Know your enemy: Fiesta Bowl edition

 

I've emerged from my long winter's nap in time to watch the most major mid-major clash of all time and I couldn't be more excited. The TCU Horned Frogs represent a formidable foe whom the pundits seem to think will crush the Broncos like overripe grapes. Bronco Nation remains unconvinced. Let's see what really makes these Frogs tick by examining useless factoids about the institution and making childish jokes at their expense. It's time to know your enemy, Bronco Nation. Take notes.

Ten things Bronco fans might not know about TCU

10) Texas Christian University was founded by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark in 1873. The brothers, using the contraction of their first names, called the school AddRan Male and Female College (no, that isn't a joke). Addison, being the wordsmith that he was, actually named his first son AddRan as well; either because he really loved his brother or really hated his kid.

9) The TCU mascot, the "horned frog" is actually a Texas horned lizard and not a frog at all. These fearsome creatures eat mainly harvester ants, termites, and grasshoppers and have the ability to puff up their bodies or shoot blood out of their eyes to dissuade predators. If the lizard's predator is actually Predator, however, I would imagine they are screwed.

8) The Horned Frogs play their home football games at Amon Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, TX. The Stadium, which seats 44,000, is named for Amon G. Carter, the founder and publisher of the Fort-Worth Star Telegram newspaper. Carter had a well-publicized disdain for Fort Worth's neighbor-city Dallas, and when taking business trips to the city would bring a sack lunch so he didn't have to spend any money there...kind of like when Boiseans visit Garden City.

7) The Professor from Gilligan's Island was said to have a PhD from TCU, among his six degrees. Now that it has been established that fictional degrees can be handed out, I propose that Boise State immediately award Darrin Stevens an MBA (the first one, not the second one).

6) Slingin' Sammy Baugh, who died just before last year's Poinsettia Bowl is one of TCU's most famous alumni. Baugh was a two-time All-American for the Horned Frogs playing quarterback, defensive back and punter and played 15 years in the NFL for the Washington Redskins. Baugh was among the first inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and even did a little acting on the side. They just don't make guys like that anymore, unless they are willing to spend six million dollars, of course.

5) TCU won the national championship in 1938, only one year after finishing 4-4-2. On their way to the title and an 11-0 record that year, TCU defeated the likes of Arkansas, Temple, Texas A&M, Texas, Rice and SMU and eventually downed Carnegie Tech in the Sugar Bowl. The very next year, TCU went 3-7. Weird.

4) The longest tenured coach in TCU history was Leo "Dutch" Meyer who coached for 19 years while posting a 109-79-13 record. A model of inconsistency, Meyer only posted 9 winning seasons in his 19 year career, but made them count...winning the aforementioned national championship in 1938 and posting a 12-1 record in 1935. Also, Meyer's 1936 squad could've given this years' Horned Frog defense a run for their money...they posted 7 shutouts.

3) The TCU head coach with the highest career winning percentage was Francis A. Schmidt, who won nearly 85% of his games in his 5 years at the helm. Schmidt seemed to drop off a bit after moving on from TCU, winning only 70% of his games at Ohio State and then completely lost it at Idaho, winning only 36%...but then again, it was Idaho.

2) The namesake of the award for the nation's best college quarterback, the Davey O'Brien Award, is named for...you guessed it...Davey O'Brien—a TCU quarterback who won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Award in 1938. O'Brien was only 5'7" and weighed but 150 lbs. when he won those awards (and the national championship) with the Frogs. He was basically the Audie Murphy of college football. The diminutive Murphy killed Nazis...O'Brien killed Carnegie Tech.

1) TCU's school colors, purple and white, are said to represent "royalty and clean play". Conversely, Boise State's colors, blue and orange, are said to represent "frostbitten Oompa Loompas". College football is a rich tapestry.