Greatest Win in Horned Frog History

[Scarface]

I want to say the Rose Bowl, but the game occurred after we already signed on with the Big East. It was an emotional day, but I'm not sure yet how program-changing the game was. The 2010 win at PAC-12 bound Utah had to have helped to make the Big East's decision to invite TCU an easier one.

Nonetheless, the biggest moment in Horned Frog football history was that morning TCU was invited to the Big East. There is a dramatic increase taking place right now in the amount of money coming to college football's power conferences. Most important, TCU didn't get left behind.



Go Frogs!

 

[BrewingFrog]

Not to nitpick, but we were "only" 16 point dogs in that game. We were 28 pt dogs to OU in 2005.

I had the article from the Valley Morning Star for that day's game (Sun Bowl) with the set-up and "Vegas Line" which was stated as 28 1/2 points. I'm sure that there was some late money coming in on the Frogs that would cause the line in Vegas to tighten up, but when the Star went to press, that was what they had.

We watched the game from a now-closed bar down on South Padre Island (Kelley's Irish Pub) and after every Frog score somebody had to do the math of how much the USCs would have to score to cover... We spent the night running around in Frog colors and getting congratulated by everybody. Even the Aggies, who would suffer another soul-crushing loss in the Sugar Bowl the next day.

The Sun Bowl was a coming out party of sorts. The Rose Bowl was a statement that We Belong Here, with authority!

 

[2314@work]

The Sun Bowl was a coming out party of sorts. The Rose Bowl was a statement that We Belong Here, with authority!

The Alpha to the Omega

 

[Frog-in-law1995]

Searching the Internet for stuff about past TCU football greatness, I came across this 1999 article about the Sun Bowl in the TCU magazine. Enjoy.

http://www.magarchive.tcu.edu/articles/1999-01-F05.asp?issueid=199901

 

[dkfrog]

"defensive coordinator Gary Patterson's defense held USC to an all-time rushing low of minus-23 yards"

Little did we know that this was the man that would take us to the next level...and maybe the man behind it all in the first place...

 

[asleep003]

Stunning the nation in the Sun Bowl doesn't really mean much. I'm sure a few teams stunned someone in a crappy bowl this year but I can't think of them.

Great take Jake.... but the Big 10 will remember the 2011 Rose Bowl, until all who saw it pass away. Though there was no TV audience for the 1939 Sugar Bowl... the Game itself did not measure up to the greatest win... but a great one. Because there were several other teams(undefeated) better than Carnegie Tech, that TCU could have played that year in the Sugar Bowl.

At the end of 2010 season..... Wisconsin most probably was one of the 2 or 3 most feared teams, if not the most feared team in college Football.

That's the difference when you consider the Greatest Win. 1938 gets the nod for the greatest season, only...

Cheers !

ps - we all do look very fondly on the Sun Bowl... but greatest win, No.

 

[Leap Frog]

"defensive coordinator Gary Patterson's defense held USC to an all-time rushing low of minus-23 yards"

Little did we know that this was the man that would take us to the next level...and maybe the man behind it all in the first place...

The man behind it all is most likely Dr.William P.Koehler.

 

[oldscribe]

I cannot argue against any of the games mentioned so far.....rose bowl, wins at long last over arkansas, victories over UT teams, the Sun Bowl surprise, etc., but I would respectfully add a couple of wins over Rice, in 1976 when Frogs had lost 20 in a row over two season, and beat Rice, 28-21, and 1977 when they'd lost 15 in a row and beat Rice, 35-15. It's hard to believe now, but a lot of folks in fW and a lot of folks around TCU were coming to believe that dropping football might be a good idea until that 1976 win, and the 1977 game in Dry's first year came when the same thoughts were in folks' minds. Had TCU not won those games, some of the later ones might never have happened.

 

[2314@work]

I cannot argue against any of the games mentioned so far.....rose bowl, wins at long last over arkansas, victories over UT teams, the Sun Bowl surprise, etc., but I would respectfully add a couple of wins over Rice, in 1976 when Frogs had lost 20 in a row over two season, and beat Rice, 28-21, and 1977 when they'd lost 15 in a row and beat Rice, 35-15. It's hard to believe now, but a lot of folks in fW and a lot of folks around TCU were coming to believe that dropping football might be a good idea until that 1976 win, and the 1977 game in Dry's first year came when the same thoughts were in folks' minds. Had TCU not won those games, some of the later ones might never have happened.

Thank God for 30-95 (25-85). That rule kept UT from continuing its monopoly.

 

[Dutch]

I know I'm "young" compared to some, but nothing, NOTHING, will ever take the place of the Rose Bowl. I mean nothing!! NO national championship, no Big East beat down, no beating of Texas in Austin, nothing. There is no better setting for a football game, there is no bigger game than the granddaddy of them all. Growing up watching the Rose Bowl, to have our team, our small time program, who just years ago was THRILLED to get into the galleryfurniture.com bowl, play on New Years Day in the Rose Bowl and win, will never be outdone. I've come to the fact that I will have no better sports moment in my life. No Rangers World Series victory, no Frogs final four appearance will ever come close.

Sorry folks, let the debate for second continue.

Amen... can't be topped for me by any team for any reason ever.

 

[Dutch]

Nevada beating Boise

That proved there IS a God.

 

[PurplFrawg]

For the #2 spot, the 1998 Sun Bowl would have to rival the 2010 Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl may have cemented our national reputation, but Sun Bowl got it all started. It was the beginning of The Great TCU Football Turnaround. That stunning underdog win over USC on national TV triggered one of the most unparalleled climbs back from oblivion on college football history. From that moment, TCU has gone on to rack up 12 winning seasons in 13 years -- and the sole losing season was a losing season by only a single game.

and it gave Dennis Franchione that national attention that got him outta here, opening the door for the real genius of CGP.

 

[Deep Purple]

Searching the Internet for stuff about past TCU football greatness, I came across this 1999 article about the Sun Bowl in the TCU magazine. Enjoy.

http://www.magarchiv...?issueid=199901

When that story mentioned Josh Harbuck, it brought a smile to my face.

When Josh was in HS, we lived down the street from his uncle (Hal's younger brother), aunt, and their kids -- just two or three blocks over from Wes, in fact. The Harbucks had a teen daughter and a pair of twin boys almost exactly my son's age (TCU class of 2010). During those years, the Harbuck twins and my son became tight running buddies. The twins were constantly in and out of our house, and my son was constantly in and out of theirs. In fact, our two families became friends. Went on a ski vacation together to Angel Fire, NM.

Teen-aged Josh used to come over to visit his relatives from time to time during those years. He always played with the twins and my son, who hero-worshipped him. When we learned Josh was TCU-bound on a football scholarship, that only cemented the boys' hero-worship.

Flash forward about 5 or 6 years to 2003. The twins and my son are now in middle school, and Josh is a young TCU alum and letterman. TCU was playing at Army that year, and we went to West Point for the game. Because of post-9/11 security, we had to park off-campus and take buses to the stadium. These were elementary school buses, and the seats were very close-spaced. I'm not a tall man (only 5'8"), yet my knees were doubled up to my chin. The buses were SRO, and Josh was standing in the aisle, hovering over our seats. As we traversed the campus of the United States Military Academy, he suddenly exclaimed, "Man, the kids at this school must all be rich!"

Startled, I looked up at him and asked, "What do you mean, Josh?"

He grinned and said, "They're all driving Hummers!"