Baylor v. Texas Christian

We are very familiar with these two programs, as they have both been very active in UCFC play of late.  Baylor recently held the title for a full calendar year -- from a 54-24 win over Kansas State on November 17, 2012 until a 49-17 defeat by Oklahoma State on November 23, 2013.  The Bears won 13 UCFC games in a row during that stretch, and scored over 40 points in all but one of those games.  Now they're back with a new football stadium and a chance to take the title from their ancient rivals in Fort Worth.  Here's what Baylor has done so far this year (home teams in bold):

8/31:  Baylor 45, Southern Methodist 0
9/6:  Baylor 70, Northwestern St. 6
9/12:  Baylor 63, Buffalo 21
9/27:  Baylor 49, Iowa St. 28
10/4:  Baylor 28, Texas 7

Those five impressive wins have zoomed Baylor up to number 5 in the AP poll.

But Texas Christian is also doing well.  Check out this record (home teams in bold):

8/30:  Texas Christian 48, Samford 14
9/13:  Texas Christian 30, Minnesota 7
9/27:  Texas Christian 56, Southern Methodist 0
10/4:  Texas Christian 37, Oklahoma 33

And those results have Texas Christian at number 9 in the AP Poll.

So, on a day when the Eyes of Texas are normally focused on the Cotton Bowl for the big game between OU and You Tee, the folks from Baylor and Texas Christian are the ones who get to see top-10 match-up that is also a UCFC battle.  This is an extraordinary development.  For decades, Baylor and Texas Christian were overshadowed by the larger public schools.  Now they get the spotlight to themselves.

And that's great, because these two teams have a phenomenal rivalry all their own.  In the 19th century, there was a bitter ideological division between the Restorationist types who founded Texas Christian and the Baptists who started Baylor.  Furthermore, Texas Christian was in Waco (home of Baylor) from 1895-1910, moving to Fort Worth only after a big fire destroyed its main building.  Texas Christian and Baylor are separated by only 87 miles of I-35 -- a short drive in the context of the Lone Star State.  They were both long-time members of the Southwest Conference, and they have played each other 109 times.  The all-time record in the series is 51-51-7.  You can't get much closer than that.

This will be the seventh time that Baylor and Texas Christian have battled for the UCFC.  Most of those match-ups took place in the 1930's, when the Big Gold Trophy stayed down in Texas for most of the decade.  The Bears and Frogs are 3-3 in UCFC games.

11/3/1928:  Baylor 7, Texas Christian 6
11/23/1929:  Texas Christian 34, Baylor 7
11/4/1933:  Baylor 7, Texas Christian 0
10/30/1937:  Baylor 6 ,Texas Christian 0
10/29/1938:  Texas Christian 39, Baylor 7 (the 1938 Frogs won the AP national championship)
10/26/1991:  Baylor 26, Texas Christian 9

Vegas has Baylor as a 7-point favorite, with an over/under line of 65.  That would work out to a final score of 36-29 -- which still seems a little low for a Big XII game with two high-powered offenses.  But if the oddsmakers are right, this page will be a different color tomorrow.