TCU football vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff: Kickoff time, TV, prediction
Football season is finally here.
TCU opens its season against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, an FCS program that went 2-9 last season. In other words, this should be a nice tune-up game for TCU before it heads to Purdue in two weeks.
The most intriguing part of the game may be the school selling beer at Amon G. Carter Stadium for the first time. That decision has been the No. 1 talking point for TCU fans going into this season, seemingly more than the quarterback competition between Kansas State transfer Alex Delton and true freshman Max Duggan.
Here’s what you need to know for Saturday night’s season opener:
THE DETAILS
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth
TV: FSN (Mark Followill, Brian Baldinger, Lesley McCaslin)
Radio: WBAP 820 AM, KTCU 88.7 FM, Sirius 99, XM 210 (Brian Estridge, John Denton, Landry Burdine)
Spanish Radio: KFZO 99.1 FM (Miguel Cruz, Elvis Gallegos)
ATTENDING THE GAME
Tickets: Available starting at $25 ($15 for groups of 20 or more). May be purchased on school’s website or at the Parrish Family Athletics Ticket Office in Schollmaier Arena beginning at 2 p.m. through halftime on Saturday.
Gates: Open at 5 p.m. with concession stands offering “happy hour” prices including $5 beers. Fans entering the east side of the stadium are encouraged to arrive early to avoid long lines at the gates.
Parking: Lots open five hours before kickoff (2 p.m.). Free parking lots (that don’t allow tailgating) are located at Doxology Bible Church (4805 Arborlawn Drive, 929 spots) and Travis Avenue Baptist Church (800 W Berry Street, 450 spots) with shuttle service beginning three hours prior to kickoff.
Ride share (Uber, Lyft, etc): Pick up and drop off is at University Baptist Church at the corner of Wabash Avenue and McPherson Avenue, northeast of the stadium.
Taxis are allowed to pick up and drop off at the corner of Stadium Drive and Bellaire Drive North, southeast of the stadium.
Frog Alley: Has moved because of the east-side stadium construction. It’s now in front of Schollmaier Arena.
Frog Alley is open three hours before kickoff (4 p.m.) with the team arriving for the “Frog Walk” 2.5 hours before (4:30 p.m.). The marching band will perform one hour before kickoff (6 p.m.).
DID YOU KNOW?
TCU opens the season with the Big 12’s longest active winning streak at three games. … Gary Patterson is 14-4 in season openers. … Patterson has won 17 straight home openers for a 17-1 career mark. … This is the first meeting between TCU and UAPB. TCU is 12-1 against FCS opponents under Patterson. … TCU is picked to finish fourth in the Big 12. The last two times the Frogs were picked to finish fourth or lower, they won the Big 12 (2014) and played in the Big 12 championship game (2017). … UAPB has a local connection. Freshman WR Steven Jones is a North Crowley product.
PREDICTION
Arkansas-Pine Bluff is coming off a 2-9 season. South Dakota State hung 90 points on the Golden Lions last season. TCU will run away with this one and plenty of players will see action.
TCU 66, Arkansas- Pine Bluff 6