Texas Longhorns Approaching TCU Horned Frogs Matchup Like 'It's A Championship Game'

The Texas Longhorns lost to the TCU Horned Frogs last season in a heartbreaker. On Saturday, they are out for revenge.

AUSTIN, TX -- The Texas Longhorns were sitting at 6-3 with an outside shot at a Big 12 title last season in Austin when the TCU Horned Frogs came to town. 

The Horned Frogs would go on to win that game 17-10, propelling them to a Big 12 title game, and an eventual College Football Playoff Final appearance. 

And while the Frogs ultimately won neither championship, Texas was sent to the Alamo Bowl, where they lost to Washington.

Flash Forward a year later - almost to the day - and the Longhorns have a chance to be in the same position as TCU was last November... fighting for a Big 12 Championship and a College Football Playoff berth.

So with that in mind, despite the Frogs' 4-5 record, the Horns are approaching Saturday night's tilt with a championship mentality.

“It’s another championship game,” Texas Longhorns defensive back Jahdae Barron said. “It’s going to be fun. We had our battles in the past, but those games don’t mean anything. It’s going to be a whole new game, a clean slate.”

Texas will also get their chance at revenge against the Frogs, with many Texas Players feeling a particular sting from that matchup. 

Texas Longhorns defensive back Jahdae Barron (23) runs for a touchdown after recovering a fumble against the Texas Christian Horned Frogs during the second half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium / Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

That includes linebacker Jaylan Ford, who was part of a Texas defense that held TCU to by far its lowest point total of the season.

“We know what happened when they came into our house and they got that game from us,” Ford said. “It’s us wanting to go get our revenge kind of deal. We’re going on the road, but we’ve got the most respect for TCU. The further you get down the season, the harder the wins become.”

And despite the less-than-ideal season thus far from the Horned Frogs, they still have a lot of talent on the board themselves, including freshman quarterback Josh Hoover, who has thrown for 979 yards and five touchdowns over the last three games in the absence of the injured Chandler Morris.

The Horned Frogs also still have plenty to play for themselves and will approach Texas as a must-win game in terms of their bowl eligibility, in what will likely be the final regular season matchup between the two teams for quite some time. 

“They’ve got really quality players,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “They’ve got a veteran defense. They’ve got athletic quarterbacks. They’ve got good schemes. They’re really good on special teams. We know they’ll be ready to play. We know we’ll get their best shot.”

The Longhorns and Horned Frogs will kick off at 6:30 pm CT, with the game set to be broadcast in the prime time ABC slot.