Win over Bears puts Frogs in Big 12 title game
FORT WORTH — All No. 12 TCU has to do to get into the Big 12 championship game is beat one-win Baylor at home Friday.
While simple enough in theory, the Horned Frogs (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) aren’t looking ahead to a possible rematch against No. 4 Oklahoma, which won 38-20 on Nov. 11.
“Anybody thinks this is one of those check-mark games … it will not be like that,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “I expect to get gadgets, I expect to get a blowout game plan from them. From reverses to double passes, to everything you can think of in this ballgame. They don’t have anything to lose.”
The Horned Frogs are heavily favored in the regular-season finale — a year after a 62-22 win at Waco that was their most lopsided in the rivalry that dates to 1899.
“The Big 12 championship, it’s a big deal. Right now, we’re just thinking about Baylor and trying to get through that game,” said TCU senior cornerback Ranthony Texada, who returned an interception for a touchdown in last year’s game. “We have to take them very serious.”
The Bears (1-10, 1-7) are wrapping up their first season under coach Matt Rhule — a transition year when quarterback Charlie Brewer is among 11 true freshman starters this season. Baylor has had 33 freshmen or sophomores start games.
Rhule told his team this week that it has been a tough year, a hard year. He also talked about how much they have grown as a group.
“This is one last opportunity for us to look and see how far away we are from getting to where we want to be,” Rhule said. “We’d like to be TCU at some point in terms of where they are. We’d like to be Oklahoma. We’d like to be in the contention for the Big 12 championship game. We’ll play our hearts out.”