TCU football will play Louisiana in the New Mexico Bowl. Fans aren’t happy.
The TCU football team is headed to Albuquerque for the postseason.
On Sunday, the Horned Frogs were selected to play in the New Mexico Bowl at University Stadium on the campus of New Mexico.
TCU will face Louisiana on Saturday, Dec. 28, at 1:15 p.m. CST on ESPN. The Horned Frogs will enter bowl season as one of the hottest teams in the country with five wins in their final six games and an 8-4 regular-season record.
Louisiana went 10-3 this season and 7-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Ragin’ Cajuns lost the Sun Belt Conference championship game, 31-3, to Marshall on Saturday.
The selection to New Mexico comes as a bit as a surprise as most pundits projections had TCU landing in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis against a SEC opponent. There was also internal hope that the Horned Frogs would earn a trip to Houston for the Texas Bowl.
Texas Tech earned the bid to Memphis while Baylor was selected for the Texas Bowl. Elsewhere in the Big 12, Kansas State was selected for the Rate Bowl in Phoenix against Rutgers.
The social reaction online was one of disappointment by TCU fans as they were expecting an opportunity to play another power conference opponent.
There were also questions about whether former athletics director Jeremiah Donati turned down a potential invite to the Liberty Bowl. Donati accepted the AD job at South Carolina and the Gamecocks officially announced the hire on Thursday.
The Star-Telegram reached out to TCU and a school spokesperson was adamant that TCU didn’t and wouldn’t turn down an invite to a bowl game and that TCU’s selection was based in part on the log jam of 8-4 teams in the Big 12. The three other teams listed above were picked for the more appealing destinations and matchups.
While it’s not the bowl TCU envisioned landing at, it’s still an opportunity to end the season with another victory and continue building momentum with the Horned Frogs having just signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the Big 12.
Tickets for the New Mexico Bowl are available at GoFrogs.com.
This story was originally published December 8, 2024 at 2:08 PM.
