TCU football headed to Houston for the Texas Bowl to face a former SWC rival
TCU football is returning to Houston for a bowl game for the first time in 13 years.
TCU (6-4, 5-4 Big 12) will face Arkansas (3-7, 3-7 SEC) in the Mercari Texas Bowl on Dec. 31 at NRG Stadium in Houston. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
“We’re excited,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “We weren’t in a bowl game last year. We’re excited to play a great university like the University of Arkansas.”
Patterson mentioned his relationship with former TCU great Sam Carter, who is on Arkansas’ staff, as an intriguing storyline. He also pointed to the number of DFW-area kids on Arkansas’ roster as well as the number of Houston-area kids on TCU’s roster.
Patterson and Arkansas coach Sam Pittman both spoke highly of each other as each had early coaching stints at Pittsburg State in Kansas. Neither have coached on the same staff but have crossed paths on the recruiting trail and coaching events.
“TCU is coached by, in my opinion, one of the top head coaches in the country in Gary Patterson,” Pittman said.
Both teams, though, are simply happy to be in a bowl game following a season with plenty of twists and turns amid the corornavirus pandemic. Some thought a bowl season wouldn’t be possible going into the year, particularly after conferences such as the Big Ten and Pac-12 initially decided not to play.
“It’s pretty exciting to have this opportunity,” TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati said. “Having seen what the past nine months have been like for them since the start of the pandemic, and to see the fight and determination day in and day out, has been inspiring. I’m very proud of all of them.”
Tickets are being sold to the general public for a limited capacity crowd through the bowl itself. Capacity is expected to be approximately 20% of NRG Stadium, roughly 14,000. Tickets range from $30-150 and are available through TicketMaster.
TCU and Arkansas have a long history dating to the Southwest Conference days before Arkansas bolted for the SEC following the 1991 season. Since the Southwest Conference rivalry ended, the teams played a home-and-home series in 2016 and 2017. TCU lost a double-overtime game 41-38 in Fort Worth in 2016, and then won at Arkansas 28-7 in 2017.
Arkansas owns the all-time series record 43-25-2. TCU won the first meeting between the schools, 19-2 in 1920.
“You have a great opportunity against an old rival and a chance to end a wild season with a ton of momentum heading into 2021,” Donati said.
TCU will be playing a bowl game in Houston for the first time since joining the Big 12 in 2012. The Frogs last played in a Houston-based bowl in 2007, a 20-13 victory over Houston in the Texas Bowl at then-Reliant Stadium (now NRG Stadium).
The Frogs have played in two other Houston-based bowl games under Gary Patterson. TCU defeated Iowa State 27-24 in the 2005 EV1.net Houston Bowl at Reliant Stadium, and lost to Texas A&M 28-9 in the 2001 galleryfurniture.com Bowl at the old Astrodome. The galleryfurniture.com Bowl in 2001 was Patterson’s first bowl game as TCU’s full-time coach.
Prior to the Patterson era, TCU made two trips to the now-defunct Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston. The Frogs lost to Clemson 23-7 in 1959 at Rice Stadium, and lost to West Virginia 31-14 in 1984 at the Astrodome.
Mercari Texas Bowl
When: Dec. 31, 7 p.m.
Where: NRG Stadium, Houston
TV: ESPN
Teams: TCU (6-4) of the Big 12 and Arkansas (3-7) of the SEC
Tickets: Starting at $45, available through TicketMaster. Capacity is limited to 20%, roughly 14,000.
Notables: Texas A&M defeated Oklahoma State 24-21 in last year’s game. ... Rutgers defeated Kansas State 37-10 in the inaugural game in 2006. ... Current Dallas Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton was the game’s MVP in TCU’s only appearance in it, a 20-13 victory over Houston in 2007. ... Other current NFL quarterbacks to win the bowl game’s MVP award include the Tennessee Titans’ Ryan Tannehill (Texas A&M, 2011) and the Cincinnati Bengals’ Brandon Allen (Arkansas, 2014).
This story was originally published December 20, 2020 at 2:10 PM.
