Callahan FG. The outcome of the 2014 matchup and TCU's fourth-quarter collapse was critical in knocking TCU out of the inaugural College Football Playoff; both Baylor and TCU would go on to compile 11–1 (8–1 Big 12) regular season records and ultimately neither team got a Playoff spot as the committee chose 12-1 (and eventual national champion) Ohio State instead. Many have speculated that neither team was chosen because they were co-champions and the Big 12 did not have an actual conference championship at the time (the Big 12 title was awarded to the team with the best conference record). In 2015, the rivalry game was played on Thanksgiving Friday night in Fort Worth, with temperatures in the 30s and pouring rain. After a lightning-delayed start, the high-power spread offenses managed only 14 points apiece in regulation, with TCU securing a 28–21 second-overtime victory with a fourth down stop. In 2019, Baylor outlasted TCU in triple overtime to remain unbeaten. In 2022, undefeated 10-0 TCU won a hard-fought game, 29-28, by lining up to kick a walk-off 40 yard field goal on a running clock. There have been 36 shutouts in the series; the most recent of which was a 27–0 TCU win in 2007 in Fort Worth.


Homecoming

TCU holds the record as Baylor's most common opponent for its annual Homecoming game. The rivalry has been showcased as Baylor's Homecoming game 31 times, but TCU holds a 16–15 lead in these games. Baylor won the last of these Homecoming match-ups in 1995, 27–24.


Thanksgiving

In the early years of the series, Baylor and TCU played 8 times on Thanksgiving Day with Baylor earning a 6–2 advantage. Baylor won in 1901, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1915 and 1919. TCU won in 1904 and 1917. The rivalry has also been played as a Thanksgiving weekend game 9 other years with Baylor holding a 6–3 lead; Baylor winning in 1901, 1903, 1916, 1976, 1977 and 2013, and TCU winning in 1905, 2015, and 2017. The Baylor–TCU game was most recently featured as a Thanksgiving weekend game on November 24, 2017.


Other events

In 1971, TCU coach
Jim Pittman James Noel Pittman (August 28, 1925 – October 30, 1971) was a college football coach at Tulane University and Texas Christian University. Career A native of Boyle, Mississippi, Pittman played at Mississippi State University. From 1966 to 197 ...
collapsed and died on the sideline in Waco during the rivalry game, the only time in collegiate history that a coach died during a game.


Notable players and coaches

The rivalry has featured: *2 Recognized National Championships: 1935 TCU (Paul O. Williamson System) and 1938 TCU (
AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broad ...
: Consensus #1) *5 College Football Hall of Fame Head Coaches: Baylor - Morley Jennings,
Grant Teaff Grant Garland Teaff (; born November 12, 1933) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at McMurry University (1960–1965), Angelo State University (1969–1971), and Baylor University (1972–1992), compiling ...
; TCU -
Matty Bell William Madison "Matty" Bell (February 22, 1899 – June 30, 1983) was an American football player, coach of football and basketball, and college athletics administrator. He played for Centre, captain of its 1918 team. He served as the head footbal ...
,
Dutch Meyer Leo Robert "Dutch" Meyer (January 15, 1898 – December 3, 1982) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Texas Christian University (TCU) from 1934 to 1952, compiling a record ...
,
Francis Schmidt Francis Albert Schmidt (December 3, 1885 – September 19, 1944) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at the University of Tulsa (1919–1921), the University of Arka ...
*2 Heisman Trophy winners:
Davey O'Brien Robert David O'Brien (June 22, 1917 – November 18, 1977) was an American football quarterback. He played college football at Texas Christian University (TCU) and professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the Philadelphia Eagle ...
for TCU in 1938 and
Robert Griffin III Robert Lee Griffin III (born February 12, 1990), nicknamed RG3 and RGIII, is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at Baylor, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior, and was selected second overa ...
for Baylor in 2011. *1
Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best al ...
winner: Davey O'Brien for TCU in 1938. *1
Davey O'Brien Award The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National Co ...
winner: Robert Griffin III for Baylor in 2011 and Max Duggan for TCU in 2022. *2x
Sammy Baugh Trophy The Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of state auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More ...
winner:
Don Trull Donald Dean Trull (born October 20, 1941) is a former American football quarterback in the American Football League. Trull played football collegiately at Baylor University, where he was an All-American and twice won the Sammy Baugh Trophy as t ...
for Baylor in 1962 and 1963. *1
Manning Award The Manning Award has been presented annually since the 2004 football season to the collegiate American football quarterback as judged by the Sugar Bowl Committee to be the best in the United States. It is the only quarterback award that incl ...
winner: Robert Griffin III for Baylor in 2011. *1
Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College F ...
winner:
Jake Kirkpatrick Jacob Daniel Kirkpatrick (born July 7, 1987) is a former American football Center (American football), center for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He played col ...
for TCU in 2010. *3
Jim Thorpe Award The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Paycom ...
winners:
Thomas Everett Thomas Gregory Everett (born November 21, 1964) is a former American football safety in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football at Baylor University, where he ...
for Baylor in 1986, Trevon Moehrig for TCU in 2020 and Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson for TCU in 2022. *1
Lou Groza Award The Lou Groza Award is presented annually to the top college football placekicker in the United States by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The award is named after former Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns player Lou Groza. It has be ...
winner:
Michael Reeder Michael Reeder is a former American football placekicker who played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs football team of Texas Christian University and was recognized as a consensus All-American. College career In his sophomore season, Ree ...
for TCU in 1995. *2x
Ray Guy Award The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding punter as adjudged by the Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, an All-American for Southern Mississippi and an All-Pro in the National Foo ...
winner:
Daniel Sepulveda Daniel Wade Sepulveda (born January 12, 1984) is a former American football punter who played five seasons in the National Football League (NFL), all with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for Baylor University, earned All- ...
for Baylor in 2004 and 2006. *2
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award is an award given annually to the "top offensive player in Division I football who also exhibits the enduring characteristics that define Earl Campbell: integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, drive, comm ...
winners: Bryce Petty for Baylor in 2013 and
Trevone Boykin Trevone Dequan Boykin (born August 22, 1993) is an American football quarterback for Galgos de Tijuana of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA). He played college football at Texas Christian University (TCU) and was signed by the Se ...
for TCU in 2014. *1
Fred Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...
winner:
Corey Coleman Corey Defians Coleman (born July 6, 1994) is an American football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football at Baylor and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first ...
for Baylor in 2015. *1
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is given annually in the United States to the nation's top upperclassmen quarterback in college football. Candidates are judged on accomplishments on the field as well as on their character, scholastic achievemen ...
winner: Max Duggan for TCU in 2022. Other notable players that played in this rivalry: Baylor - Mike Singletary,
Hayden Fry John Hayden Fry (February 28, 1929 – December 17, 2019) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 1962 to 1972, North Texas State University—now know ...
,
Larry Isbell Lawrence Dale Isbell (January 8, 1930 – October 31, 1978) was an American baseball and gridiron football player. He was one of the rare players to be All-American in both baseball and in football. He was an All-American quarterback in 1951, wh ...
, Bill Glass,
Larry Elkins Lawrence Clayton "Larry" Elkins (born July 28, 1943) is a former American football player. He was a two-time All-American flanker at Baylor and later for the AFL's Houston Oilers. Early life Elkins is the youngest of ten children. One of his ...
,
Santana Dotson Santana N. Dotson (born December 19, 1969) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League. He was a part of Houston's Yates High School football team when it won the 1985 5A state championship. While at Baylor, ...
TCU -
Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football player and coach. During his college and professional careers, he most notably played quarterback, but also played as a safety and punter. He ...
,
Bob Lilly Robert Lewis Lilly (born July 26, 1939), nicknamed "Mr. Cowboy", is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle. After playing college football for the TCU Horned Frogs, he played for the Dallas Cowboys of the Nat ...
,
Andy Dalton Andrew Gregory Dalton (born October 29, 1987) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Red Rifle", Dalton previously played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, and ...
,
Jerry Hughes Jerry Ray Hughes Jr. (born August 13, 1988) is an American football defensive end for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at TCU, where he was twice recognized as a consensus All-American befor ...
, Jim Swink,
Ki Aldrich Charles Collins "Ki" Aldrich (June 1, 1916 – March 12, 1983) was an American football player. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1960. Early life Aldrich was born in Rogers, Texas and attended Temple High School in T ...


Game results


See also

*
List of NCAA college football rivalry games This is a list of rivalry games in college football in the United States. The list also shows any trophy awarded to the winner of the rivalry between the teams. NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ...
*
List of most-played college football series in NCAA Division I This is a list of the most-played college football series in NCAA Division I. The Lehigh–Lafayette rivalry, known as "The Rivalry," is the most-played in Division I at 157 games. Lehigh and Lafayette are members of the Football Championship Su ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baylor-TCU football rivalry Baylor Bears football TCU Horned Frogs football College football rivalries in the United States 1899 establishments in Texas