TCU’s scramble for an opponent to replace Cal game includes Alabama and Texas A&M
With TCU’s season-opener game against Cal canceled, the school’s athletic director is now pursuing a replacement opponent for Sept. 5 Week 1 slot or possibly even the prior week, Week Zero.
Alabama, BYU, Liberty and Texas A&M are all possibilities, and given the exceptional nature of the year don’t rule out any of these unlikely candidates as potential TCU opponents for a season that proceeds with extreme caution.
TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati said he’s trying to find a game and, “Everyone who has had or will have a game canceled in the immediate future is [possible] at this point.”
There are holes to fill, and one-year contracts to be constructed in a matter of days with the understanding that all of the work could be flushed minutes after the game is set.
With the Big 12 and SEC as the remaining holdouts among the Power 5 conferences to not cancel its 2020 fall non-conference schedules amid concerns related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Donati’s fellow administrators are also scrambling to find potential opponents on the chance they will actually be able to play this season.
TCU was scheduled to open its season on Sept. 5 against California at Berkeley. That game was canceled when the Pac-12 announced on July 10 that it would only play in-conference games — assuming that any games will be played at all.
The ACC is waiting until late July to make a formal decision on its 2020 fall sports schedules. The Big Ten has also said it will eliminate non-conference games from its fall schedule.
The conference-only schedules effectively bought those leagues an extra month to salvage a season.
Alabama was scheduled to play USC in the Advocare Classic at AT&T Stadium on Sept. 5, however, USC, like Cal, would be prevented from playing that game, too. The Pac-12 cancellations means that both TCU and Alabama are free on the same date, but TCU head coach Gary Patterson is historically careful about scheduling a non-conference opponent like Alabama.
The Dallas Cowboys, which serve as a host to the annual college game, are essentially waiting on Alabama. And Alabama is essentially waiting on the SEC, whose athletic directors met in person at the league offices in Birmingham, Alabama, on Monday.
The NCAA does not appear to be doing much other than deferring to the leagues at this point.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys are still willing to host the game. They just need teams.
Texas A&M was scheduled to host Colorado of the Pac-12 on Sept. 19 in College Station. TCU has an open date that weekend.
While these big name opponents are possible, the more likely scenario for TCU is scheduling an opponent from the Mountain West, BYU or Liberty. Colorado State, Hawaii, UNLV, Nevada and Utah State also all have holes to fill.
BYU, which was once a conference rival of TCU, has already had five of its games canceled.
Liberty, which like BYU operates as a football independent, is proceeding cautiously that it will be able to play its three scheduled games against ACC opponents.
Its season opener is Sept. 5 at Virginia Tech.
TCU, and the Big 12, are operating to keep running as scheduled even as the signs increase everywhere else in America that at least a delay is inevitable.
On Monday, the Patriot League has announced the cancellation of its fall sports. This follow the recent decision of the Ivy League to suspend all fall sports and table the decision to move football to the spring, a move that National Junior College Athletic Association is expected to make.
The Southland Conference remains open, but as we have seen in recent weeks this is all subject to change.
This story was originally published July 13, 2020 at 4:13 PM.
