TCU Announces 2005 Football Schedule
3/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
March 8, 2005
A new era of TCU Football begins this fall when the Horned Frogs open play in the Mountain West Conference. Highlighting the schedule released today is a nationally-televised home contest against the defending league champion Utah Utes in the Frogs' inaugural MWC game. TCU will play 11 consecutive weekends, finishing up their regular season on November 12, the earliest closing date in school history. Game times are not yet available.
"Two of our first three games are against Oklahoma and Utah, two of the top five teams in the country last year," said TCU head coach Gary Patterson. And three of our first four conference games are against teams that went to bowl games last season, so we have to get ourselves ready to play."
The Horned Frogs, coming off a 5-6 season in their final year in Conference USA, open the 2005 season at Oklahoma on Saturday, September 3. The Sooners finished the 2004 season ranked third in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' polls. The Sooners lead the all-time series, 6-3, including a narrow 10-9 win in their last meeting in 1998. The last time the Frogs traveled to Norman TCU came away with a 20-7 victory in 1996.
TCU will make the trek along I-30 to Dallas on Saturday, September 10, for the 86th meeting with Metroplex rival, SMU. In a series that dates back to 1915, the Frogs hold a slim 40-38-7 advantage, but have captured the "Iron Skillet," which goes to the winning team, in each of the last six contests, including a 44-0 rout of the Mustangs in Fort Worth last September.
The Frogs' 2005 home opener and their initial Mountain West Conference battle is set for Thursday, September 15, when the defending MWC champion Utah Utes visit Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth in a nationally-televised ESPN/ESPN2 contest. The Utes are coming off a perfect 12-0 campaign and ranked fourth in the final Associated Press poll and fifth in the coaches' poll. They lead the all-time series over TCU, 2-0, after sweeping a pair of games in the mid-1990s.
The Frogs first taste of the road in the Mountain West Conference will come in Provo, Utah on Saturday, September 24, when TCU takes on BYU. The Cougars have won the last three meetings over the Frogs to take a three games to one lead in the all-time series.
TCU returns home the following week when the New Mexico Lobos come calling on Saturday, October 1. The series is knotted at three wins apiece after the teams met six times between 1991 and 1997. The Lobos have won the last two encounters, including a 40-10 win in Fort Worth in 1997, the last time the two schools hooked up.
The Frogs travel to Larmaie, Wyoming for a clash with the Wyoming Cowboys on Saturday, October 8. Wyoming won the only previous contest played between the two schools, a 34-27 decision in Fort Worth in 1998.
TCU steps out of conference action for the final time in 2005 when they host the Army Black Knights on Saturday, October 15. The Frogs and Cadets have met each of last four years as Conference USA opponents, with TCU winning each contest, including a 21-17 victory at West Point last fall.
The Frogs keep the academy theme going the following week when they travel to Colorado Springs, Colorado to face the Air Force Falcons. TCU has won each of the last two meetings with Air Force to take a 2-1-1 lead in the all-time series.
TCU completes the road portion of its 2005 schedule at San Diego State on Saturday, October 29. It will be the first meeting ever between the Frogs and Aztecs.
The final two games of the regular season are set for Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday, November 5 and Saturday, November 12 when the Frogs host Colorado State and UNLV respectively. The Frogs and Rams have met twice, with each team winning once. TCU's victory came by a 17-3 margin in the 2002 AXA Liberty Bowl when both teams were conference champions. The Frogs have captured two of the three previous meetings with UNLV, as the teams met each year from 1996 to 1998.
According to the league offices, selected games could still shift to a Thursday or Friday within the scheduled weekend as the conference continues to address some additional slots for its television partners. In addition, a comprehensive television schedule will be released at a later date once all details have been confirmed.
2005 TCU football schedule
DAY DATE OPPONENT SITE
Saturday September 3 Oklahoma Norman, Oklahoma
Saturday September 10 SMU Dallas, Texas
Thursday September 15 Utah* Fort Worth, Texas
Saturday September 24 BYU* Provo, Utah
Saturday October 1 New Mexico* Fort Worth, Texas
Saturday October 8 Wyoming* Laramie, Wyoming
Saturday October 15 Army Fort Worth, Texas
Saturday October 22 Air Force* Colorado Springs, Colorado
Saturday October 29 San Diego State* San Diego, California
Saturday November 5 Colorado State* Fort Worth, Texas
Saturday November 12 UNLV* Fort Worth, Texas
All game dates are subject to change. Game Times TBA.
*-Denotes Mountain West Conference game
