TCU v. Baylor: The Battle of 2015

Let me set this up for you, lest you have forgotten:

It’s November 27, the day after Thanksgiving (a.k.a. Black Friday). The rain started the day before and continued on and off through Friday. Shoppers went out early (including me), we all ate leftovers, and we kept busy while we waited for The Game. And as the day went on, two things became apparent: it was going to be a cold night, and the Frogs would have the most difficult battle of the season ahead of them. Two weeks before, Baylor lost to Oklahoma 44-34. TCU had had a rough November, losing on November 7 to Oklahoma State and on November 21 to Oklahoma. Trevone Boykin had been injured for two weeks. After a rain delay, the game began with temperatures in the 40s. It was so cold, the Baylor players were actually wearing their shirts the proper way, y’all...that’s cold.

While some of my fellow FOW peeps were freezing at the stadium, I was home watching with my husband and football-clueless-cousin from out of town. It was nice to be warm, but even on TV you could see the atmosphere at the Carter was on fire with TCU fans. So the game began and quickly became a shootout. Baylor’s Devin Chafin scored first with 10:40 left in the first quarter. Trevone Boykin ran onto the field among cheers from Frogs everywhere and led TCU to a touchdown of their own on just 4 plays for 63 yards with 8:55 left in the first. About a minute later, Chafin scored a second touchdown for Baylor with 7:28 left in the quarter. TCU’s Josh Carraway recovered a fumbled and ran it back 56 yards in the second to tie it with 12:55 remaining in the half.

Then, the stalemate began.

Out of 17 total possessions for the two teams in the first half, 6 of them ended with a punt. In the second half, there were 18 possessions: 15 punts, 2 fumbles, and a series by Baylor that ended regulation at a 14-14 tie.

And so the fans at the stadium settled in to watch overtime in just 37 degrees, while those of us left at home were digging through the fridge for a stiff drink. Knowing that I had stupidly volunteered to write the recap for the game, I was sitting on the couch, laptop open, hands shaking, when the Bears took the ball first in OT. Chris Johnson tossed the ball to (who else?) Devin Chafin, who scored the first touchdown of OT. Then Boykin got out there and did Boykin things with a fake handoff that fooled everyone as he ran it in for a touchdown. The game was tied at 21. Boykin took the field again and this time ended the series with a pass to a wide open KaVonte Turpin in the endzone. 28-21 Frogs. Baylor took the ball and was 4th and 1 when Johnson tried to sneak and was stopped short by the Frog defense. But.....Art Briles insisted he called timeout prior to the snap, and the officials let the Bears have one more try. Well, who do you think they tried to hand it off to this time? Briles’ Lucky Bear Devin Chafin. The Frog defense saw that coming from a mile away, and Ty Summers stopped Chafin cold before he could reach for the 1st down. When the Frogs realized it was officially over, chaos ensued and fans took the field feeling warmer than they had in 6+ hours.

28-21.

I have no shame in admitting that I danced in my family room.

I think it’s safe to say that Baylor has begun a new era. This year there will be no Art Briles on the sideline. No half-naked Corey Coleman (thank goodness). And that game was the last time Boykin, Green, and Listenbee defended the Carter. Because of that, the 2015 game represents something even more special. It was so much more than it looks like on paper (but if you want all the stats again, you can find them here).

There are no 28-21 towels. No team photos with #28 and #21 next to each other. No, Frogs are much too classy for that. But the memories and the social media posts will live on forever. Here’s a look back at a few of my favorites.

Feel free to share your favorite moments in the comments below, and be sure to join us in Waco for the 2016 Battle between the Frogs and Bears.