If you want to know what to expect from today’s TCU-OU matchup, you don’t have to look too far back in this series. Four games in the recent past tell me all I need to know.

As my buddy Rod Serling would say on “The Twilight Zone,” “Submitted for your approval.”

1. Consider the surprising 1996 game in Norman, when TCU went into Soonerland and ruined the coronation of new OU head coach John Blake. The Frogs screen-played the Sooners out of the stadium on their way to a 20-7 win. And it really wasn’t that close.

2. Fast forward to 1998, when the Sooners came to Fort Worth and came away with a 10-9 victory in a heart-stopper. Fans may recall the OU pass that Joseph Phipps intercepted, seemingly icing the Frog win, only to be stripped by a Sooner tight end. Oklahoma recovered, continued the drive and kicked a field goal. Looking back, the Frogs could have been a 9-win team that year.

3. Then there’s the epic 2005 work of art by the TCU defense, quarterback Ty Gunn and a Frog team that showed that it clearly had more speed than OU. The defense bottled up Adrian Peterson, and the Frogs dealt OU its second home loss in the Stoops era, 17-10.

4. Last year in Norman, the Frogs hung tough, trailing 7-0 at the half with ZERO first downs in the 1st half! No team in the nation played OU as tight as the Frogs….nobody.

Now comes tomorrow’s game, with OU running the ball again and being physical on defense. (Sounds like the good old days!) Meanwhile, the Frogs have jumped into the polls with commanding wins of their own.

FACT: Neither team has faced what they are going to face today at Amon G. Carter Stadium. How good is OU’s defense? What will the new TCU offense be able to do against a slashing, attacking Sooner unit that some say is Stoops’ best-ever? I think that’s where this game is decided.

Add to it that this is one of the few times in the series that BOTH teams are ranked. I believe we have recipe for a great game.

What do you think?

Oh, and look for a few new wrinkles from both teams. They’ve been storing them up for a day just like today. It’s conference play. It’s for real now.

Kick ‘Em High!