TCU's Journey
When the TCU Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 in 2012, many questions were floated about how the former Mountain West Conference-dwellers would fare in a Power 5 conference. After two disappointing seasons to begin their time in the Big 12, Texas Christian came alive under a young man named Trevone Boykin, dominating their conference.
Due to the Big 12's lack of a conference championship game, as well as a close loss to Baylor on the road, the Horned Frogs missed out on the first annual College Football Playoff. Overcoming this heartbreak, TCU entered the Peach Bowl against #9 Mississippi and utterly destroyed the Rebels, 42-3.
Despite this marvelous thwacking of a quality Ole Miss team, skeptics remained. Ole Miss, a team that had been near the top of the rankings for much of the season, fell apart down the stretch, causing many to call them a fluke. Thus, Texas Christian's win was also considered a fluke by critics.
In the 2015-16 season, TCU opened up the year ranked #2 in the nation. With a stacked offense and some quality defensive players, the team in royal purple looked like the prime candidate to dethrone Ohio State. However, despite starting 8-0, critics came out of the woodworks to comment that TCU was barely scraping by mediocre competition. They had a point, as the Horned Frogs had escaped upsets from Minnesota, Texas Tech, and Kansas State.
The injury bug was starting to devour Horned Frogs by midseason, as the defense was completely ravaged. In a game at fellow undefeated Big 12 contender Oklahoma State, star wide receiver Josh Doctson went down with an injury. In this game, TCU's undefeated stretch was finally shattered.
The team then completely fell off the radar of contenders. Already playing in a conference that was considered weaker by the populace and the College Football Playoff committee, TCU's hopes were destroyed.
A murky stretch hit the team when Trevone Boykin was injured. In a game against Oklahoma, the Big 12's primary hope for the CFP, TCU struggled, with QB Foster Sawyer unable to produce. After Sawyer was replaced by Bram Kohlhausen, whose father had just passed away, TCU made an incredible comeback. However, at the end of a game after scoring a touchdown, the Horned Frogs elected to go for a 2 point conversion and the win. The attempt failed.
The Alamo Bowl
Coming into the 2016 Alamo Bowl, TCU had to be depressed. Despite their 10 wins, they still hadn't commanded the respect they wanted this season. The college football world still thought of them as a team that "wasn't there yet". The team was still banged up. And then the icing on the cake: Trevone Boykin made a some foolish decisions, ending up in a bar fight, eventually punching a police officer. With Boykin suspended for the game, Texas Christian was undoubtedly in doldrums.
That is precisely why the Horned Frogs came out so flat in the 2016 Alamo Bowl. No rhythm could be found, no confidence could be found, and no points could be found. Down 31-0 at halftime, most thought the game was over, turning their televisions to something else.
Gary Patterson made sure that his players didn't turn their minds to something else.
Whatever was said at halftime, we will never truly know. We can get an idea, as the players expressed how upbeat Patterson was at halftime. But with some magical words of encouragement, Texas Christian came out of halftime an entirely different team.
Thirty minutes later, everyone's televisions were set back to TCU vs. Oregon. Fifteen minutes more, the world was in a frenzy.
The Disrespect Continues; Why?
The media, though, was in a frenzy trying to figure out an excuse as for why/how Texas Christian pulled it off. The immediate scapegoat was the injury to Oregon's quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., as UO's offense was an unmitigated disaster in the 2nd half without their star QB. This may be true. However, there was no excuse for Oregon's horrendous defensive display in the 2nd half. They let Bram Kohlhausen light a fire, and it was never extinguished.
TCU had one of the best and most memorable seasons in their history, but the college football elite want to brush it off. Gary Patterson doesn't care, and his team doesn't care. But you, the reader of this article, should care. You saw what Texas Christian did. And you've witnessed what they've done over the past 6 years. Isn't it time to put them in that upper echelon of respectability?
This is no "mid-major" program anymore. This program has been built into a team annually vying for a National Title. As a team that is now dominating recruiting in the state of Texas, over programs like Texas, Texas Tech, and Houston, Texas Christian is a true gem.
2016 Alamo Bowl Most Important TCU Win Of The Millennium, Will Be Until Team Achieves National Title
High school players across the nation that watched the 2016 Valero Alamo Bowl are thinking deeply. They want to be a part of a team with such mental toughness. They want to be in a program that can pull off miraculous victories like this one. They want to be coached by a kind yet tough guy like Gary Patterson. The 2016 Alamo Bowl will go down in history as a magnet that drew in brilliant recruits from across the nation for Texas Christian University. It takes that type of a game to sway potential recruits to a side, as it's hard not to respect a team with such heart and want to be a part of it.
With a brilliant recruiting class coming in, it looks like TCU will be right in the thick of things for the next few years. With a coach like Gary Patterson and the momentum the team will carry from this win, Texas Christian should be able to make it to a College Football Playoff very soon, and potentially grab the elusive Championship victory.