Long ago in Wacker's first season, the Frogs went down to Austin to play the #2 ranked 'Horns. The Frogs were given no chance and the Longhorn faithful were looking for another 70 point blowout. But, Coach Jim Wacker had other plans...
The Frogs had managed only one win that season, along with a couple of ties. However, the record does not tell the difference in the play or the spirit of the Frogs. There was a sea change from the dismal '82 season to the exuberance of the Wacker era. No matter what, Coach Wacker had his kids believing in themselves, and this day he had them believing that they had an upset in their hands.
Beautiful day. Noon kickoff on Raycom Sports. The Frogs came out hitting. The defense was magnificent, stuffing the Horns on series after series. They forced two fumbles right up into the air which were returned for TDs, which was important. At that time, a fumble recovered on the ground was a dead-ball, and the TCU offense was still getting the timing of Wacker's Veer offense down and we couldn't do much on the ground either.
The officials gave UT a couple of calls that put them in field goal range right before the half. With the kick, it was TCU 14- UT 3 at halftime. The UT faithful were muttering things about "...cockroaches..." and reaching for their Tums. The TCU Showgirls made the famous "HORNED FROG PREID" spelling in front of the Band during the halftime show. I carried a Tuba.
In the second half, TCU was running out of steam. We couldn't get a drive going and the Defense was staying on the field way too long. UT scored again, and again. Late in the 4th, it was TCU 14- UT 17. The Frogs got the ball back with just under 2 minutes.
It was there that the Wacker Era began. The Offense began to methodically move the ball. it was seemingly inexorable. With every first down the UT folk groaned just a little louder. There was desperation in many eyes. With under a minute, TCU had a first and goal at the UT 1.
The Longhorn faithful had put down the Tums and were reaching for the nitro tablets...
First down, no gain. Second down, we got in but the officials didn't give it to us. Third down, sweep left, no gain. Now came the decisive moment.
Wacker had gone for the tie twice previously. This time, he had #2 UT on the ropes. In a classy decision, he went for it. We were stuffed. Final score TCU 14- UT 17.
Yeah, we lost. But even in losing, we played toe-to-toe with probably the best team in the land. The UT bench cleared and their guys were out hugging our guys. To say it was a great football game is to damn the effort with faint praise. This was a example of the game at its best, from a team which had been left for dead for 20 years.
The kids now believed in Jim Wacker, and in themselves. The next season, 1984, was one of the best in TCU history simply because the Frogs literally rose from the long sleep of the dead and put themselves back on the map. Like Liverlips said of the Sun Bowl, it is good to be there at the beginning, and this was one of those beginnings, if not the beginning.
