TCU football will open against North Carolina in Dublin on ESPN, then close the regular season at Texas Tech on Thanksgiving night.
TCU football now has two major television windows locked in for the 2026 season, and both give the Horned Frogs a national ESPN spotlight.
The first comes right away. TCU’s regular-season opener against North Carolina in Dublin, Ireland, will kick off at 11 a.m. CT, which is 5 p.m. local time in Ireland.
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The game will air on ESPN, giving the Frogs a high-profile international stage to begin the year.
It’s also a rematch with some juice.
TCU and North Carolina opened the 2025 season against each other, and now they’ll run it back overseas in one of college football’s more unique settings.
For the Horned Frogs, it’s a chance to start fast, build early national attention and make a statement before the rest of the schedule settles in.
The other announced window comes at the finish line.
TCU will close the 2026 regular season on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, with a road game at Texas Tech. That matchup is set for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN in Lubbock, giving the Frogs and Red Raiders a standalone holiday night stage.
That Thanksgiving slot should bring plenty of energy.
TCU-Texas Tech already carries Big 12 edge, and placing it under the lights on a holiday only raises the stakes. Depending on how the conference race unfolds, the finale could have postseason implications.
For TCU, these two ESPN windows frame the season in a big way: an international opener against an ACC opponent and a Thanksgiving-night rivalry-style finale in West Texas.
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There’s a lot of football between those dates, of course. But the message is clear.
The Horned Frogs will have multiple chances to grab national attention in 2026, starting in Dublin and ending in prime time.
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