By Tom C. "Midnite" Burke
Bring on Grambling State University … that is, the world-famous Grambling State University Tiger Marching Band, which this year is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
The Grambling band traces its beginning to 1926. By 1952, the band had become known as the "Best Band in the Land." It’s a descriptor that still rings true today.
Grambling’s multi-talented musicians have performed in nearly every major stadium in the country.
On Saturday, September 12, the Best Band in the Land will add Amon G. Carter Stadium, in Fort Worth, Texas, to its resume, when TCU opens its 2026 home football slate by hosting the Grambling State football team under the stadium’s new LED lights. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 pm (Central). The game will be televised on ESPN+.
Horned Frogs Seek First Win of 2026
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| Tom C. "Midnite" Burke |
TCU enters the Week 2 contest with an 0-1 record. The Horned Frogs are not ranked in the Associated Press (AP) top 25 poll or the Coaches top 25 poll. TCU is 58th in the USA TODAY Sports Week One ranking of all 138 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams:
The Frogs opened the season with a shocking 15-10 Week 0 loss to North Carolina in the 2026 Aer Lingus College Football Classic, in Dublin, Ireland.
TCU, Baylor and Oklahoma State were the only Big 12 teams to lose their season-openers. Baylor lost to Auburn, 17-16. Oklahoma State was embarrassed by Tulsa, 24-10, in the OSU debuts of head coach Eric Morris and quarterback Drew Mestermaker, both of whom left North Texas for the Cowboys after the 2025 season.
The Frogs and Baylor were the only Power 4 Conference teams in Texas to lose their season-openers. TCU and Baylor are the only Power 4 Conference teams in Texas not ranked in the AP or Coaches top 25 polls after week 1 action. Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, SMU and Houston are undefeated and ranked in both polls.
The Frogs had a bye on Saturday, September 5, during Week 1 of the 2026 college football season.
TCU Football Welcomes Special Member
During its bye week, TCU football welcomed Heston Goggins, an 11-year-old from Decatur, Texas, who joined the Horned Frogs through the Team IMPACT Program.
Goggins was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age three. He now is in remission. He was matched with TCU Football through Team IMPACT, a national nonprofit that connects children facing serious illness and disability with college athletic teams.
Goggins joined the TCU Football family on Friday, September 4, during a Team IMPACT Signing Day, where he was welcomed by TCU head football coach Sonny Dykes and members of the football team and coaching staff.
Founded in 2011, Team IMPACT has matched more than 4,500 children with more than 850 colleges and universities in 50 states, impacting more than 112,500 student-athletes.
The emotional celebration with Goggins took some of the sting off the lethargic upset loss to North Carolina. A victory over Grambling would help to further remove the stigma associated with the Frogs losing to a team they demolished 48-14 in last year’s season-opener.
TCU a Heavy Favorite
TCU is at least a 44.5-point favorite over Grambling. The over-under for total points scored in the game is 54.5 points.
Midnite Madness predicts a 38-13 TCU victory.
TCU has had a lot of offensive success in home-openers, scoring at least 30 points in its last 18 openers in The Carter. In the 21st century, TCU is 23-3 in home openers, with two of the three losses coming to power-conference opponents.
After playing Grambling, the Horned Frogs will host Arkansas State at The Carter, on Saturday, September 19, at 7 pm (Central). TCU will begin Big 12 Conference play on Saturday, September 26, against UCF, in Orlando, Florida. Game time is to be announced.
When asked about his underdog Tigers going up against TCU, Grambling head football coach Mickey Joseph referred to the monetary payment Grambling will receive from TCU. He said, “You gotta pay the bills at Grambling, you know”
Joseph continued, “The value in the game is we get to see where we are at. We get a measuring school outside of a D-2 school. We are under-matched. Financially they (TCU) are better than us. Talent-wise they (TCU) are better than us. But we still get to see where we are at because there are certain things we can get away with against D-2 schools that we won’t get away with against TCU and there are certain things in the future that we will get away with that we won’t get away with Saturday night. It’s a good measuring stick for our coaches and players.
“We won’t be intimidated. We want to make sure the matchup is clean. And we want to come out of the game healthy.”
Dykes said Joseph is a good football coach. "I've known Mickey for a long time," said Dykes. "I'm really impressed with his team. The really go settled in on some players during their Week 2 game. They've moved the ball and scored points and made some big plays on special teams and played well on defense. They've been solid. They're athletic and physical. I like 'em.
"We need to play well this Saturday. I think the guys have a great mentality. We have practiced with a sense of purpose. A trademark of our program is that the guys practice hard. I think we've practiced harder than we ever have. The guys have gone to the next level from a practice standpoint. You want to see it pay off. We've got to do in a game what we do in practices. We didn't do that against North Carolina. We have to do it this week."
Week 2 Games of Other Big 12 Teams
Here is the Week 2 schedule involving other Big 12 Conference teams:
- Friday, September 11:
- Missouri at Kansas (Friday, September 11)
- Saturday, September 12
- Oregon at Oklahoma State
- Washington State at Kansas State
- Arizona State at Texas A&M
- UT Martin at West Virginia
- Weber State at Colorado
- Arizona at BYU
- UCF at Pittsburgh
- Southern at Houston
- Western Carolina at Cincinnati
- Iowa State at Iowa
- Texas Tech at Oregon State
- Prairie View A&M at Baylor
- Arkansas at Utah
Grambling Undefeated
Grambling is 2-0, with consecutive victories over Clark-Atlanta (49-7) and Central State (48-26).
After its game against TCU, Grambling has a bye on September 19. On September 26, the Tigers will play their SWAC-opener against Prairie View A&M, in the Cotton Bowl, in the “State Fair Classic,” as the Texas State Fair opens in Dallas on Friday, September 25.
Grambling University is located in Grambling, Louisiana, which is about 285 miles from Fort Worth. The athletic teams were known as Grambling Tigers until 1973, when the university changed its name from Grambling College to Grambling State University. Now they are known simply as the Tigers. The school’s athletic colors are black, gold and red.
Grambling State is one of the country’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Since 1958, the Tigers have been in the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), not to be confused with the defunct Southwest Conference (SWC).
The Southwestern Athletic Conference, founded in 1920, is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically Black colleges and universities in the Southern United States. Conference members are: Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Bethune-Cookman, Florida A&M, Grambling, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State, Prairie View A&M, Southern, Texas Southern, and the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
The Tigers play in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
TCU Successful Against FCS and HBCU Teams
TCU is 21-2 overall against FCS teams.
TCU’s first loss to an FCS team came on October 18, 1986, when the Frogs lost to North Texas State 24-20 in Fort Worth. It was the sixth game of that season, which TCU finished at 3-8 overall, 1-7 in the Southwest Conference. It was Jim Wacker’s fourth year as head football coach. The 1991 season was Wacker’s last at TCU.
The Frogs’ second loss to an FCS team came in 2001. TCU lost in Fort Worth to Northwestern State 27-24, in overtime. It was the fifth game of the season, which TCU finished at 6-6 overall, 4-3 in Conference USA. The 2001 season was the first full season for Gary Patterson as TCU’s head football coach. After that shocking loss, the Horned Frogs faithful who were against Patterson being promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach were howling for his dismissal. Patterson, of course, wasn't fired and hewent on to become TCU football’s winningest head coach (181 victories) while leading the program from 2000 to 2021.
If Grambling State shocks the Horned Frogs this Saturday, it could be the last game for Dykes as TCU’s head football coach, particularly because of how bad the Horned Frogs looked in their loss to North Carolina. Dykes is in his fifth season as TCU’s head football coach. Despite a segment of TCU fans not being enamored with Dykes, the 56-year-old head coach signed a contract extension during the off-season.
The 1978 season was the first time the collegiate football teams were split into Division 1-A and Division 1-AA. The 2005 season was the last season for the 1-A and 1-AA designations. Beginning with the 2006 season, 1-A teams became Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams and 1-AA teams became FCS teams.
Since 1978, FCS/1-AA teams have beaten FBS/1-A teams 511 times, with 11 ties.
Cincinnati played the 1983 football season in NCAA Division I-AA, due to low attendance numbers (the NCAA required football programs to average at least 20,000 fans in attendance to be designated as Division 1-A). That season, Cincinnati made history as the first lower-division team to defeat a ranked major-college opponent. The Bearcats stunned Joe Paterno’s defending national champion Penn State team, 14-3, on October 8, 1983.
This will be the second-ever meeting between TCU and Grambling State. No. 20 TCU defeated Grambling State 56-0 on September 8, 2012. The victory was Patterson's 110th at TCU, as he passed Dutch Meyer as the winningest head coach in TCU football history. The matchup also was the first game in the renovated Amon G. Carter Stadium, as well as the Frogs' first as a member of the Big 12 Conference. The Frogs finished the season 7-6 overall, 4-5 in the Big 12.
TCU’s game against Grambling this Saturday will be the Frogs’ first game against an HBCU since 2019, when the Horned Frogs defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 39-7 in the season- and home-opener on August 31, 2019.
In other games against HBCU opponents, TCU defeated Jackson State 63-0 on September 2, 2017, and the Frogs defeated Southern 55-7 on September 1, 2018.
TCU has four players from Louisiana. Grambling's roster features eight Texans, including five from the Fort Worth-Dallas Metroplex. Grambling State safeties coach Willie Mack Garza served as TCU's cornerbacks coach from 2001 to 2003.
Tigers Have Successful FCS History
The Tigers have been one of the most prominent programs at the FCS level, and not just because of their exciting marching band. Grambling State has won eight SWAC conference championships and six Black College National Championships since 2000.
Grambling has one win against a 1-A/FBS team. That victory came on September 28, 1985, when the Tigers defeated Oregon State 23-6, in Independence Stadium, in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Grambling football perhaps is most known for former head coach Eddie Robinson and former quarterback and then head coach Doug Williams.
For 56 years, from 1941 to 1942 and again from 1945 to 1997, Robinson was Grambling’s head football coach. Robinson built Grambling State into a "small" college football powerhouse. He retired in 1997 with a record of 408–165–15. Robinson ranks third in total wins among head football coaches at all levels. He had 41 winning seasons. He won 18 SWAC championships and nine Black College Football Championships. Robinson died in 2007 at the age of 88.
Williams was Grambling’s quarterback from 1974-77. He guided the Tigers to a 36–7 record as a four-year starter and led the Tigers to three SWAC Championships. Williams was named Black College Player of the Year twice. He was a first-round draft choice by Tampa Bay in the 1978 National Football League (NFL) Draft. Williams was the first Black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl, doing so with Washington in Super Bowl XXII, when the team was known as the Redskins. In that game, played on January 31, 1988, Williams and Washington defeated Denver 42-10. Williams was named Super Bowl MVP after throwing four touchdowns in a single quarter.
Williams was named the head football coach at Grambling State University in 1998, succeeding the legendary Robinson. He led the Tigers to three consecutive SWAC titles from 2000 to 2002, before leaving after the 2003 season to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a personnel executive. He rejoined Grambling as head football coach in 2011. He was fired on September 11, 2013. Today, he is a senior advisor for the NFL Washington Commanders (formerly the Redskins).
Mickey Joseph Leads Grambling
Grambling’s head coach today is Mickey Joseph. He is entering his third season with an overall record at Grambling of 12-12 (5-7 in 2024 and 7-5 in 2025). The 2024 record included a 40-0 loss to the University of Louisiana, in Lafayette, Louisiana. The 2025 record included a70-0 loss to Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.
Joseph is Grambling’s 15th overall coach. In 2014 and 2015, he served as the wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator at Grambling State.
Joseph was on the Nebraska coaching staff when the Cornhuskers’ head football coach, Scott Frost, was fired on September 11, 2022. Joseph was named interim head coach. On November 26, 2022, Matt Rhule was announced as Nebraska's new head coach for the 2023 season. Four days later, on November 30, Joseph was placed on administrative leave by Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts following Joseph’s arrest for domestic violence. His official separation from the university was announced on December 6, 2022. He was hired as Grambling’s head football coach on December 18, 2023.
Grambling Offensive Overview
In its two victories, Grambling has utilized a balanced offensive attack in rolling up 1,131 total yards of offense.
The Tigers’ offense is averaging:
- 48.5 points per game
- 565.5 total yards per game
- 292 rushing yards per game
- 273.5 passing yards per game
The Tigers’ offense has scored 12 touchdowns: 10 on the ground, two through the air. Grambling also has a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Grambling has thrown two interceptions, allowed no sacks and lost one fumble.
GSU senior offensive lineman Alexander Virgil, who is from Houston, Texas, was named to the SWAC preseason all-conference offense second-team.
Grambling State starting quarterback Reginald (RJ) Johnson III, who is a redshirt junior, transferred to the Tigers’ program this season after starring in the SWAC at Florida A&M last season. He has been named to this season’s Stats Perform HBCU National Football Player of the Year Watch List.
Johnson has not disappointed Tigers fans. He has completed 33-of-40 passes for 391 yards and one touchdown. He has thrown one interception. He has a long completion of 50 yards.
Junior quarterback Jacobe Robinson, who is from Denton, Texas, and who is a transfer from Southern Mississippi, has completed 8-of-14 passes for 96 yards and one touchdown. He has thrown one interception. He has a long completed to 25 yards.
Junior running back Tony Phillips, Jr., has rushed seven times for 94 yards and two touchdowns. He has a long run of 75 yards. He also has a kickoff return of 89 yards for a touchdown.
Sophomore running back D’Shaun Ford, who is a transfer from Louisiana-Monroe, has rushed 15 times for 79 yards and two touchdowns. He has a long run of 17 yards.
Redshirt Sophomore running back Byron Eaton, Jr., who is from Dallas, Texas, has carried the football seven times for 77 yards and one touchdown. He has a long run of 58 yards. He also has caught three passes for 20 yards and one touchdown.
Redshirt sophomore wide receivers Jordan Bride and Tyson George lead the Tigers’ receivers. Bride has caught 10 passes for 142 yards. He has no touchdown passes and a long completion of 43 yards. George has caught 12 passes for 138 yards and one touchdown. He has a long completion of 50 yards.
Grambling Defensive Overview
The Tigers’ defense is allowing:
- 16.5 points per game
- 305 total yards per game
- 189 passing yards per game
- 116 rushing yards per game
Grambling’s defense has allowed four touchdowns; three passing and one rushing. The Tigers have forced two fumbles, recovering one, recorded three sacks and intercepted no passes.
Freshman defensive back Lonell Cunningham, who is a transfer from North Alabama, leads the Tigers’ defense with nine tackles. He also has one pass breakup.
Redshirt junior defensive back Jalen Guillard, who is a transfer from Arkansas-Monticello, has eight tackles, four pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
Redshirt senior linebacker Marcellius Johnson has eight tackles, one tackle for loss and one fumble recovery. Johnson was named to the SWAC preseason all-conference defense second-team.
Freshman defensive end Donte Hookfin, who is a transfer from Portland State, has six tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack and two quarterback-hurries.
Junior linebacker Jamal Jordan, has six tackles and one quarterback hurry.
Grambling State’s punter is freshman Alexander Davis, who is a transfer from Florida A&M. He has punted five times for an average of 44.8 yards per punt. He has a long punt of 54 yards. He has not had a punt blocked this season.
The Tigers’ placekicker is junior Diego Alfaro, who is a transfer from Prairie View A&M. He has converted two-of-two field-goal attempts. He has a long field goal of 24 yards and has not have a punt blocked this season.
The Grambling State University football team had three student-athletes named to the 2026 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) preseason all-conference teams on Wednesday morning.
Coaches’ Comments
TCU’s Dykes talks about the upcoming game against Grambling: here
Grambling’s Joseph talks about the upcoming game against TCU: here
