Texas Christian v. Southern Methodist

The casual traveler who only knows the Dallas-Fort Worth area from its massive airport really misses the drama associated with one of the most interesting metropolitan areas in the United States.  According to Google Maps, only 39.5 miles separate Texas Christian in Fort Worth and Southern Methodist in Dallas.  And the Yankee cynic could, no doubt, drive from one campus to the other thinking that the only difference in these two bastions of liberal Protestantism relates to their school colors.  But to the person who cares about these things -- including many of the folk in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex -- the differences are profound.  Dallas thinks of itself as wealthy, sophisticated, and successful -- the home of Nieman Marcus and the Dallas Cowboys.  From the perspective of Dallas, less fashionable Fort Worth is just another jealous cowtown.  On the other hand, the Fort Worthers see themselves as true, salt-of-the-earth Texans, and the folks in Dallas as a collection of pretentious phonies.  On this reading, Dallas is symbolized by the likes of J.R. Ewing and Jerry Jones -- rich folks who could never be described as gentlemen.

For many years, the rivalry between Dallas and Fort Worth played out on the football field in the annual showdown between Texas Christian and Southern Methodist.  This game, which was traditionally the season-ender for both teams, featured some real classics -- especially in the 1930's, which was in many ways the Golden Age of Texas Football.  On November 30, 1935, an undefeated Southern Methodist team bean an undefeated Texas Christian team 20-14 to capture a bid to the Rose Bowl.  In 1929, 1931, 1937, 1938, and 1941, Texas Christian and Southern Methodist played for the UCFC -- with Texas Christian going 3-0-2 in those games.

Since World War II, this rivalry has gone through three distinct stages.  From 1946 to 1965, Texas Christian went 14-3-3 against Southern Methodist, as the Frogs maintained their position as one of the better teams in the Southwest Conference.  But from 1966 to 1986, the shoe was on the other foot.  Texas Christian became one of the weakest programs in Division I, while Southern Methodist went 19-2 against their cross-town rivals.  That all ended with Southern Methodist getting the Death Penalty, while Texas Christian took advantage of Southern Methodist's weakness to rebuild themselves into a national power.  These days, Texas Christian is in the Big XII, while Southern Methodist is in the weaker American Athletic Conference.  Since Southern Methodist was hit with the Death Penalty, Texas Christian is 19-6 against the Mustangs. 

Last year, Texas Christian went to Dallas and pounded Southern Methodist 56-0.  This year, Texas Christian is number 3 in the country and will be playing this game at home.  They are favored by 37 points, and that sounds about right.