Texas A & M 45 - 24 Arkansas (Final)

Not much happened after that last Aggie touchdown, and A & M HAS TAKEN THE UCFC!

Texas A & M 45 - 24 Arkansas (4:57 left in 4th Quarter)

But the Arkansas defense has nothing left.  The Aggies roll through them for their fourth touchdown of the second half, this one coming on a 22-yard run by Trayveon Williams.

Fire up the bus!  The Big Gold Trophy is coming to Columbia, South Carolina for next week's game between the Gamecocks and the Aggies.

Texas A & M 38 - 24 Arkansas (6:21 left in 4th Quarter)

Good for Arkansas.  Down 21 points, they go 92 yards in 12 quick plays for a touchdown that they really could have used about 30 minutes ago.  Allen hits Jared Cornelius of Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, La. with a five-yard pass for the score.  It's almost certainly too little, too late, but it shows a good fighting spirit.

Texas A & M 38 - 17 Arkansas (10:25 left in 4th Quarter)

That didn't take long.  Arkansas looks punch-drunk, and the Aggies swiftly scored again on a 9-yard pass from Trevor Knight to Christian Kirk of Saguaro H.S. in Scottsdale, Ariz.

In the first three quarters, these teams appeared to be very evenly matched.  But since the Aggies made that fabulous goal-line stand, they have really dialed up their athletic advantage -- making play after play that the hard-working, but athletically-limited Razorbacks can't match.  And so it appears that the Big Gold Trophy will be on its way back to the Lone Star State.

Texas A & M 31 - 17 Arkansas (11:05 left in 4th Quarter)

Arkansas doesn't like to pass all the time -- they are a run-first sort of team.  But down 14 points, they had little choice.  Unfortunately for them, the Aggies knew what they would be doing, and Daeshon Hall -- a very large defensive lineman from Seattle -- went crashing into QB Austin Allen, forcing another FUMBLE, which the Aggies recovered at the Arkansas 15.

Texas A & M 31 - 17 Arkansas (11:54 left in 4th Quarter)

And that's probably your ball game.  The Aggies go 86 yards in 7 plays -- the touchdown coming on another long run up the middle.  This time it's a 33-yard dash by running back Trayveon Williams of C.E. King H.S. in Houston.  That's 21 points in a row for the Aggies, who are now showing their superior quality.

Arkansas has a good team, and a good coach.  They had a good game plan tonight, and a lot of chances to build a big lead.  But there were just too many times where they couldn't score from inside the Aggie 10, and now time is running out for them.

Texas A & M 24 - 17 Arkansas (14 minutes left in 4th Quarter)

The Aggie defense holds, and forces Arkansas to punt.  The Aggies will start from their own 14, and they have a chance to put the Hogs in a big hole.

Texas A & M 24 - 17 Arkansas (end of 3d Quarter)

Arkansas fought back from behind against Texas Christian, and now they will have to come from behind against Texas A & M.  They have started from their own 25, and are again banging away at the Aggie line with their running game.  As the third quarter ends, the Razorbacks face a 2d and 3 at the A & M 48.

Texas A & M 24 - 17 Arkansas (1:33 left in 3d Quarter)

On first and 10 from their own 6, the Aggies ran for two yards.  On second and 8 from their own 8, Trevor Knight hurled a BOMB that hit Josh Reynolds of John Jay H.S. in San Antonio, Tex.  Reynolds caught the ball in stride and went NINETY-TWO YARDS for a touchdown.  And now, for the first time all night, the Aggies have the lead.

Texas A & M 17 - 17 Arkansas (2:25 left in 3d Quarter)

So after a 19-play drive that lasted almost the entire third quarter, it came down to this:  fourth and goal for the Razorbacks about 12 inches from the goal line.  Arkansas decided to go for it.  After back-to-back quarterback sneaks had failed, the Hogs tried a reverse to Keon Hatcher of Owasso H.S. in Owasso, Okla.  For an instant, it looked like he was going to make it.  But instead, he was hit for a six-yard loss.  So we are still tied, and the Aggies will start from their own 6.

Texas A & M 17 - 17 Arkansas (5:32 left in 3d Quarter)

Arkansas took that fumble on its own 5, and they have driven 78 yards in 13 plays -- using up almost 7 minutes of game time in the process.  Now they face a third and 3 at the Aggie 17, and they have called time to figure out what to do next.

OK, here we go.  Arkansas goes with a QB sweep, and Austin Allen (of Fayetteville H.S. in Fayetteville, Ark.) scrambles for four yards and a huge first down.

Texas A & M 17 - 17 Arkansas (12:10 left in 3d Quarter)

Wow.  Another big turnover.  Texas A & M took the opening kickoff, and drove straight down the field.  But suddenly, just as they were about to take the lead, the Aggies FUMBLED at the Arkansas 5, and the Razorbacks grabbed the ball.  Each team has now suffered two turnovers, and all four of those turnovers have been important.

Texas A & M 17 - 17 Arkansas (14:54 left in 3d Quarter)

A & M takes the kickoff to start the second half, but doesn't take it very far.  The Aggies will begin from their own 14.

Texas A & M 17 - 17 Arkansas (Halftime)

It's all to play for in JerryWorld, as both teams have been evenly matched so far.  The Razorbacks have 249 total yards, while the Aggies have 222.  There's not really a whole lot to say -- neither team has been able to take control, and the game is up for grabs.

Texas A & M 17 - 17 Arkansas (13 seconds left in 2d Quarter)

Neither team can get control of this game.  A & M takes the kickoff and goes 74 yards in 6 plays to re-tie the game.  The key play was another long quarterback draw by Trevor Knight -- 48 yards straight down the middle of the field for a touchdown.

This is a very good game so far.

Texas A & M 10 - 17 Arkansas (1:31 left in 2d Quarter)

Arkansas puts together the best drive of the game so far -- going 75 yards, and finally blasting into the end zone on an eight-yard run by Rawleigh Williams III of Bishop Lynch H.S. in Dallas.  Williams has 71 yards on 10 carries, and the Razorbacks have regained the lead.

Texas A & M 10 - 10 Arkansas (4:42 left in 2d Quarter)

Shaken up by the penalty, Arkansas allows a long play that puts the Aggies into field goal range, but the Razorbacks' defense stiffens and Texas A & M settles for a 48-yard field goal by LaCamera.  Both teams have made some early mistakes, and both teams have let some opportunities get away.  This game may come down to who makes the last mistake.

Texas A & M 7 - 10 Arkansas (6:47 left in 2d Quarter)

Another disastrous play for Arkansas.  On third and 7 from its own 4, Texas A & M hurls a long pass, which falls incomplete -- but De'Andre Coley, an Arkansas defensive back from Northwestern H.S. in Miami, clatters into the Aggie receiver.  That's a late hit, and A & M will get a first down.  Furthermore, Coley is EJECTED from the game for targeting.

So the Aggies will have first and 10 from the 19, and the Razorbacks will be down a safety.

Texas A & M 7 - 10 Arkansas (8:45 left in 2d Quarter)

Once again, Arkansas has a golden opportunity to score a touchdown, after a long pass gives them a first and goal at the 8.  But just as Rawleigh Williams was about to score, he FUMBLED the football, and it was recovered by Armani Watts, a defensive back from North Forney H.S. in Forney, Tex.  Watts deserved the recovery, as he stripped the ball.  Another huge turnover.  The Aggies will start from their own 1.

Texas A & M 7 - 10 Arkansas (9:27 left in 2d Quarter)

A very poor possession for the Aggies.  A penalty on the kickoff return forces them to start from their own five, they go three and out, and their punt goes out of bounds at the 50.  The Razorbacks will have a great chance to pad their lead.

Texas A & M 7 - 10 Arkansas (9:59 left in 2d Quarter)

After taking the kickoff, Arkansas quickly broke a long run leaving them with a first and goal at the Aggie 3.  The Razorbacks then ran a whole bunch of plays inside the A & M five -- helped by a pass interference penalty that gave them a first and goal at the one.  But none of those plays were successful, and they were forced to settle for a field goal by Cole Hedlund of Argyle H.S. in Argyle, Tex.

This is a very hard-fought game so far, and it's really hard to see which team is better.

Texas A & M 7 - 7 Arkansas (14:52 left in 2d Quarter)

Turnovers will kill you. On third and one, Aggie QB Trevor Knight -- from Reagan H.S. in San Antonio, Tex. -- dashes 42 yards straight up the middle for the Aggies' first touchdown of the game.  Daniel LaCamara (of East Lake H.S. in Tarpon Springs, Fla.) boots the extra point, and we are all tied up.

Texas A & M 0 - 7 Arkansas (46 seconds left in 1st Quarter)

Arkansas had a nice drive going, but they FUMBLED the ball at the Aggie 48.  The fumble is recovered by Myles Garrett, a defensive lineman from Martin H.S. in Arlington, Tex., and the Aggies are in business.

Texas A & M 0 - 7 Arkansas (4:32 left in 1st Quarter)

The Aggies go three and out, and they punt to the Arkansas 15.

Texas A & M 0 - 7 Arkansas (5:30 left in 1st Quarter)

The Aggies hold, and Arkansas punts to the A & M 32.

Texas A & M 0 - 7 Arkansas (7 minutes left in 1st Quarter)

Auburn and LSU had their usual traumatic struggle, with Auburn finally prevailing 18 to 13.  LSU appeared to have scored the winning touchdown on the last play of the game, but the officials decided that the clock had expired before the play began.

And so we finally get to JerryWorld, where an enormous crowd is watching Arkansas and Texas A & M battle for the Big Gold Trophy.  The Hogs are facing a 3d and 21 on their own 21.

Uniform watch:  both teams are wearing their canonical unis, which are two of the best in sports.  The Hogs are in white; the Aggies are in "Aggie Maroon." (PMS 7421).

Texas A & M 0 - 7 Arkansas (12:29 left in 1st Quarter)

We still can't see the game, but apparently Arkansas took the opening kickoff, couldn't go anywhere, and punted.  A & M fumbled the punt, and Arkansas took over at the A & M 16.  Two plays later, Arkansas threw a touchdown pass.  So the Razorbacks have jumped out to the early lead.

Texas A & M 0 - 0 Arkansas (14:30 left in 1st Quarter)

The game has kicked off, but ESPN is still showing the Auburn/LSU game, which has about 2 minutes left.  ESPN tells us that the TAMU/Arkansas game can be seen on the "SEC Alternate" channel, but I have no idea what that is.  Will report back once I can actually see the game.

Texas A & M v. Arkansas

I often complain about the death of the Southwest Conference on this blog, but the last few weeks I've had the strong feeling that the old league is still alive.  We had a game between Arkansas and Texas Christian, which was an SWC fixture for many decades -- and now we have another SWC game;  Texas A & M v. Arkansas.

This is a fun series, featuring two of the most spirited fan bases in all of sports.  For years, these teams battled each other in the Southwest Conference, with the Razorbacks finally gaining an edge in the series under the great leadership of Frank Broyles.  Arkansas's last Southwest Conference game was against A & M on November 16, 1991 -- the Aggies won 13-3.  And that was it for many years, until the teams decided to renew their rivalry with the 2009 season.  The idea was that they would start an annual game, known as the Southwest Classic, that would take place at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex.  Arkansas won the first three Southwest Classics -- but since joining the SEC in 2012, the Aggies have won four in a row.  The last two were thrillers:  in 2014 the Aggies beat Arkansas 35-28 in overtime; and last year A & M won 28-21 in overtime.  Arkansas still leads the all-time series:  41-28-3.

They've met for the UCFC on three different occasions, with Arkansas winning all three games in shutouts:

10/31/1936:  Arkansas 18, Texas A & M 0
10/31/1964:  Arkansas 17, Texas A & M 0
10/30/1965:  Arkansas 31, Texas A & M 0

My guess is that we will not see a shutout today.  The Razorbacks are 3-0 and ranked number 17 in the AP Poll.  But the Aggies are doing even better -- they are 3-0 (with wins over UCLA, Prairie View, and at Auburn), and they are ranked 10th in the country.  So this is a huge game for both schools -- the winner will be off to a great start in the rugged SEC West, and will probably be on its way to a major bowl game.  Plus, it will have the UCFC.

I think of this game as a bit of a toss-up, but the folks in Vegas like A & M by six points in a game where they expect 49 points to be scored.  That would give the Aggies something like a 28-21 win, and it would mean a slight change to the colors of this page.  We will see what happens -- it would seem odd to cover a UCFC game where no one scores 40 points.

Texas A & M

Many states feature a rivalry between the primary liberal arts college and the agricultural school.  But one of the greatest of these rivalries is in Texas, where hearts have long been divided between the haughty University of Texas and its scrappy rival, Texas A & M University.  Texas A & M opened on October 4, 1876, and was given the glorious name of The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas.  (The later Victorians had a genius for florid and descriptive names -- who can forget the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, founded in 1871, which lived on for decades as A & P?)

Naturally, the folks in Texas referred to the new school as Texas A & M -- and in 1963 (a time where people loved acronyms) the legislature made this official, changing the name to Texas A & M University.  Wikipedia tells us that "{t}he letters 'A&M,' originally short for 'Agricultural and Mechanical,' are retained only as a link to the university's past."

Texas A & M first fielded a football team in 1894, and soon became a power.  The 1919 Aggies were not only undefeated -- they outscored their opposition 275 to 0.  The 1939 Aggies went 11-0, beat Tulane in the Sugar Bowl, and were chosen as the National Champion by the Associated Press.  But they went into decline during the 1940's, and after that were rarely at the same level as the University of Texas.  They had their moments -- Bear Bryant had four stirring seasons in the mid-1950's, including a Heisman Trophy winner (John David Crow) and a Southwest Conference title.  Gene Stallings won the Southwest Conference title in 1967 -- and beat Alabama in the Cotton Bowl.  Jackie Sherrill won three consecutive Southwest titles in the mid-1980's -- and beat Texas five years in a row.  And R.C. Slocum won four conference titles in the 1990's.

But for the most part, A & M has always fallen just short of national greatness.  For example, here are their top-10 finishes in the AP poll since the end of WW 2:

1956:  9-0-1 (5th)

1957:  8-3 (9th)

1976:  10-2 (7th)

1985:  10-2 (6th)

1987:  10-2 (10th)

1992:  12-1 (7th)

1993:  10-2 (9th)

1994:  10-0-1 (8th)

2012:  11-2 (5th)

See?  They tend to break through a couple of times per decade, but they've never been that close to actually going all the way.  They also have an all-time record of 37-76-5 against Texas, and that sort of thing tends to weigh on a fan base.  A & M has one of the best fan bases in the country, and they have more traditions and rituals than almost any school in college football, and everyone sort of admires their grit and spirit, but they've generally been just outside the charmed circle of the very highest powers.

One of their problems has always been the difficulty of recruiting against Texas.  The two schools obviously try to get the same high school players, and it's always been difficult to explain why someone should turn down the lordly Longhorns -- and their glamorous home in Austin -- to struggle down in College Station.  But a few years ago, when Texas was being even more annoying than usual -- threatening to break up the Big XII as part of an ultimately futile effort to move into the Pac 12 -- the Aggies saw a way to escape their ancient nemesis.  The Southeastern Conference had taken Arkansas from the Southwest Conference in the early 1990's, but the SEC was still looking for a way into Texas.  A & M was that way, and since 2012 the Aggies have belonged to the SEC.  It's been a happy deal for both sides -- the SEC greatly expanded its footprint by adding one of the largest fan bases in Texas, while A & M could now tell recruits that if they wanted to play in the nation's best football conference, they should go with the Aggies over UT.  The only loss to college football fans is that UT and A & M no longer play each other.  Given that Georgia plays Georgia Tech, and Florida plays Florida State, and South Carolina plays Clemson, it seems obvious that belonging to different conferences shouldn't end such a great rivalry.  But the Longhorns and Aggies are each very haughty in their own ways, and who knows when this series will be renewed?

The Aggies have an all-time record of 15-16-1 in UCFC competition.  They won the title at the end of the 1927 season (with a 28-7 win over Texas) and kept it through much of the 1928 season, before losing it so Centenary.  Their longest streak was in 1998, when they won six UCFC games in a row, before losing the title to Texas in a 26-24 thriller in the last game of the season.  That game -- on November 27, 1998 -- was the Aggies' last crack at the UCFC, until today.

Arkansas 42 - 3 Texas State (Final)

Coming into this game, Arkansas was 2-0 -- but had outscored its opponents by only four points, 62 to 58.  They were the only 2-0 team in I-A football with a combined margin of victory of less than 10 points.  Nevertheless, they made short work of the Texas State Bobcats -- crushing them 42-3 before 72,114 happy patrons at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  There's really not much to report here -- Arkansas was completely dominant from start to finish, and the game was never seriously in doubt.

Texas State falls to 0-1 all-time in UCFC games.

Arkansas's record in UCFC games is now 26-14-2.

So Arkansas has now beaten Texas Christian and Texas State.  Next up, the Razorbacks will travel to JerryWorld -- in Arlington, Texas, for their annual showdown with Texas A & M.  That should be quite a game.

Texas State University

In 1899, the State of Texas established a school for teachers in San Marcos, Texas -- between Austin and San Antonio.  Known as the Southwest Texas State Normal School, its most famous alumnus was President Lyndon Johnson, who graduated from there in 1930.

By 1969, it had become the Southwest Texas State University.  But as the school continued to grow, there was a press to change the name, and in 2003 it became Texas State University -- San Marcos.  The "San Marcos" was dropped in September 2013, and now the school is just Texas State University.

According to Wikipedia, the school has competed "intermittently" in football since 1904, and it won two Division II national championships in 1981 (42-13 over North Dakota State) and 1982 (34-9 over UC Davis).  The Bobcats reached the I-AA semi-finals in 2005, before losing 40-37 to Northern Iowa.  These days, they are part of the Sun Belt Conference.  Last year, they went 3-9.  The game with Arkansas was their first attempt at the UCFC.

Texas Christian 38 - 41 Arkansas (Final) (Double Overtime)

On January 4, 2012, West Virginia beat Clemson 70-33 in the Orange Bowl to win the Unofficial College Football Championship.  That was WVU's last game as a member of the Big East Conference; the next year they joined the Big XII.  And from that time until this -- more than four full football seasons -- every UCFC game has featured a member of the Big XII.  Our blog started in 2010, and here are the teams with the most comments:

Texas Christian:  459
Baylor:  311
W. Virginia:  239
Oklahoma St:  162

So that gives you a sense of who we've been writing about for the last four years.  Now that the Big XII has finally lost the title, here are a few final thoughts on this conference.

1.  When I started covering Big XII football, I was really troubled by the lack of defense that I saw in so many games -- and, in fact, I never got used to that.  But as time went on, I came to realize that what they've created in the Big XII is no soft run-and-shoot that will collapse against good competition.  If anything, the rest of college football is moving in their direction -- look at last year's 45-40 shootout between Alabama and Clemson for the National Championship.  In this game, for example, Arkansas really tried to avoid getting caught up in Texas Christian's usual style -- but in the end, Arkansas had to outscore the Horned Frogs in order to win.

2.  Having said that, I think there are a number of problems with the current Big XII.  The whole West Virginia thing just doesn't work -- the Mountaineers don't have any connection to the rest of the league, and the huge distance means that the home team has an enormous advantage in any game involving WVU and the rest of the conference.  It's also clear that the old Big 8 schools haven't adjusted well to this new era.  Missouri is an also-ran in the SEC; Colorado is an also-ran in the Pac-12; Nebraska is an also-ran in the Big 10.  The other Big 8 schools -- Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State -- are together in the Big XII, but Oklahoma is the only one of them with much of a claim to football prowess, and the others are never likely to make much of an impact.

3.  Things are much better in Texas, where Texas Christian and Baylor built very respectable programs -- thanks to good coaching and the immense flood of talent in that state.  But the University of Texas is not where it should be, and they are all diminished by the loss of Arkansas and Texas A & M to the SEC.  There are just too many games where the Texas schools are playing teams like Kansas or West Virginia or Iowa State, and you're thinking, "Why is this game being played?  Who really wants to watch these teams play each other?"

4.  I would love to see the Big 8 re-form.  Let Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, and Oklahoma renew their ancient rivalries, and those teams will all have a better chance to make national names for themselves.  Down in Texas, let the four remaining Big XII schools -- Texas, Texas Christian, Texas Tech, and Baylor -- form a new Southwest Conference with Southern Methodist, Houston, Rice, and maybe Tulane.  That would be a fun conference with lots of rivalry games.  Keep the Texas/OU game as usual, but let it be a non-conference game once more, and let Texas finish with Texas A & M, while OU finishes with Nebraska.  In my opinion, every one of those schools would benefit from such an arrangement.  Leave WVU to find its own way in the East -- eventually the ACC would take the Mountaineers in, and they could renew their rivalries with Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse.

Of course, we will come back here some day -- there's too much talent in this part of the country to lose the UCFC for long.  I am happy to be returning to the SEC -- my own home conference -- but I have grown quite fond of Texas Christian, which has played in so many great UCFC games in recent years.  Gary Patterson is an amazing coach, and his success here is one of the great and underappreciated stories of college football over the last quarter century.

Texas Christian loses the UCFC, dropping its all-time record in UCFC games to 48-21-6.  Only Yale, Princeton, USC, Harvard, Penn, and Ohio State have won the Big Gold Trophy more often than the Horned Frogs.  We will miss them.

Texas Christian 38 - 41 Arkansas (Final) (double overtime)

This is just a placeholder to let everyone know that Arkansas has won the UCFC and that the next competition for the Big Gold Trophy will take place on September 17, 2016, at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  The holders of the Trophy, the Arkansas Razorbacks, will defend it against the Texas State Bobcats.  We will see you then.

Texas Christian 38 - 35 Arkansas (bottom of the 2d overtime)

1/10, TCU 25:  reverse to Dominique Reed for 15
1/G, TCU 10:  Williams runs for 1
2/G, TCU 9:  Allen passes to Austin Cantrell for 4
3/G, TCU 5:  Austin Allen, from Fayetteville H.S., in Fayetteville, Arkansas, takes the ball and runs through the end zone.  He is hit.  He keeps going.  He is hit again.  More Frogs converge, trying to keep him out.  He presses forward AND BREAKS THE PLANE!  ARKANSAS HAS DONE IT!

THEY HAVE BROKEN TEXAS CHRISTIAN'S 14-GAME HOME WINNING STREAK!

THEY HAVE COME FROM EIGHT POINTS DOWN WITH LESS THAN TWO MINUTES TO PLAY!

THEY HAVE SURVIVED DOUBLE OVERTIME!

But most importantly, THEY HAVE WON THE UNOFFICIAL CHAMPIONSHIP OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL!

What a game!

Texas Christian 35 - 35 Arkansas (top of the 2d overtime)

OK, here's Texas Christian, going for a seventh overtime touchdown in a row:

1/10, Ark 25:  Hicks runs for 4
2/6, Ark 21:  Hicks runs for 1
3/5, Ark 20:  Hill passes to Turpin, incomplete
4/5, Ark 20:  Graf's FIELD GOAL is GOOD

Over to Arkansas.

Texas Christian 28 - 35 Arkansas (bottom of the 1st overtime)

1/10, Ark 25:  Hicks runs for 9
2/1, Ark 16:  Hill to Turpin (screen pass) for 5
1/10, Ark 11:  Texas Christian false start
1/15, Ark 16:  pass from Hill to Taj Williams, incomplete
2/15, Ark 16:  Hicks runs for 3
3/12, Ark 13:  Hill to Taj Williams (of Tallahassee, Fla.) for 13 yards.  TOUCHDOWN

The extra point is GOOD.

Onto the second overtime.  I believe that Texas Christian has now scored a touchdown in six consecutive overtime possessions.

Texas Christian 28 - 28 Arkansas (top of the 1st overtime)

Arkansas is going first.  Starting at the Texas Christian 25:

1/10, TCU 25:  Williams runs for 6
2/4, TCU 19:  incomplete pass from Allen to Sprinkle
3/4, TCU 19:  19-yard pass from Allen to Jeremy Sprinkle (of White Hall H.S. in White Hall, Ark.)  TOUCHDOWN.

The extra point is GOOD.  Roughing the kicker penalty is declined.

Over to Texas Christian.

Texas Christian 28 - 28 Arkansas (after 4th Quarter)

On November 27, 2015, in the rain, Texas Christian beat Baylor 28-21 (in double overtime) to win the UCFC.

On January 2, 2016, in San Antonio, Tex., Texas Christian beat Oregon 47-41 (in triple overtime) to win the Alamo Bowl and keep the UCFC.

And now, for the third time in the last four contests, the UCFC is going to overtime again.

THE UCFC, EVERYBODY!

Texas Christian 28 - 28 Arkansas (44 seconds left in 4th Quarter)

On first down, Texas Christian appears to have a touchdown, but the receiver had run out of bounds before catching the ball, so it doesn't count.

On second down, Hill runs to the Arkansas 23.

On third down, Hill runs to the Arkansas 11.

On first down, Hill spikes the ball.  There are 21 seconds left.

On second down, Hill throws that corner lob pass that never wants.  16 seconds left.

And here comes Ryan Graf, a redshirt freshman from Culver Military Academy in Los Angeles, to kick the field goal.

Arkansas calls time.

Of course, the only reason we're tied is that Arkansas missed a short field goal.  Now Texas Christian has a short field goal for the win.

And here's the kick -- IT IS BLOCKED!  Dan Skipper, a 6 foot 10 inch offensive lineman from Ralston Valley H.S. in Arvada, Colo., is inserted for purposes of field goal defense.  AND HE BLOCKS THE KICK!  The game ends in a tie!

For the third time in the last four UCFC games, TEXAS CHRISTIAN IS GOING TO OVERTIME.

Texas Christian 28 - 28 Arkansas (1:03 left in 4th Quarter)

It should be noted that Kenny Hill was called for unsportsmanlike conduct on his last touchdown (he made a throat-slashing motion), which helped Arkansas with better field position.

But it doesn't matter, because Arkansas decided to kick the ball to KaVontae Turpin.  I have no idea why they thought this was a good idea, because Turpin immediately GOES 64 YARDS TO THE ARKANSAS 27.

Texas Christian 28 - 20 Arkansas (1:24 left in 4th Quarter)

Arkansas has driven to the Texas Christian 28, but their best receiver -- Drew Morgan -- just left the game with an injury and Arkansas just jumped offside.

OK, so here's what happened after that.

1st and 15 from the Texas Christian 33:  17-yard pass from Austin Allen to Jared Cornelius
1st and 10 from the Texas Christian 16:  16-yard pass from Austin Allen to Jared Cornelius (of Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, La.)  TOUCHDOWN.

Two-point conversion try:  The Razorbacks run a DOUBLE REVERSE, WHICH ENDS WITH A PASS FROM WIDE RECEIVER KEON HATCHER TO QB ALLEN.  THE GAME IS TIED.

Texas Christian 28 - 20 Arkansas (2:05 left in 4th Quarter)

Texas Christian kept the ball on the ground more often this time, in order to use up more clock, but the result was the same.  Kenny Hill dashed in from five yards out, and Texas Christian had its third touchdown in three possessions.

I don't really think that Arkansas started doing anything different, or that Texas Christian had some type of new strategy.  All I can tell you is that when Texas Christian really, absolutely, has to score -- especially at home -- they score.  Period.  I've seen it happen over and over and over.  And that's why they've dominated the UCFC.

So let's look at what's ahead.  Next week Texas Christian hosts Iowa State, which is basically a walkover.  Then they'll go to Southern Methodist.  They'll probably give up at least 35 points, since they'll be on the road, but they won't lose to Southern Methodist.  Then they'll host Oklahoma.  Now it's possible that Oklahoma will just crush them -- but I don't think that's likely, especially with Texas Christian at home.  And if Texas Christian wins that game, then they go to Kansas -- which should be another easy win.

And then, on October 22, the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs will travel to Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia for a game with the West Virginia Mountaineers.  If Texas Christian still has the Big Gold Trophy, they will be 6-0 with a win over Oklahoma, so they will probably be in the top five.  West Virginia will be fired up, and that will be a wild and dangerous game for the Frogs.

Texas Christian 21 - 20 Arkansas (6:04 left in 3d Quarter)

Arkansas goes three and out and can only punt the ball to the 50.  Texas Christian is now in beast mode on both sides of the ball, and this one is all over but the shouting.

Texas Christian 21 - 20 Arkansas (7:15 left in 4th Quarter)

It took only two plays.  Hill hit Turpin with a long pass down to the Arkansas 7.  And then Kyle Hicks scooted in from the 7 for the touchdown.

Arkansas had their chance.  They were at the 2 yard line with a chance to take a 20 point lead.  They did not score.  And now they are in big, big, trouble.

No one pays much attention to Texas Christian, because they will usually have at least one game per season where they get beat by about 25 points on national television.  And so they never even get the chance to play the Alabama's and Ohio State's of the world.  But if you watch them week in and week out -- and I feel like I've seen almost all their games in the last few seasons -- you really come to appreciate what an extraordinary program they have.  In a time of crisis, they have an extra gear that normal teams just cannot match.  If you want to beat them, you need to beat them badly.

Texas Christian 14 - 20 Arkansas (7:47 left in 4th Quarter)

Arkansas punted, and appeared to have tackled KaVontae Turpin (of Neville H.S. in Monroe, La.) at his own 26.  But Turpin just kept struggling forward -- and eventually broke out all the way to the 50 yard line.

I do not remember ever seeing anyone stop Texas Christian in this situation.  I will be interested to see if Arkansas can do so.

Texas Christian 14 - 20 Arkansas (8:04 left in 4th Quarter)

As usual in these situations, the Texas Christian defense forces a three and out -- blowing up a pass on 3d and 2 with the same type of overwhelming rush that buried Ole Miss back in the Peach Bowl.  So Arkansas will be punting from its own 32.

Texas Christian 14 - 20 Arkansas (9:44 left in 4th Quarter)

I can't even count how many times I've seen the Horned Frogs win the UCFC under improbable circumstances.  They have lost UCFC games from time to time, but they don't usually lose if it's close.  Just a few minutes ago, it looked as though Arkansas was about to take a 27-7 lead.  But then everything went wrong.  The Razorbacks couldn't score from the 2.  Then they missed a 22-yard field goal.  Then the Horned Frogs zipped down the field in their traditional fashion.  Then Brooks Ellis -- the outstanding linebacker who has sparked the Razorback defense all night -- left the field with an injury.  And then Kenny Hill scooted in from one yard out.  And now the Frogs are only six points behind with a lot of time left.

Texas Christian 7 - 20 Arkansas (11:30 in 4th Quarter)

Don't ever think it's easy to beat the Frogs in Amon G. Carter Stadium.  They've won 14 games in a row there, and this time their defense rose up and buried the Arkansas offense on three straight plays.  And then Arkansas's kicker bonked a short field goal kick off the upright, and the Razorbacks were left with no points from a situation where they had 1st and goal at the Texas Christian 2.

The Frogs can still win this game -- and retain the Big Gold Trophy -- with two touchdowns.  They are 80 yards away from the first one.

Texas Christian 7 - 20 Arkansas (13:35 left in 4th Quarter)

A big play coming up here.  Arkansas faces a 3d and 5 at the Texas Christian 24, and the Razorbacks have called time.

We haven't had a chance to mention Rawleigh Williams III, an Arkansas running back from Bishop Lynch H.S. in Dallas.  He's been great in this game -- and there he goes, bouncing off tackle for 22 big yards.  Williams now has 131 yards on 22 carries; he has been huge.

First and goal for Arkansas at the 2.

Texas Christian 7 - 20 Arkansas (2:21 left in 3d Quarter)

On 3d and 3 from the Arkansas 48, Kenny Hill was sacked for an 8-yard loss on a huge play by McTelvin Agim, a freshman from Hope H.S. in Texarkana, Ark.  Then Texas Christian commits a late hit on the punt, so Arkansas will be starting from the Texas Christian 49.

Texas Christian 7 - 20 Arkansas (4:27 left in 3d Quarter)

Texas Christian's defense has generally played a critical role in the Frogs' many big comebacks in recent years -- the defense holds the fort so that the offense can get rolling.  And Texas Christian's defense has been really good tonight.  But this time, Arkansas came out throwing and caught the Frogs off guard.  The Razorbacks go 63 yards for the touchdown, scoring on a 13-yard pass from Austin Allen (of Fayetteville H.S. in Fayetteville, Ark.) to Drew Morgan (of Greenwood H.S. in Greenwood, Ark.).

So the Razorbacks have matched Texas Christian's score with one of their own.  Now it will be up to the defense.

Texas Christian 7 - 13 Arkansas (8:19 left in 3d Quarter)

But the Arkansas defense holds after giving up only one first down, and the Frogs punt to the Arkansas 37.

I'm going to comment on the Arkansas defense, because they are taking an approach that we never see in the Big XII.  In the Big XII, to be honest, I don't understand what the defenses are trying to do, but whatever it is, it doesn't work.  The offenses just zip up and down the field with almost no obstruction.  Arkansas, on the other hand, actually has a plan to deal with Texas Christian's high-powered attack.  They have a good defensive line, and so they are able to get good pressure with just four people.  Then the rest of the defense basically acts as a sort of umbrella to make sure that no one can break a long run after they catch the ball.  If the Razorbacks can get one play where they hit Texas Christian for a loss, then their solid tackling can make it very difficult for Texas Christian to get the big yardage they need for a first down.  And that's why Texas Christian has been stopped so many times tonight.

Texas Christian 7 - 13 Arkansas (10:24 left in 3d Quarter)

Arkansas is in big trouble now.  The Frogs' defense causes Arkansas to go three and out, and the Razorbacks punt to the Texas Christian 11.  But when the Texas Christian offense is working like it did on the last possession, it doesn't matter where the Frogs start.

Texas Christian 7 - 13 Arkansas (11:58 left in 3d Quarter)

That didn't take long.  Texas Christian, looking again like itself, zips 84 yards with almost no trouble.  Kyle Hicks of Martin H.S. in Arlington, Tex. ran it in from nine yards out to get Texas Christian on the board.  For the first time tonight, the train whistle sounds at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

Kenny Hill's numbers are starting to look really good:  24 of 35, 221 yards and 1 interception.

Texas Christian now has 306 yards to only 142 for Arkansas.

Texas Christian 0 - 13 Arkansas (14:50 left in 3d Quarter)

Arkansas starts the second half with a clever, knuckle-ball style kick, and the Frogs can only run the ball out to their own 16.

Texas Christian 0 - 13 Arkansas (Halftime)

SEC fans pride themselves on the hard-nosed football played in their beloved conference.  But the last three times the SEC has played for the UCFC, their teams looked old and slow compared to the high-powered Big XII offenses, and they lost all three games.

In the first half tonight, however, Arkansas was able to control Texas Christian.  The Horned Frogs did not get their usual easy touchdowns.  Arkansas wanted to make Texas Christian fight for every yard.  And even though Texas Christian has 222 total yards -- to only 142 for Arkansas -- the Frogs have not yet been able to score.  Furthermore, Texas Christian was hurt by two devastating turnovers -- a fumble at the Arkansas 4, and an interception that turned into the only touchdown of the game so far.

Nevertheless, Texas Christian only needs two touchdowns to take the lead, and they get the ball to start the second half.  Their defense is playing well, and the Frogs usually play much better in the second half.  So this game is far from over.

Texas Christian 0 - 13 Arkansas (3:28 left in 2d Quarter)

But the Arkansas defense holds again, forcing Texas Christian to punt.  The Razorbacks will start from their own 10.  ESPN uses this opportunity to give us a shot of Jen Bielema, the well-known wife of the Arkansas coach.

Texas Christian 0 - 13 Arkansas (5:51 left in 2d Quarter)

The Frogs are in their fighting mode now.  They stop the Razorbacks three and out, forcing a punt.  Texas Christian will start from its own 29.

Texas Christian 0 - 13 Arkansas (6:50 left in 2d Quarter)

Texas Christian drives down to the Arkansas 35, but are then stopped.  They try a short punt, but the ball goes into the end zone and the Razorbacks will start from their own 20.  So far, Kenny Hill is 13-21 for 87 yards and 1 interception.  The Horned Frogs are not getting their usual yards after the catch.

Texas Christian 0 - 13 Arkansas (6:50 left in 2d Quarter)

Texas Christian drives down to the Arkansas 35, but are then stopped.  They try a short punt, but the ball goes into the end zone and the Razorbacks will start from their own 20.  So far, Kenny Hill is 13-21 for 87 yards and 1 interception.  The Horned Frogs are not getting their usual yards after the catch.

Texas Christian 0 - 13 Arkansas (10:09 left in 2d Quarter)

Another disaster for Texas Christian.  The Frogs took the ball and started zipping it all over the field as they usually do.  But while trying to make a play on a 3d and 23, Kenny Hill made a mistake.  He threw a pass that was picked off by Brooks Ellis, a senior linebacker from Fayetteville H.S. in Fayetteville, Ark.  There was no one between Mr. Ellis and the goal, and he scampered FORTY-SEVEN YARDS FOR AN ARKANSAS TOUCHDOWN.

And so, once again, Texas Christian finds itself behind in the first half.  Given how they usually react to this situation, I would suggest that Arkansas remain vigilant.

Texas Christian 0 - 6 Arkansas (12:07 left in 2d Quarter)

The drive stalls, and Hedlund boots a 27-yard field goal to put Arkansas up by six.

Texas Christian 0 - 3 Arkansas (13:41 left in 2d Quarter)

Arkansas keeps the ball on the ground, and now has a first and goal at the Texas Christian 10.  The Razorbacks call time.

Texas Christian 0 - 3 Arkansas (end of 1st Quarter)

Like a boxer that wants to fight close to the body in order to stay away from the big hook, Arkansas is pounding the ball at Texas Christian.  Starting from its own 35, the Razorbacks have pounded the ball down to the Texas Christian 18.  They face a 2d and 6 as the first quarter comes to an end.

Texas Christian 0 - 3 Arkansas (3:44 left in 1st Quarter)

Well, we don't see that very often.  The Frogs go three and out and they punt to the Arkansas 35.

Texas Christian 0 - 3 Arkansas (5:04 left in 1st Quarter)

As I've said before, Texas Christian is playing the real defense tonight -- the home defense for a big game.  And so Arkansas gets only one first down, and then punts down to the Texas Christian 28.

Texas Christian 0 - 3 Arkansas (8:31 left in 1st Quarter)

FUMBLE!  On first and 10 from the Arkansas 26, Deante Gray (of Westside H.S. in Houston, Tex.) was off and rolling.  It looked like he might score a touchdown, but instead he was hit and fumbled the ball.  Arkansas scooped it up, and the Razorbacks will start from their own 4.

Texas Christian 0 - 3 Arkansas (8:58 left in 1st Quarter)

The Frogs face a 4th and 4 at the Arkansas 37.  Texas Christian Coach Gary Patterson calls time to decide what to do next.

A lot of atmosphere at this game -- it's an old rivalry and both fans want it very badly.  Texas Christian has big-time ambitions and has to win this game to keep those alive.  Arkansas would love to knock-off a Big XII power.  And both teams want that Big Gold Trophy.

On fourth and four, Kenny Hill, the new Trevone Boykin (he's a transfer from Texas A & M) drops back to pass, and then runs for the first down.  Even after a penalty, the Frogs have advanced the ball to the Arkansas 26.

Texas Christian 0 - 3 Arkansas (11:34 left in 1st Quarter)

The Frogs get the kickoff and they'll start from their own 25.

Texas Christian 0 - 3 Arkansas (11:40 left in 1st Quarter)

Arkansas drives down to the Texas Christian 21, but its offense stalls at that point.  Texas Christian is playing the real defense tonight -- not the half-hearted defense you sometimes see from them in the first half.  So the Razorbacks settle for a 38-yard field goal from Cole Hedlund of Argyle H.S. in Argyle, Tex.

Texas Christian 0 - 0 Arkansas (15 minutes left in 1st Quarter)

We're on ESPN tonight.  We haven't had a lot of UCFC games on ESPN -- the real ESPN, not one of the other ESPN channels -- in the last few years.  The Big XII tends to turn up on FOX.  But of course, Arkansas is in the SEC -- and this is pretty much a down week for college football anyway -- so the UCFC is on the Big Channel tonight.

Uniform watch:  Arkansas has one of the great uniforms in all sports, with the red helmet and iconic white razorback logo, white jerseys with red numerals, and white pants.  Texas Christian is going with shiny purple helmets with the silver "TCU" and horned frog logo, black jerseys with white numerals, and black pants.

Arkansas will get the ball first.  The kickoff goes through the end zone and the Razorbacks will start from their own 25.

Arkansas leads the all-time series 43-23-2.

Texas Christian v. Arkansas

We have spent a lot of time watching Coach Gary Patterson and his Texas Christian Horned Frogs, and we have gotten to know them quite well.  There are things I like about them, and things I don't.  One thing I like is seeing Texas Christian take on its rivals from the old Southwest Conference.  Texas Christian and Arkansas played each other for 62 seasons in a row, from 1930 to 1991.  From 1930 until 1958, Texas Christian won this fixture more often than it lost.  But in 1958, Arkansas brought in a coach named Frank Broyles, and he started a whole new era.  The Razorbacks lost to the Horned Frogs 12 to 7 in 1958, and then beat them 22 years in a row -- one of the longest such streaks in D-1 football history.  The streak finally ended in 1981, when Texas Christian won 28 to 24.  Arkansas then won seven of the next eight until 1990, when the Frogs won 54-26.  Arkansas won the next meeting, 22 to 21 -- and then decamped for the SEC.

During Arkansas's last 30 years or so in the Southwest Conference, they were one of the top programs in the country, while Texas Christian was one of the worst.  Many of their match-ups during this era were easy blowouts for the Razorbacks, such as their 28-0 win in 1965 to retain the UCFC.

But since Arkansas left for the SEC, the two teams' fortunes have reversed.  The Razorbacks have never won the SEC in football, so they have no conference football titles since 1989.  They have only one top-10 finish in the AP poll since joining the SEC, and they have two Cotton Bowl wins, and no other significant bowl wins.  Their best coach during this era was Bobby Petrino, who lasted four years before losing his job due to a personal scandal.  By contrast, since 1991 Texas Christian has won nine conference titles -- in five different conferences.  They worked their way from the Western Athletic Conference all the way up to the Big XII.  They finished in the top 10 in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2015.  They have won the Rose Bowl and the Peach Bowl.  For someone like me who came of age in the 1970's, it is quite a change.

Arkansas has two other things working against it.  They will be on the road, and Texas Christian is much, much better in the friendly confines of Amon G. Carter Stadium than it is away from home. Furthermore, the Big XII teams get very fired up to play the S! E! C! and they have crushed the SEC in recent UCFC action.  Check out these scores:

01/02/2014:  Oklahoma 45, Alabama 31 (Sugar Bowl)
09/13/2014:  Oklahoma 34, Tennessee 10
12/31/2014:  Texas Christian 42, Mississippi 3 (Peach Bowl)

Alabama and Ole Miss were pretty good teams, and they were not particularly competitive.

Texas Christian also plays better when they have a challenge.  I have never seen a college football team whose performance can vary so much from one week to the next -- or one half to the next.  Last week, Texas Christian fell behind South Dakota State 17-7 -- and then outscored SDSU by 52-24 the rest of the way.  And we've seen them do this before.  Last year, they trailed K-State 35-17 at the half, and won 52-45.  Then they trailed Iowa State 21-14 after one quarter, only to win 45-21.  They fell behind Oklahoma 30-13 after three quarters, and lost 30-29.  And of course, they were behind Oregon 31-0 at halftime of the Alamo, only to come back and win 47-41 in three overtimes.

This is just what they do.

But most of those games were on the road.  At home, against a real opponent, the Frogs tend to crush you.  Last year, at home, they beat Texas 50-7.  They beat West Virginia 40-10.  I don't know why being at home would help their defense so much, but it usually does.

Tomorrow, they will be at home, they will be defending the UCFC, and they will be playing an SEC team.  So I expect the defense to play for the full 60 minutes, which will make them very tough to beat.

The oddsmakers are expecting a closer game than I am.  They've made Texas Christian a 7-point favorite in a game where they expect 58 points of offense.  That would work out to something like a 33-26 win for the Frogs.  That doesn't seem right to me -- I'm thinking it will be more like 45-24.  But that's why they play the games on the field.

But it's interesting how history works.  One of the reasons Arkansas left for the SEC was so they wouldn't have to play a patsy like Texas Christian any more.  And now, the Razorbacks are hoping to use a win over Texas Christian to make themselves nationally relevant again.

Arkansas

OK, so the last time we saw Arkansas play for the UCFC, it was 2010 and the Razorbacks were at home, they were ranked number 10 in the country, and they were hosting Nick Saban and his defending national champions from Alabama.  The Tide came from behind to win 24-20 and it was a great, great game.

Now it is 2016 and Nick Saban is still the coach at Alabama, and Alabama are still the National Champions.  But all sorts of stuff has happened at Arkansas.

1.  In 2011, Arkansas went 11-2, won the Cotton Bowl for the first time since 1999, and finished as the number-5 team in the country.

2.  But in that off-season, Arkansas fired Coach Bobby Petrino -- who had gone 34-17 in four seasons at Arkansas -- for his part in an off-the-field scandal.  Petrino ended up back at Louisville, where he is building another powerhouse, although being fired from Arkansas probably cost him his best chance at a national title.

3.  Without Petrino, Arkansas's fortunes declined dramatically.  In 2012, their coach was John L. Smith.  He went 4-8.  In 2013, they brought in Bret Bielema from Wisconsin.  He started off by going 3-9 overall, and 0-8 in the S! E! C!

4.  But Bielema is building something at Arkansas.  In 2014, he went 2-6 in the SEC, but 7-6 overall, and beat Texas(!) 31 to 7 in something called the Texas Bowl.  In 2015, he went 5-3 in the SEC, and 8-5 overall.  The Razorbacks finished their season in Memphis, where they beat well-known UCFC contender Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl by the score of 45-23.

This year, however, Bielema is in a rebuilding mode, and no one knows exactly what to expect.  Phil Steele, who's as good at this stuff as anyone, said that Arkansas could go anywhere from 5-7 to 9-3, and he thought they'd be somewhere in the middle.

So far, the Razorbacks are not off to a very good start.  They won their first game at home against Louisiana Tech, but only by the score of 21-20, and only after scoring a late touchdown to pull out the win.  I think they will find that Texas Christian is more formidable than Louisiana Tech.

Texas Christian 59 - 41 S. Dakota St. (Final)

And that's your ball game.  It only took 3 hours and 56 minutes, and Texas Christian retains the UCFC.  More thoughts later.

Texas Christian 59 - 41 S. Dakota St. (4:09 left in 4th Quarter)

It takes the Frogs only 8 plays to score their fifth touchdown of the second half.  Kenny Hill dashes into the end zone from eight yards out, and Texas Christian fans can finally relax.

Texas Christian 52 - 41 S. Dakota St. (7:42 left in 4th Quarter)

The Frogs' defense finally comes to life -- hammering the Jacks and forcing a punt that gives Texas Christian the ball at the SDSU 46.  Now the Frogs can finally put this game away.

Texas Christian 52 - 41 S. Dakota St. (8:48 left in 4th Quarter)

After converting the first don and moving the ball out to the 28, the Frogs relied mostly on their running game to get the ball to midfield.  Then Hill heaved a long pass to Des White -- but the ball bounced off his hands and, in typical Texas Christian fashion, landed in the hands of Taj Williams of Tallahassee, Fla. and Iowa Western Community College.  Williams, a highly-ranked Junior College transfer, bounded into the end zone with the touchdown.

Texas Christian 45 - 41 S. Dakota St. (11:20 left in 4th Quarter)

Facing 3d and 10 from his own 15, Kenny Hill scrambles for 13 huge yards, and the Frogs keep possession.

Texas Christian 45 - 41 S. Dakota St. (11:57 left in 4th Quarter)

Chase Vinatieri, nephew of legendary Jack Adam Vinatieri, boots a 39-yard field goal to bring SDSU within four points.

Texas Christian 45 - 38 S. Dakota St. (14:08 left in 4th Quarter)

On first down, the Jacks hit a bomb to Wieneke -- who beats two men -- and they have first and goal at the 9.

On first and goal, they run for two yards.

On second and goal, they are called for delay of game.

On second and goal from the 12, they are driven back to the 22 by a sack.

Texas Christian 45 - 38 S. Dakota St. (14:25 left in 4th Quarter)

Texas Christian goes three and out -- a disastrous series under the circumstances, and one not helped by two holding penalties on a key 3d and 9.  The Frogs punt and the Jacks will start from their own 40.

Texas Christian 45 - 38 S. Dakota St. (14:55 left in 4th Quarter)

The Frogs take the kickoff and they will start from their own 26.

Texas Christian 45 - 38 S. Dakota St. (4 seconds left in 3d Quarter)

Jake Wieneke (of Maple Grove H.S. in Maple Grove, Minn.) is an I-AA All-American receivers who is probably SDSU's best player.  As you can imagine, the Texas Christian defense is duck soup for Wieneke, who has 7 catches for 144 yards so far.  His most recent catch was a spectacular 34-yard reception that brought the Jacks to within seven.

So the ball will go back to the Frogs, and they will need to hold serve.  At this rate, the Frogs will need at least 56 points to feel safe.

Texas Christian 45 - 31 S. Dakota St. (2:54 left in 3d Quarter)

OK, now this is more like it.  For the third time in three second-half possessions, the Frogs drive down the field and score.  This time, the touchdown comes on a 6-yard quarterback draw by new QB Kenny Hill of Southlake, Tex.  (He is a transfer from Texas A & M).  Hill is looking more and more like the legendary Trevone Boykin.  He is 10-12 in the second half so far.

Texas Christian 38 - 31 S. Dakota St. (4:41 left in 3d Quarter)

Sure enough, the Frogs' defense steps up, and the Jacks go three-and-out.  They punt, and the Frogs will start from their own 18.

Texas Christian 38 - 31 S. Dakota St. (6:26 left in 3d Quarter)

The Jacks take the kickoff and they will start from their own 22.  (That's what they call themselves -- they have the word "JACKS" over the numbers on the front of their jersey.

Last year, Texas Christian's defense tended to get better in the second half.  We'll see if that happens again.

Texas Christian 38 - 31 S. Dakota St. (6:40 left in 3d Quarter)

Texas Christian takes the ball and zips down the field, scoring on 3d and goal thanks to a four-yard run from Kyle Hicks of Martin H.S. in Arlington, Tex.  Ryan Graf, of Culver Military Academy in Los Angeles tacks on the extra point.

Welcome back, UCFC fans!

Texas Christian 31 - 31 S. Dakota St. (9:20 left in 3d Quarter)

Texas Christian takes the kickoff and starts from its own 29.

Texas Christian 31 - 31 S. Dakota St. (9:34 left in 3d Quarter)

SDSU takes the kickoff and drives down the field for an easy touchdown.  They score on a 16-yard pass from Taryn Christion (of Roosevelt H.S in Sioux Falls, S.D.) to Dallas Goedert (of Britton-Hecla H.S. in Britton, S.D.).  A kick from Chase Vinatieri (of Roosevelt H.S. in Sioux Falls, S.D.) ties the game.

Texas Christian 31 - 24 S. Dakota St. (13:15 left in 3d Quarter)

And now here come the Jackrabbits, as SDSU hits a big pass down the middle and is already at the Texas Christian 40.

SDSU is wearing white jerseys with royal blue numbers and yellow trim.  They have royal blue pants with yellow stripes down the side.  They have a blue helmet.  On the right side of the helmet, each player has his number in yellow numerals.  The left side of the helmet features a big jackrabbit head.  It's a very unusual helmet.

Texas Christian is wearing white helmets with the usual TCU and horned frog logos.  They have purple jerseys with the usual military-style numerals in white.  They have white pants.  This is my favorite of the many looks the Frogs will sport over the course of a full season.

Texas Christian 31 - 24 S. Dakota St. (13:20 left in 3d Quarter)

Now that the second half has begun, Texas Christian is ready to play.  The Frogs score on a 60-yard pass from new QB Kenny Hill to Jaelan Austin.

Texas Christian 24 - 24 S. Dakota St. (Halftime)

OK, the Horned Frogs have decided not to ease their way into the season -- but to play their typical no-defense style.  Here is what happened in the first half:

1.  With 8:25 left in the first quarter, Texas Christian took a 7-0 lead on a 16-yard run by Kyle Hicks.

2.  With 1:10 left in the first quarter, SDSU got a 25-yard field goal from Chase Vinatieri to make the score 7-3.

3.  With 11:34 left in the second quarter, SDSU took a 10-7 lead on an 87-yard run by Taryn Christion.

4.  With 9:55 left in the second quarter, SDSU took a 17-7 lead on a 12-yard run by Christion.

5.  With 3:38 left in the second quarter, Texas Christian made the score 17-14 on an 81-yard punt return by KaVontae Turpin.

6.  With 1:37 left in the second quarter, Texas Christian took a 21-17 lead on a 4-yard run by Kenny Hill.

7.  With 49 seconds left in the second quarter, SDSU took a 24-21 lead on a 31-yard pass from Christion to Jake Wieneke.

8.  With 6 seconds left in the second quarter, Texas Christian tied the score at 24 on a 32-yard field goal by Ryan Graf.

So it's the same-old same-old for Texas Christian.  On to the second half.

Texas Christian 7 - 17 S. Dakota St. (4 minutes left in 2d Quarter)

The Frogs jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, and then looked like they were going in for another touchdown, and I thought this would be an easy game.  But then Texas Christian's usual first half malaise took over, and they trail 17-7 with 4 minutes to go in the half.

Texas Christian v. South Dakota State University

I have no idea what the Horned Frogs will be like this year.  The AP has them ranked 13, which makes sense for a team that won a ton of games in the last two years, still has the same coach, but no longer has Trevone Boykin or Josh Doctson.  By putting them at 13, the AP can easily move them up or down depending on performance.

This will be the first meeting ever between the Horned Frogs and the Jackrabbits.  The Frogs are almost unbeatable at home, and they have won their last 14 home openers.  No odds have yet been posted for this game, but I'm guessing that the Frogs will prevail.

South Dakota State University

Texas Christian usually likes to ease into the season, and play most of its high-drama games in October and November.  This year, the Frogs are opening the season at home against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

South Dakota State has not made much of an impression on the college football world.  The university itself was founded in the Dakota Territory in 1881.  Back then, it was known as Dakota Agriculture College.  The first building was finished in 1883, six years before South Dakota became a state.  In 1904, the name was changed to South Dakota State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, which strikes me as a great name for a college.  But in 1964, thanks to pressure from the alumni, the name was changed to South Dakota State University.  According to U.S. News and World Report, SDSU is in a tie for 187th place among National Universities.  It is tied with the University of Alabama-Huntsville, the University of Houston, the University of Nevada-Reno, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Western Michigan University, and Widener University.  (Texas Christian is tied for 82d place with Miami of Ohio, UC-Santa Cruz, and the University of Iowa.)

The two most famous SDSU alumni, at least to me, are Tom Daschle and Adam Vinatieri.  (George McGovern graduated from Dakota Wesleyan University.  Tom Brokaw graduated from the University of South Dakota.)

The Jackrabbits have played football since 1889.  From 1922 to 2003, they were in the North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which is a great name for a conference.  Their fellow members for most of that period included the University of South Dakota, the University of North Dakota, North Dakota State University, Augustana College, and Morningside College.  These were Division II schools, and to me the idea of the schools up there carrying on these rivalries year after year seems like a really good idea.  But Americans are an ambitious people, and in 2004 South Dakota State and North Dakota State broke away to form something called the Great West Conference, which is about as contrived as you would imagine.  It's defunct now.  These days, North Dakota State, South Dakota, and South Dakota State all play in something called the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which features mostly Midwestern schools.  North Dakota is in the Big Sky Conference, which features mostly Western schools.  From this I conclude that the folks at North Dakota are a bunch of snobs.

Anyway, all that ambition paid off -- at least to some extent.  North Dakota State has become the dominant powerhouse in I-AA football, winning the title in each of the last five years.  And South Dakota State has reached the I-AA playoffs for the last four years in a row -- although they have yet to make it past the second round.  Their all-time record is 571-450-38, and their best team was probably in 2014, when they went 9-5 and reached the second round of the I-AA playoffs.  They lost to North Dakota State 27-24, and then NDSU went all the way.

This year, the Jackrabbits begin the year ranked number 14 in I-AA, and their fans will have high hopes for another big season.  They are opening a new stadium, which you can see here.  Next week, they will have a Kickoff Celebration for the stadium featuring Luke Bryan, Little Big Town, and Lee Brice.  That sounds great.  Of course, it will be even better if they can show off the Big Gold Trophy.

Texas Christian 47 - 41 Oregon (Triple OT) (Alamo Bowl)

OK, so on the day of the Alamo Bowl, I actually had tickets to go see Hamilton on Broadway.  It's not that easy to get tickets -- and when I bought the tickets I had no idea that the show would conflict with a UCFC game.  So I did not see this game, which turned out to be one of the greatest UCFC games of all time.

You will recall that Texas Christian, having pulled an upset over Baylor in the rain in double overtime, was a 7-point underdog against Oregon.  You will also recall that Texas Christian was without its two best players -- Trevone Boykin and Josh Doctson.  Finally, you will recall that Texas Christian had very little defense the whole season, and had struggled in any game not played in Fort Worth.  Taking all of those factors into account, I was pretty sure that these pages would be in green and gold.

And, in fact, Texas Christian looked completely over-matched at the beginning of the game.  At the half, Oregon led 31-0.  Now as you know, we stop live-blogging whenever anyone leads by more than 21 points, so I would have stopped blogging soon after the first quarter.  And to be honest, I still don't understand why Oregon didn't win this game by at least 14 points.

But for reasons that I never understood, last year Texas Christian's defense often improved dramatically in the second half, and that occurred again here.  Let me be clear -- I am not surprised that Texas Christian scored 31 points in the second half, even with a back-up quarterback.  Big XII's gonna Big XII, and it's not easy to keep those teams off the scoreboard, no matter who is playing quarterback.  But I am stunned that Texas Christian's defense pitched a shut-out in the second half.  Except for that rain-soaked game against Baylor, I'm not sure that very many scoreless quarters in I-A competition.

So anyway, the game ended up tied at 31, and Texas Christian -- for the second game in a row -- was battling for the UCFC in overtime.  This time it took them three overtimes, but they eventually won the game 47-41.  Texas Christian tied the record for the biggest comeback in bowl game history.  Oregon's UCFC record is now 2-15-1.

So the Big Gold Trophy will wind its way through the Big XII for the fifth year in a row.  The last UCFC game that did not feature a team from the Big XII took place on January 4, 2012, when West Virginia -- the champion of the Big East -- crushed Clemson 70-33 in the Orange Bowl.  During the off-season, West Virginia took its program -- and the Big Gold Trophy -- to the Big XII, where they have both been ever since.  Remarkably, in all these years the UCFC has never gotten into the National Championship game or the BCS playoffs.  Instead, the trophy has ended up with a Big XII team that was not the Big XII champion, and then that team has won its bowl game to keep the trophy:

At the end of the 2012 season, Baylor (8-5) beat UCLA 49-26 in the Holiday Bowl.
At the end of the 2013 season, Oklahoma (11-2) beat Alabama 45-31 in the Sugar Bowl.
At the end of the 2014 season, Texas Christian (12-1) beat Ole Miss 45-3 in the Peach Bowl.
At the end of the 2015 season, Texas Christian (11-2) beat Oregon 47-41 in the Alamo Bowl.

Texas Christian is the first team to take the UCFC into the off-season for two years in a row since the University of Southern California did it in 2003 and 2004.  Here are the year-end trophy holders since then (National Champions in bold):

2005:  Texas
2006:  Florida
2007:  Missouri
2008:  Florida
2009:  Alabama
2010:  Auburn
2011:  W. Virginia
2012:  Baylor
2013:  Oklahoma
2014:  Texas Christian
2015:  Texas Christian

Since we started this blog, this is our 398th entry about Texas Christian.  Baylor is the only team with more than 300 entries on the blog.  The Horned Frogs have appeared in 21 UCFC games since we started the blog, and they have gone 17-4.  They also been in some real thrillers:

10/20/2012:  Texas Christian 53 - 56 Texas Tech (3 OT)
10/4/2014:  Texas Christian 37 - 33 Oklahoma
10/11/2014:  Baylor 61 - 58 Texas Christian
11/1/2014:  W. Virginia 30 - 31 Texas Christian
9/26/2015:  Texas Tech 52 - 55 Texas Christian
11/27/2015:  Texas Christian 28 - 21 Baylor (2 OT)
1/2/2016:  Texas Christian 47 - 41 Oregon (3 OT)

So we will begin another season with the purple and black.  They are worthy holders, and I look forward to seeing them again.