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FORT WORTH, Texas – Texas and TCU fans shared the hatchbacks as they have in the past. Divided households from as far away as Indiana have arrived.
While the first Big 12 road game for the Longhorns since accepting an invitation to join the Southeastern Conference was not much different from the previous 39 meetings in Fort Worth, the backdrop for the SEC was not ignored.
“We’re sitting right across from the student section so you know we’re hearing all the talk of the SEC,” Texas linebacker DeMarvion Overshown said after a 32-27 victory over the Horned Frogs on Saturday.
“Maybe this is the last time we play them, maybe not. Wherever we go, we know we have this target on our back, that people don’t feel like they belong to. the SEC or that we can play with them. Then they’ll talk. “
Liliana Ogden, who was part of a leadership group tasked with pulling the other TCU students from the front row of the section behind the Texas bench, enjoyed the games when the Texas players responded.
“They are committed, which fuels us enough,” said Ogden, who refrains from talking about herself because she is a member of the TCU Dutchmen. “I can’t repeat the words they said that made me laugh.”
The Oklahoma No.6, who will travel to the SEC with Texas by 2025 if not sooner, also played his first Big 12 road game in Kansas State.
The mockery of the OU by home supporters was similar to previous years, with play on a derogatory term. The announcer was keen to mention that Missouri is a former Big 12 member when he gave the score in the Tigers’ 62-24 SEC loss to Tennessee on Saturday.
Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said he’s not worried about the reception the Longhorns get. There were no major incidents, and many pleasant exchanges between players and coaches on the pitch after the match.
“It was awesome,” said Del Conte, the DA who brought TCU into the Big 12 in 2012 and now exits Texas. “The people of Fort Worth are awesome. The folks at TCU are awesome. Glad to be here.”
Texas fan David Gladbach, attending the game with a TCU-clad friend from his days as a Little League coach near Fort Worth, felt the first road conference game for the Longhorns wouldn’t be a big problem.
“There will be no difference,” Gladbach said before the game. “The animosity that reigns is there no matter which conference you play in.”
There were a few signs in the student section, but most had posts that could have been suitable for any grade. The exception was the one that said, “I can’t beat the Hogs, won’t beat the Frogs,” a reference to Texas’ 40-21 loss to Arkansas three weeks ago when the Longhorns were No.15. and that the Razorbacks weren’t ranked.
Brothers Jairus and Jaydon Boyer traveled from Indiana with their father, not in anticipation of a Big 12-SEC gossip, but because one grew up rooting for Texas and the other for TCU. .
Jaydon Boyer, now 19, became addicted to the Horned Frogs a decade ago as they dominated the Mountain West Conference and went undefeated while winning the Rose Bowl. Jairus Boyer, three years his senior, fell in love with the Longhorns led by Colt McCoy.
Young Boyer didn’t get mad at his older brother when Texas rushed for the SEC.
“I think they’re leaving because they’re afraid to play us,” Jaydon Boyer said as his father and brother laughed. “It is what it is.”
In two years, TCU will have four new Big 12 opponents at BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida. The question is whether Texas and Oklahoma will still be members when the expansion hits. The Longhorns and Sooners could leave before 2025.
“I always feel like it’s going to fuel the fire and the game is probably going to be amazing,” said Rachel Bertelson, a Texas fan in attendance with a TCU alumnus. “In people’s minds, this may be the last TCU-Texas game.”
Texas running back Bijan Robinson, a sophomore who had a career-high 216 rushing yards when he first met TCU, heard the chatter as did Overshown. And Robinson was not among those who responded.
“I can hear it in the back, constantly bad stuff,” said Robinson. “I don’t care. I just keep the smile on myself and I keep worrying about what’s going on, what’s ahead. It’s just fun to see the team come together and block. this kind of things.”
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