TCU-Arkansas big for Big 12 & TCU
The Big 12 is sorely in need of a big nonconference victory, and it doesn’t have to wait for the OU-Ohio State game Saturday night. A TCU victory over Arkansas in the Ozarks would get the Big 12 off to a good start.
And TCU coach Gary Patterson doesn’t shy from calling it a big game. But not because it would help the Big 12. Because it would help the Horned Frogs.
“We understand that if you want to be a top25, top-10 team, you’ve got to win big games in nonconference, and we consider Arkansas a big game,” Patterson said.
For good reason. Arkansas is a big game. The Razorbacks reside in the SEC, and the Big 12 needs to take advantage of all coaches to pop an SEC opponent. The Big 12’s horrid Week 1 — 0-2 vs. Power-5 conference opponents, plus Baylor’s loss to Liberty — means the Big 12 has tons of work to wipe away its reputation as by far the least of the Power-5 leagues.
But Patterson considers Arkansas a big game because the Hogs will test the Frogs’ manhood.
“You’ve got to be able to play people, like Arkansas, that can come right at you,” Patterson said. “They want to break your will.”
Under Brent Bielema, Arkansas plays smashmouth football. “They play in a conference where that’s the way people like to play,” Patterson said. “For us, that’s a great challenge to be able to show, because if you can do that, on a national landscape, you’re trying to gain some confidence.
“For us to get to where we want to get to, then you have to have an opportunity to beat a team like Arkansas.”