Week 2: TCU-SMU GameDay Information

Friday, September 7, is Go Purple Friday: Wear purple on Friday, September 7, and receive discounts and offers from Go Purple partners. More information: here   

Game 2 of the 2018 TCU Football Season: 16th-ranked TCU at SMU: Friday, September 7, 2018, at 7 pm (Central), Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, Texas; TV: ESPN2 (TV Talent: Clay Matvick, Dan Orlovsky and Paul Carcaterra); Radio -- WBAP 820 AM, KTCU 88.7, Sirius 113, XM 200  (Radio Talent: Brian Estridge, John Denton, Landry Burdine); Spanish Radio: KFZO 99.1 (Radio Talent: Miguel Cruz, Elvis Gallegos).

The Line: Opened with TCU as a 17.5-point favorite. At press time, TCU was a 22.5-point favorite and the over/under was 58.5.

Midnite's TCU-SMU Prediction: TCU 51, SMU 17.

TCU-SMU Game-Watching Party Locations: here 

TCU's Previous Game: The then 16th-ranked Horned Frogs opened the season with a 55-7 win over Southern University in Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday, September 1.

SMU's Previous Game: SMU opened the season with a 46-23 loss to North Texas in Apogee Stadium in Denton, Texas. Highlights: here  

Previous TCU-SMU Game: On September 16, 2017, TCU beat SMU 56-36 in Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. Highlights: here

TCU-SMU Rivalry:

• TCU and SMU used to be Southwest Conference (SWC) rivals.
• TCU leads the series with SMU, 50-40-7. The series began with a 43-0 TCU win in Fort Worth in 1915. The teams have played each other every year since, except for six years (1919, 1920, 1925, 1987, 1988, 2006).
• TCU head coach Gary Patterson is 14-2 as a head coach versus SMU. The 14 wins are the most against a single team among his victories at TCU.
• Patterson is 1-0 versus SMU head coach Sonny Dykes. The Horned Frogs defeated Dykes' Louisiana Tech team 31-24 in the 2011 Poinsettia Bowl.
• SMU is TCU's second-most played series. The Horned Frogs' 97 meetings with the Mustangs trail only Baylor (113).
• TCU has won 10 of the last 11 games with SMU and 16 of 18.
• The Horned Frogs are facing SMU on a Friday night for the third time in their last five trips to Dallas. TCU beat SMU on Friday evenings in 2010 (41-24) and 2016 (33-3).
• TCU's 56-0 win in 2014 at SMU marked the most lopsided game in the series.
• The Horned Frogs are 28-18-5 versus the Mustangs in Fort Worth and 22-22-2 in Dallas.
• SMU is TCU’s second-most played series. The Horned Frogs’ 97 meetings with the Mustangs trail only Baylor (113).
• Other than the two seasons (1987-88) SMU did not field a team, the 2006 campaign represented the only time TCU and SMU have not met since 1925.
• The rivalry between the two teams has sprouted mischief in the past. SMU's Mustang Marching Band dropped rye grass seeds on the field of Amon G. Carter Stadium during halftime of a 21-0 TCU victory on November 26, 2000. By February, 2001, the seeds had grown to form a large diamond shaped "M," the band's trademark formation. An editorial in The Skiff noted: "Since SMU loses at everything else, it seems natural that its pranks would be lame. But in the future, if SMU students want to do something on our field other than lose, they should consult us first."

TCU-SMU Connections:

• SMU head coach Sonny Dykes, in his first full season at SMU, was an offensive consultant on the Horned Frogs' football staff last season.
• Dykes and TCU co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie are Texas Tech alums.
• TCU and SMU are two of 21 schools to have won multiple national championships and produce a Heisman Trophy winner. The other schools are Alabama, Army, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Texas, Texas A&M and USC.
• TCU outside receivers coach Rusty Burns was SMU's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2004-07.
• SMU offensive line coach Jamal Powell played football at TCU and graduated as a Horned Frog.
• Chris Brasfield, who is SMU's running backs coach and recruiting coordinator, has been on the football coaching staff at TCU in the past.
• SMU wide receivers coach David Gru spent the 2017 season at TCU as an offensive analyst and working with quarterbacks.
• Former TCU safety Chris Scott (2008-11) is a defensive quality control analyst with SMU.
• Trey Haverty, who coaches SMU's safeties, coached safeties and wide receivers at TCU during the 2011 and 2012 seasons. 
• TCU defensive end Michael Epley (#40) was at SMU two seasons (2014-15). He played in 2016 at Tyler Junior College, before transferring to TCU for the 2017 season.
• TCU defensive end Ty Summers' younger sister, Faith Summers, is a juior on the SMU women's golf team.
• SMU's Paka Davis (#50), a junior defensive end from Hawaii, used to play at TCU.
• SMU's Armanii Glaspie (#10), a wide receiver, used to play at TCU.
• SMU has three players from Fort Worth on its roster: freshman JC Rispress (#32) All Saints Episcopal; sophomore Patrick Jones (#72) of Arlington Heights; and freshman redshirt Alan Ali (#77) of Timber Creek.
• TCU has four players from Dallas on its roster: senior Arico Evans (#7); redshirt freshman Reginald Cole (#48); senior Trey Elliott (#52); and senior Joseph Broadnax, Jr. (#54).

2018 TCU Football Video: here

2018 SMU Football Video: here

Frogs Missing in Action: Third-string defensive back Michael Onyemaobi (#22), a redshirt freshman, suffered an apparent season-ending injury in the game against Southern. TCU defensive end Ross Blacklock suffered an injury during fall camp. He is out for the season. Freshman safety Atanza Vongor suffered an injury during fall camp that apparently will cause him to miss the season.

TCU Notables:

• TCU is looking to open its season with a 2-0 record for the 11th time in 18 seasons under Patterson. The Horned Frogs won their season-opener for a fifth straight year.
• TCU's 55 points versus Southern were its most since last year's 56-36 win over SMU.
• Against Southern, TCU rushed for 235 yards. Under Patterson, TCU is 88-5 when rushing for at least 200 yards.
• The Horned Frogs did not commit a turnover were a plus-3 in turnover margin against Southern. Over the last 14 seasons, TCU is 106-14 when ahead (71-7) or even (35-7) in turnover margin.
• TCU won its home opener for a 17th consecutive season, tied for the eighth-longest active streak in the nation.
• TCU won its season opener for the fifth straight year. The Horned Frogs have scored at least 48 points in four of those contests.
•  Dating back to last season, TCU has a seven-game home winning streak.
• With the win over Southern, the Horned Frogs improved to 83-19 at Amon G. Carter Stadium in 18 seasons under Patterson.
• TCU now has won 12 straight games versus FCS opponents.
• In the Southern game, TCU scored for the 321st consecutive game. It's the nation's second-longest current streak and fourth all-time in NCAA history. The Horned Frogs haven't been blanked since November 16, 1991, at Texas (32-0).
• Against Southern, Ty Summers made his 26th career start, most among current Horned Frogs, but just his second start at defensive end. Summers' four tackles gave him 275 in his career, moving him past Robert Henson (272, 2005-08) into fourth place for the most stops in Patterson's tenure as TCU head coach. Next on the list is Martin Patterson with 289 (2001-04). Summers had a third-quarter sack to give him 7 ½ in his career.
• At 37-12 (.755), TCU has the nation's fourth-best road record since 2009.
• TCU's 44-17 record (.721) in road and neutral-site games since 2009 is the nation's third-best mark.
• TCU is 17-11 on the road in Big 12 games.
• Into his 18th season as TCU's head football coach, Gary Patterson is the nation’s second-longest tenured head coach. He trails only Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz (20th year).
• Patterson’s 161 victories at TCU rank second nationally behind Kansas State’s Bill Snyder (210) for most wins by a head coach at his current school.
• TCU is one of just five programs nationally to finish in the top 10 of the final polls at least three times in the last four seasons. The others are Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma.
• Over the last four seasons, the Horned Frogs’ 41-13 overall record and 26-10 conference mark both rank second in the Big 12.
• Patterson’s 18 seasons as TCU’s head coach are more than the combined tenures of the 11 other FBS head coaches in the state of Texas.
• Following a 45-22 win over Baylor in the 2017 regular-season finale, Patterson announced his contract extension through 2024.
• Under Patterson, TCU has posted seven top-10 finishes and 11 in the top 25. The Horned Frogs have won at least 11 games in 10 of the last 15 seasons.
• Since 2005, TCU tops all private schools in victories and winning percentage, and No. 6 nationally. The Frogs are 129-40 (.763).
• Since 2001, Gary Patterson’s first season as TCU’s head coach, the Horned Frogs have been the most successful program in the state of Texas, at 161-56.
• Since 2005, TCU has the best record in Texas among the 12 FBS programs.
• The Horned Frogs are 73-20 in day games over the last 13 seasons and 56-20 at night. The NCAA constitutes a night game as starting at 5 p.m. or later.
• TCU is 110-30 in Saturday contests since 2005 and 19-10 on other days of the week (1-0 on Sundays, 0-1 on Mondays, 2-0 on Tuesdays, 2-0 on Wednesdays, 7-7 on Thursdays and 7-2 on Fridays).
• TCU has qualified for a bowl game in 18 of the last 20 seasons. The Horned Frogs have earned a bowl trip in 15 of Patterson’s 17 seasons as head coach.
• TCU is one of just 21 schools to have won multiple national championships (1935, 1938) and produce a Heisman Trophy winner (Davey O’Brien, 1938). The other schools are Alabama, Army, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Pittsburgh, SMU, Texas, Texas A&M and USC.
• TCU has won at least 10 games 11 times in Patterson’s 17 seasons as head coach, including three of the last four years and nine times in the past 13 campaigns.
• Prior to Patterson’s arrival in 1998, TCU had just four 10-win seasons in its history.
• TCU has reached the 11-win mark 10 times in the last 15 seasons.

ESPN College GameDay on Saturday, September 8: ESPN's College GameDay will be in College Station, Texas, on Saturday, September 8, for the Clemson-Texas A&M game. The show airs from 8 am to 11 am Central on Saturdays. The Aggies and Tigers will kickoff at 6 pm. The game will be aired on ESPN. This will be A&M's eighth appearance on GameDay. It will be the sixth time the show has come to College Station. The last time A&M appeared on the show was in 2016 when the Aggies fell to Alabama,  33-14, in Tuscaloosa. This will be Clemson's 19th time on GameDay. The Tigers appeared on the show twice last season, when they played at Louisville on September 16, and at Virginia Tech on September 30.

2018 Game 3 for TCU: TCU will clash with Ohio State at 7 pm, on Saturday, September 15, in AT&T Stadium, in Arlington. The game will be televised by ABC.

Have Fun Tailgating Before and After TCU Home Football Games: Donor parking lots open five hours prior to kickoff. For games that start before 2:30 pm, lots must be cleared by three hours after the games end. For games that start at 2:30 pm or later, Lots must be cleared 90 minutes after games end, or by 11 pm (whichever comes first, due to city ordinance).

Countdown to Kickoff for TCU Home Football Games: Three hours prior to kickoff: Frog Alley opens. Two-and-a-half hours prior to kickoff: Frog Walk begins. Two hours prior to kickoff: autographs by members of other TCU athletic teams. One hour prior to kickoff: TCU Marching Band and Spirit. Thirty minutes prior to kickoff: Frog Alley closes and pre-game show begins.

TCU Amon G. Carter Gameday Parking and Traffic Information: here 

Amon G. Carter Stadium: Construction is underway, with completion in time for the 2019 season, on the $100 million Amon G. Carter Stadium premium seating expansion. The project calls for two new levels of luxury seating above the current upper deck on the east side of the stadium. The new Legends Club and Suites will include 48 loge boxes with two private clubs, over 1,000 club seats and 22 luxury suites. Additional information about The Carter: here 

Information about Amon G. Carter Stadium Rules and Regulations: here 

Important! Security Measures at TCU Athletic Events: Only the following items are permitted into TCU athletic facilities:

• Bags that are clear plastic, vinyl or PVC and not exceeding 14 inches by 14 inches
• One-gallon clear plastic freezer bag (Ziploc bag or similar)
• One unopened bottle of water
• Small clutch bags, approximately the size of a hand, with or without a handle or strap can be taken into the stadium with one of the clear plastic bags
• Exceptions are made for medically necessary items after proper inspection at the stadium gates. Backpacks, diaper bags and other similar bags are not be allowed.

Color Coordination for Remaining TCU 2018 Home Games: Saturday, September 29: White Out -- all fans wear white; Thursday, October 11: Black Out -- all fans wear black; Saturday, October 20: Fan Vote! -- on May 15, fans can vote for the color scheme of this game; Saturday, November 3: Purple and White -- west side of stadium and western parts of the end zones, wear purple, and east side of stadium and eastern parts of the end zones, wear white; Saturday, November 24: Purple Out -- all fans wear purple.