Old foes will meet once again, as TCU heads to Lubbock for a Thanksgiving night game with Texas Tech.
This year Thanksgiving will bring two rivals together for some festivities, as TCU heads out to Lubbock to clash with Texas Tech in both squad's regular season finale.
Kickoff time was announced Tuesday with a 7 p.m. scheduled for the holiday. ESPN will air the matchup, which gives the Red Raiders and Horned Frogs a chance to thrive at the national forefront.
Not only is it a primetime slot, the latest edition of the "Battle for the Saddle" is the only college football game to be played on Thanksgiving Day. While the NFL is still around to draw eyes, Texas Tech and TCU have a huge opportunity for those seeking action in the collegiate ranks.
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The Thanksgiving slot may be uncommon for the pair, but they are more than familiar with each other. This will be the 68th meeting for the in-state foes with Texas Tech holding the narrow 33-31-3 edge. However, TCU earned the most recent victory in 2024 after a 35-34 thriller. Another credit back to the Red Raiders, they have captured all three Thursday meetings since TCU joined the Big 12 in 2012.
With an almost identical history between the two, TCU carries the Saddle Trophy back into hostile territory and hopes to ride away from Lubbock with it once again. Although the Horned Frogs have hung with Texas Tech recently, it may proves to be a bigger ask now.
Texas Tech turned into the juggernaut of the Big 12 almost overnight, with that loss to TCU in 2024 arguably the tipping point toward a complete overhaul. Last season, the Red Raiders tore through everyone except Arizona State to claim its first Big 12 title and punch a ticket to the College Football Playoff.
It's been slightly longer but TCU has experience at the biggest stages of the sport. Before Texas Tech's tear last season, the Horned Frogs were the last Big 12 representative to finish with an 13-1 record and grab a top-four seed in the CFP that was not assured by an auto-bid. That unforgettable 2022 season for TCU wrapped up with a not-so happy blowout loss to Georgia in the National Championship Game.
Despite the heavy favor, rightfully so, that lies with Texas Tech heading into the matchup, the series between these two bitter opponents has proven that sometimes it goes any way other than what is expected. The Horned Frogs know better than anyone in the Big 12 how hard it is to replicate a record-setting season and can now play the role of spoiler, maybe even in route to a Big 12 Championship Game appearance themselves.