When both teams take the field on Saturday afternoon at Amon G. Carter Stadium, make no mistake, there will
animosity displayed by both Texas Tech and TCU players. Add the controversial
departure of Chad Glasgow to the list and this one could get very chippy early and often.
As renewed conference mates, each fan base has displayed an
absolute hatred for the opposing school on this site, and on others.
“I've never been there before. I'm anxious to go,” Tech head
coach Tommy Tuberville said. “I've seen it on film. The stadium looks nice.
They've really done a good job with it. I talked to Gary last year at a golf
tournament about it. They're really pumped up about the expansion and all the
new things that they've done. So we're excited they're in the conference. They're
a closer team to us. There wasn't a team in the Dallas area in the Big 12. It
gives us an opportunity to go there every other year once more.”
No. 17 Texas Tech has a tall task ahead of them come
Saturday.
Unlike the past,
the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex will be a very
unfriendly environment for the Red Raiders. I
n Texas Tech’s 2006 12-3 loss in
Fort Worth, the scarlet and black almost equaled the amount of purple seen in
the stands despite what many Frog fans may remember.
However, this is a new year and TCU has set a school record
in the amount of season ticket sales in each of the past two seasons so
visiting tickets have been hard to come by. But the Red Raiders are ready for
the challenge on Saturday and Tuberville talked about taking his team to a new
conference atmosphere.
“Even though we're taking one of the other games to that
area, I think it's natural that both teams get into it every year, both fans
get into it,” he said. “I probably wish it was a little earlier in the season
to have that game earlier in the season or at the end to where you've got that
natural rival look, but we have no control over that.”
With the combination of Texas Tech’s newly improved ‘Chain
Gang’ defense and TCU’s obvious off the field issues, the Red Raiders should
win this game. However, if the Frogs can get pressure on Seth Doege and make
him miserable all game long, this one could get very interesting.
A quick start is key for Texas Tech as momentum will be a
huge factor in the outcome of this game. Take the crowd out of this game and
the Red Raiders should be just fine. TCU has quickly learned that every single
week in this league is a dog fight so if they want to
have a fighting chance, they better bring their ‘A’ game.
This matchup of renewed rivals is slated for a nationally
televised at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.