TCU football preparing for Week Zero opener
TCU football started its summer access portion of preseason camp last week, which is allowed for programs expecting to play Week Zero games during the weekend of Aug. 29. For programs starting the season on Sept. 5, summer access can begin this Friday.
TCU falls into the Week Zero category with a tentative agreement to play on Aug. 29 as a makeup for the canceled Cal game on Sept. 5. TCU’s website lists Aug. 29 as a “TBD” on the football schedule.
The school has yet to sign a formal contract and has not announced an opponent. However, sources said there is a growing belief that, assuming football is played this fall and Big 12 schools can play non-conference opponents, TCU will open its season at UNLV on Aug. 29. UNLV was scheduled to face Cal on Aug. 29, the week before the TCU-Cal game in Berkeley, California.
The Pac-12 opted to play a conference-only schedule last week, leaving schools such as TCU and UNLV scrambling to fill non-conference games that had been scheduled against Pac-12 schools.
If TCU and UNLV play, the game would be at Las Vegas’ new Allegiant Stadium. Allegiant Stadium will host home games for UNLV and the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.
A final decision on the TCU-UNLV game could come as early as this week.
The Horned Frogs are also searching for a new opponent for the home opener on Sept. 12. The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) announced it would postpone fall sports to the spring on Monday, which officially eliminates TCU’s game against Prairie View A&M on Sept. 12.
TCU has flexibility to fill that game. It has open dates on Sept. 5, Sept. 12 and Sept. 19. The school would likely want to face a program that is within driving distance.
At the end of the day, TCU is preparing to play a football season this fall. The Horned Frogs are in the midst of summer access and scheduled to open fall camp on July 30.
Summer access includes walkthroughs, weight training, conditioning and meetings. The amount of time programs can spend with players each week increases from eight hours to 20 hours for summer access.
This story was originally published July 20, 2020 at 3:54 PM.
