TCU vs. Baylor: College Football's Rivalry Game of the Week

Before Oregon takes on LSU at Jerry’s World, and before Georgia squares off against Boise State at the Georgia Dome, there’s one game college football fans should take notice of.

On Friday, Baylor will face off against TCU for the 107th time, making it one of the most played rivalries in all of college football.

This series goes back to 1899, when TCU was known as AddRan Christian University and both schools were located in Waco, Texas. Since then, TCU has won 50 meetings, while Baylor has won 49. There have been seven ties.

TCU comes into the game as the favorite, but Baylor is coming off a breakthrough season with a 7-6 record, including a trip to the Texas Bowl, the first time in 16 years Baylor reached a bowl game.

This should be a very interesting game to kick off the college football weekend.

What Happened Last Year

When the Horned Frogs and the Bears did battle last year, both teams had a 2-0 record, but TCU was the No. 5 team in the country, which made it a heavy favorite.

TCU proved why it was ranked No. 5, as it hammered the Bears 45-10.

TCU quarterback Andy Dalton completed 21 of 23 passes for 269 yards and two scores, while Ed Wesley ran 19 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns.

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III completed 16 of 28 passes for 164 yards and one score. However, he only rushed for 21 yards on 14 carries.

TCU scored on its first five drives and piled up 335 total yards of offense by halftime. With the win, the Horned Frogs improved to 3-0, and they would end the season with a Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin.

Bears on Offense

Griffin may not have had a great game for the Horned Frogs last year, but he did have a strong season.

Griffin passed for over 3,500 yards with 22 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. He also rushed for 635 yards and eight touchdowns, making him one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the Big 12.

Another player to watch for the Bears is wide receiver Kendall Wright, who caught 78 passes for 952 yards and seven scores. He is on the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award and is also a preseason All-American.

The Bears like to have a balanced attack, throwing 471 times and running 468 times last year.

Bears on Defense

Head coach Art Briles needed to make a change, so he decided to bring in Phil Bennett to lead the defensive unit.

Bennett, the former head coach at SMU, will have his work cut out for him because only five starters return on defense. However, linebacker Elliot Coffey and cornerback Chance Casey return, who were the top two tacklers for the Bears last year.

Coffey averages six tackles per contest and has really impressed Bennett this preseason with his leadership skills. Casey has 84 career tackles and three interceptions in 15 career starts.

Other players to watch for are defensive end Gary Mason Jr., safety Mike Hicks and former quarterback turned linebacker Brody Trahan.

Horned Frogs on Offense

With Dalton gone, it’s now Casey Pachall’s turn to run the offense.

Paschall did well when he took over for Dalton either in mop-up duty or relief, but it will be real interesting to see how he does from start to finish on Friday night.

It won’t be too hard for him because Wesley will be back to build on his 1,000-yard season from last year. Wesley gave the Bears fits last year, and there’s no reason he won’t do it again this year.

If Wesley can’t get the job done, then Matthew Tucker can also carry the load. Tucker has already totaled over 1,600 yards in two years, which put him on pace to finish in the top three on the TCU all-time list.

Another player looking to build on a productive 2010 season is wide receiver Josh Boyce, who was named to the Freshman All-American team. Boyce and Wesley should make Pachall’s life a lot easier and in turn make the offense dangerous once again.

Horned Frogs on Defense

There’s not a team that plays defense better than TCU.

No, really—statistically it has been the best unit in the country for the last three years.

The reason for its success is the play of linebacker Tank Carder, who was a first-team All-American and the Rose Bowl Defensive MVP last year. Carder had 60 tackles last season with 3.5 sacks.

Another player to watch for is linebacker Tanner Brock, who led the team in tackles with 106 and earned third-team All-American honors.

Carder and Brock will be on Baylor’s radar every time those two are one the field, but the Bears also have to watch out for cornerback Greg McCoy and defensive end Stansly Maponga, as they know how to make plays as well.

Final Word

Both Baylor and TCU are looking to start the season off on the right foot.

TCU wants to win so it starts its road to the BCS title game.

Baylor would love to get a win, because if it was able to upset the Horned Frogs, it would be the greatest upset of the week and would put Baylor on the map.

Experts think TCU will blow past Baylor, but there is is no telling what is going to happen in a rivalry game. For that reason, it should make for one of the better games of the opening week of the 2011 season.