TCU announces 2006 schedule
3/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
March 1, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas -- A pair of Big 12 opponents to open the season, including a Sept. 16 home game with Texas Tech, highlights the 2006 TCU football schedule announced today. A 12th game is still pending.The defending Mountain West Conference champion Horned Frogs begin defense of their league title on Thursday, Sept. 28, when they host BYU.
Pending the 12th contest, TCU currently has five home games on the 2006 slate.
TCU has MWC home dates with BYU (Sept. 28), Wyoming (Oct. 28), San Diego State (Nov. 18) and Air Force (Dec. 2). The Frogs travel to Utah (Oct. 5), UNLV (Nov. 4), New Mexico (Nov. 11) and Colorado State (Nov. 25).
TCU opens the 2006 campaign at Baylor. The Frogs and Bears will be meeting for the first time since 1995, their final season together in the Southwest Conference. Baylor won that game 27-24 in Waco and holds a 49-47-7 series edge over TCU.
The Frogs host Texas Tech on Sept. 16 at Amon Carter Stadium. TCU dropped a 2004 contest in Lubbock in the teams' first meeting since the dissolution of the Southwest Conference in 1995. Texas Tech holds a 28-22-3 advantage in the series and will be playing in Fort Worth for the first time since a 24-17 TCU win in 1994.
Including last year's season-opening 17-10 win at Oklahoma and a 27-24 victory over Iowa State in the EV1.net Houston Bowl, TCU will face four Big 12 opponents in a stretch of 14 games.
"Our schedule is even tougher than last year," TCU coach Gary Patterson said. "We open with two Big 12 teams. Texas Tech is a Top 20 team, while Baylor is vastly improved and almost went to a bowl game.
"We then begin conference play with two teams (BYU and Utah) who were at the top of the standings and went to bowl games. Utah beat a great ACC team in Georgia Tech and BYU played a very good Cal team down to the wire.
"We have a lot of work to do in order to be the team we want to be and compete at a high level."
The Sept. 28 Mountain West Conference opener with BYU will see a rematch of last year's thriller in which TCU rallied from an 18-point third-quarter deficit for a 51-50 overtime victory in Provo.
It will also be the first of two straight Thursday dates for the Frogs as they head to Salt Lake City for an Oct. 5 contest at Utah. In its MWC debut last season, TCU defeated Utah 23-20 in overtime to snap the Utes' 18-game winning streak.
Following the Utah game, TCU will have an open weekend on Oct. 14. The 16-day break from action will end on Oct. 21 when TCU travels to West Point to face Army. The Frogs and Black Knights, former Conference USA rivals, will be meeting for the sixth straight season. TCU won 38-17 in Fort Worth last year and is 6-0 in the series.
The Frogs return to Amon Carter Stadium for the first time in a month when they host Wyoming on Oct. 28. TCU defeated the Cowboys 28-14 last season in Laramie.
The Frogs have back-to-back road games Nov. 4 and Nov. 11 at UNLV and New Mexico, respectively. TCU defeated the Rebels, 51-3, in last year's regular-season finale while posting a 49-28 win over the Lobos.
San Diego State comes to Amon Carter Stadium on Nov. 18. The Frogs defeated the Aztecs 23-20 in San Diego last season.
TCU's final MWC road date is Nov. 25 at Colorado State. The Frogs clinched their first outright conference championship since 1958 when they defeated the Rams 33-6 at Amon Carter Stadium last year.
TCU will close the regular season with a Dec. 2 home date versus Air Force. It will be the first December regular-season home game for TCU since Dec. 2, 1972 versus SMU. It will also be the latest regular-season date for the Frogs since a Dec. 7, 2001 contest at Southern Miss. TCU defeated Air Force, 48-10, last year in Colorado Springs.
The Frogs, who closed the 2005 campaign ranked ninth by USA Today and 11th in the Associated Press poll, have won 10 in a row for the nation's second-longest current winning streak.
2006 TCU Football Schedule
Sept. 2 - at Baylor
Sept. 16 - vs. Texas Tech
Sept. 28 - vs. BYU*
Oct. 5 - at Utah*
Oct. 21 - at Army
Oct. 28 - vs. Wyoming*
Nov. 4 - at UNLV*
Nov. 11 - at New Mexico*
Nov. 18 - vs. San Diego State*
Nov. 25 - at Colorado State*
Dec. 2 - vs. Air Force*
*Denotes Mountain West Conference game
All times to be announced
