FORT WORTH, Texas — Have you ever wondered why the hate is so deeply personal between TCU and Texas, especially for older alumni?
Consider 61 years ago when legendary Texas Longhorns football coach Darrell Royal called TCU “a cockroach,” or a damn cockerroach in his best drawl.
It came after 6-0 loss to a bad TCU team that cost Texas the national championship
The Longhorns were 8-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation, winning by an average score of 33-7.
TCU was 2-4-1 coming into the game and had scored only 63 points all season.
Texas finished the season 10-1. TCU finished 3-5-2.
The loss cost Royal his first national title and is still considered by college football pundits as one of the most painful upsets in college football history.
“It’s not what they eat and tote off, it’s what they fall into and mess up that hurts,” a still sizzling Royal infamously said of TCU in his cockroach comparison after the season.
That game occurred on Nov. 18, 1961.
Fast forward to Saturday in Austin where undefeated TCU at 9-0 will take on a 6-3 Texas team.
It all begs the question: who is the cockroach now?
TCU leads the Big 12 and is fourth in the College Football Playoff standings. This is TCU’s first real chance to compete for a national title since 1938.
Several tough games lie ahead for Horned Frogs, including a home game against Iowa State, a road battle against rival Baylor and likely the Big 12 title game in December.
But the eyes of the nation, who have looked down on TCU’s season with a wondering glare, will be paying full attention on Saturday.
ESPN GameDay is there. It will be televised on ABC in prime time.
A win against Texas in Austin would give TCU brand legitimacy in it’s push for the playoffs, while also likely boosting quarterback Max Duggans Heisman hopes.
It is also not lost on TCU that Texas opened as a 7-point betting favorite by odds makers. According to the ESPN Football Power Index, Texas has a 73 percent chance of beating TCU.
This game is about respect.
Now, a win for Texas won’t mean Texas is back. Don’t start that nonsense.
But it would be a foundational builder for the future as their continue what has been a seemingly decades long rebuild, while setting the stage for possible rematch with TCU in the Big 12 title.
What would mean in the interim is Texas being labeled as the damn cockroach because of what it could fall into and mess up for TCU.
