It’s finally here! Frog Fans, you’ve waited since New Year’s Eve to get another taste and now the 2015 TCU Football season is about to pop out of the oven.

Tonight’s lid-lifter at Minnesota kicks at 8:10 p.m. CT, and the sell-out at TCF Stadium will be ready for your Frogs – know that.

Some things to concentrate on as you prep for kickoff:

1.       First games are always scary. It’s an equalizer, much like rain or inclement weather. Anything can happen. It’s the first, true, full-speed exercise of the year. Sure, teams have been practicing for a month, but there’s nothing like that first game to knock off the rust.

2.       Matchup to Watch: TCU’s offensive line vs. Minnesota’s front 6 – this is key as TCU wants to protect quarterback Trevone Boykin and execute its offense. If Minnesota’s going to stay in this game and impart their will to slow down the game, then the Gopher’s defense is going to have to be stellar.

3.       Matchup Watch II: TCU’s rebuilt secondary vs. Minnesota’s young/inexperienced wide receivers. Will the real players please stand up? Thursday night will be a proving ground for these two groups and, while Minnesota still wants to run it most of the time, they installed some “hurry-up” to the offense in the off-season that includes emphasis on the short passing game.

4.       Kicking game – it’s one of the hardest parts (and for coaches, the scariest) part of the game, especially in first games. This is where turnovers are found and games turn. The team that’s secure with the ball in this phase always wins.

The Frogs are being led into 2015 by their offense. This is a switch from what we usually get. Defense rules. But I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Coach P and the defensive staff have a whole lot more fun calling defenses when the offense is putting up 40+ points a game. Will it happen at Minnesota? It could. The weather will be perfect for a high-octane night.

Minnesota is better than you think. They have improved each year that Jerry Kill has been head coach. They’ve had back-to-back 8-5 seasons and they’re starting to complete for the Big 10 title. Last year, it was Minnesota who gave Ohio State their only real battle late in conference play. Not Michigan, not Wisconsin, not Michigan State. Bear that in mind as you settle into your seat tonight.

All this being said, I think the Frogs win and get off the launch pad in style. They have to.

Ol’ No. 15, John Denton, begins his 27^th year on the TCU Sports Network broadcast crew this week with a look at the Top 15 games in Gary Patterson’s 15 years as head coach. The games selected are based on impact on the program and key turning points, not just wins.

1. Southern Miss 2001 – This was the thrilling game that put Gary Patterson’s first team in a bowl game (GalleryFurniture.com Bowl vs. Texas A&M) and vaulted season-opening opponent Nebraska into the National Championship game. You’re welcome, Cornhuskers! A long touchdown pass with a circus catch by Adrian Madise was the difference in putting the Frogs on top. TCU 14, Southern Miss 12!

2. Louisville 2002 – After a Labor Day weekend stumble at Cincinnati, the Frogs rolled off five wins to set up a big CUSA matchup with Louisville. The Cardinals had just knocked off a Top-5 ranked Florida State team and seemed poised to make big noise nationally until TCU showed up in Louisville on a wet, rainy Saturday in mid-October. The Frogs came out and jumped on Louisville and the stunned crowd at Papa John Stadium booed them to the halftime locker room, with the Frogs up, 38-6. Ricky Madison rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown and Lonta Hobbs ran for 106 yards. The Frogs held Louisville, the same team that had run through Florida State, to minus-26 yards rushing. TCU 45 Louisville 31.

3. Liberty Bowl 2002 – This was an old-fashioned defensive battle in Memphis on New Year’s Eve that saw the Frogs lock down Colorado State’s Cecil Sapp, one of the nation’s top running backs. The Rams were held to 89 yards rushing for the game. Quarterback Sean Stilley, who led the Frogs to their first bowl win since the 1999 Mobile Alabama Bowl, hit LaTarence Dunbar with a 15-yard TD pass just before halftime. Running back Ricky Madison added a touchdown in the second half on his way to 111 yards rushing. Nick Browne added a 25-yard field goal late to round out the scoring. It was also the Horned Frogs’ 500th victory in school history. TCU 17 No. 23 Colorado State 3.

4. Louisville – 2003 – The first game that really stoked TCU’s BCS fire pitted the No. 12 Horned Frogs against No. 25 Louisville in a Wednesday night showdown on ESPN. “The difference in that game was about three inches,” coach Gary Patterson said after the Frogs beat the Cardinals again, 31-28, when Nate Smith’s 44-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the game bounced off the cross bar. TCU quarterback Brandon Hassell, filling in for injured Ty Gunn, passed for 251 yards and a touchdown while running for another score. Reggie Harrell caught eight passes for 128 yards. When it was all done, TCU was 9-0 for the first time since 1938 and was one of two undefeated teams left in college football. (No. 1 Oklahoma was the other.) The Frogs also ran their win streak to 11 games. Amon G. Carter Stadium and the TCU campus was abuzz all day prior to the game and the drama that ensued did not disappoint. Brian Estridge exclaimed on-air, “The Frogs are still alive as BCS Busters!”

5. Tulane 2004 – This game was a shocking and painful end to an up-and-down year for TCU. Tulane scored on the last drive of the game to pull off the upset, 35-31. One TCU assistant called it a “kick to the mid-section that we needed.” In the offseason, Gary Patterson went through his program with a fine-toothed comb and laid the groundwork for an eight-year bowl run with 83 wins that was unmatched in the state of Texas.

6. Oklahoma 2005 – This one was a gigantic boom across the college football landscape that signaled TCU’s entry into the Mountain West Conference. The Frogs entered this season opener as a huge underdog and used its speed and the lingering bitter taste of the 2004 season to fuel a defensive effort that confused and dazed the No. 5-ranked Sooners. 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson was held to 63 yards on 22 carries. TCU’s Ty Gunn threw for 226 yards and a touchdown to Derek Moore. Peter LoCoco kicked a 25-yard field goal, and Robert Merrill scored the decisive score on a 2-yard run with 11:56 left. And the Frogs did it in Norman! Nobody wins in Norman. It was the Frogs’ biggest upset in 45 years and launched the 2005 season, which ended in a conference championship. TCU 17, No. 5 Oklahoma 10.

7. Houston Bowl 2005 – In the bowl game that year, the Horned Frogs notched their second win over a quality Big 12 opponent. No. 14 Iowa State was a high-powered team, but the TCU defense forced four turnovers. Quarterback Jeff Ballard and the TCU offense came up with big plays to down ISU, 27-24, in a game decided by Peter LoCoco’s 44-yard field goal with 5:25 left in the game.

8. Texas Tech 2006 – In a grudge match that the Frogs had looked forward to for two years following a 70-35 embarrassment by Tech in Lubbock in 2004, the defense led the way as Coach P’s plan to bring pressure and be physical held Mike Leach’s high-powered offense to a field goal. Chris Manfredini hit four field goals on the way to a 12-3 win in Fort Worth over the No. 24-ranked Red Raiders.

9. Utah 2008 – A national audience focused on Salt Lake City on a Thursday night in November, and the Frogs looked impressive early, moving down the field with ease. But miscues and turnovers kept Utah in the game. Consecutive missed field goals by TCU freshman kicker Ross Evans left the door open. One kick bounced off the left upright. Then with 2:48 left, another kick sailed wide right on a 35-yard attempt. Utah got the ball back on the 20-yard-line, and quarterback Brian Johnson led the comeback from there. The Utes marched 80 yards in the final minutes, sealing it with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Brown with 48 seconds left. Painful is not close to describing the feeling. It was the longest, quietest ride I’ve ever taken on a TCU charter flight. No. 9 Utah 13, No. 11 TCU 10.

10. Utah 2009 – Amon G. Carter Stadium and the TCU campus bristled with energy at the thought of No. 16 Utah coming to town for a national showdown, which also brought ESPN College Gameday to campus. The night game atmosphere fueled the No. 4-ranked Frogs to a dominating win that saw big play after big play roll out for the Frogs. A big hit by the TCU kickoff team resulted in combined “Oooh” from the 50,000+ fans and sent the crowd into a frenzy from which Utah never recovered. Frogs, 55-28.

11. Utah 2010 – This was a rematch of the two class teams in the MWC, and, again, ESPN College Gameday felt compelled to show up and make Salt Lake City the center of the college football universe. That’s as good as it got for Utah that day. The No. 3 Frogs came out to, as Coach P says, “take a game on the road.” The Frogs attacked through the air and on the ground on their way to a BCS-alerting win. Utah turnovers added fuel to an already hot fire. The Frogs led 23-0 at the half, 40-0 at the end of the third quarter. The final score 47-7 didn’t indicate how one-sided this one was. TCU’s dominance made a loud statement, and experts across the nation realized that TCU would be a force in the BCS bowl picture. A milestone day for the program.

12. Rose Bowl 2011 – Having learned a lot from their BCS disappointment a year before at the Fiesta Bowl, the Frogs were ready to put the icing on the cake that began with a 2010 season-opening win over Oregon State and saw the Frogs run the table. No. 5 Wisconsin would stand in the way of a perfect season. Andy Dalton was near-perfect, leading the Frogs to an early lead with a touchdown pass to Bart Johnson. The TCU defense, utilizing a creative Gary Patterson game plan, convinced Wisconsin to be a passing team, abandoning their vaunted power run game. Late in the game, Wisconsin scored a touchdown to make it 21-19, setting the stage for linebacker Tank Carder to make one of the most historic plays in TCU football history, knocking down the Badgers’ 2-point pass attempt. The Frogs finished No. 2 in the final poll.

13. Boise State 2011 –In a classic game that lived up to the billing, TCU took on its newest and most-familiar rival, this time for the first time as MWC rivals. TCU and Boise had met three previous times, all in bowl games, and the total difference in score in the three contests totaled 11 points. TCU’s first trip to Boise turned out to be one of legend as the Frogs battled back from behind to beat No. 5 Boise State, 36-35. The game is easily quarterback Casey Pachall’s finest hour as a Frog. Pachall threw for 473 yards and 5 TDs. Coach Patterson’s mindset late in the game was to go for the win, and Pachall’s 2-point conversion pass to Josh Boyce was clutch. The Frogs celebrated all the way back to Fort Worth.

14. Oklahoma 2014 – The Frogs, having begun the season unranked, tip-toed into the Top 25 at #25 the week that #3 OU came to call. The new TCU offense kept TCU in the game (469 yards and 4 TDs) until the last 20 minutes of the game, when three big plays by the Frogs handed them a nation-rattling decision. Late in the 3^rd quarter, Trevone Boykin found Deante Gray for a 29-yard TD, then LB Paul Dawson opened the 4^th with a stabbing 41-yard Pick 6 to put the Frogs up 37-31. Finally, TCU LB Marcus Mallet and DT Chucky Hunter stopped OU tailback Samaje Perine on 4^th and 1 deep in TCU territory and the Frogs held on for a 37-33 win, its biggest to date in the Big 12. It launched the Frogs to a new level.

15. Now it’s your turn. What do you say? Will it be the Baylor game the day after Thanksgiving or is the game at OU going to be the pivotal contest in this potentially uber-historic year for the Frogs?   Send in your choice to TCU Magazine at tcumagazine@tcu.edu.

The Curt Wilson Alumni Jazz Band poses before playing the Umbria Jazz Festival

Dr. Skip Dolt ’89 writes:

The Curt Wilson Alumni Jazz Band performed July 12, at the prestigious Umbria Jazz festival in Perugia, Italy. This 19-piece band is a group of TCU alumni who all played under the direction of professor emeritus of the TCU School of Music, Mr. Curt Wilson, over his 35+ year tenure. The band is comprised of musicians both professional and amateur, graduating from TCU in four different decades, who still have a passion for playing jazz music. (L-R: Dr. Skip Dolt, Rich Dahl, Tyler Windle, Todd Burrer, Dr. Andy Dollahite, Sammy Tork, Micah Bell, Tony Yarbrough, Professor Emeritus of the TCU School of Music Curt Wilson, Steve Williams, Dr. John McDonald, Drew Ruiz, Harry Tschoerner, Rene Ozuna,Alan Burton, Marc Bellomy, Kevin Love, Tom Laney, Chike Okaro, Dr. David Williams.)

The Curt Wilson Alumni Jazz band with a big “Go Frogs”

Curt Wilson writes, “It’s the smartest band I’ve ever conducted — doctors, dentists, college professors, business executives, teachers and some pro players. Former students range from my first year (1976) to my last years (2011) with every decade represented.”

In June, former student Matthew Brown met renown astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson after his lecture at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas. The Hayden Planetarium director gave an off-camera star talk called “An Astrophysicist Goes to the Movies,” and pointed out astronomy’s influence on Hollywood, even if television and movies occasionally get it wrong.

Afterward, Brown approached Tyson for a handshake and Horned Frog greeting. “I told him, ‘I know you’re a UT grad, but I’m about to travel to Omaha to watch the TCU Horned Frogs play in the College World Series. It would be a good omen if I could get you to flash the Frog sign.’ And he did it!” Brown shared.

Tyson earned a master’s degree at the University of Texas at Austin in 1983. He also holds degrees from Harvard and Columbia.

“As I was leaving, he said, ‘Hey, you want to know a fun fact about horned frogs?’ ” Brown recalled. “I said, ‘They’re actually horned lizards.’ And he smiled.”

Brown attended TCU from 2008 to 2010 and is a managing director at Tamra-Tacoma Capital Partners in Dallas.

Three TCU alumni are teaching at the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Maj. Chad Fitzgerald ’04 (left) is an instructor in the Department of Social Sciences and teaches international relations. Lt. Col. Laura Bozeman ’92 (center) and Maj. Barrett Ward ’04 teach in the Department of English.

Dr. Raymond Blanton ’99 (center) received his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 2015 and celebrated with a trip to Europe with TCU buddies. Joining him in Prague, Czech Republic, for a day of sightseeing and reminiscing about TCU days were Aaron Buck ’99 (left) and Brian Kleager ’98.

Proposals don’t get much more memorable than Andrea Hein’s. In April, her fiancé Daryl Stafford ’11 popped the question on the 50 yard line of Amon G. Carter Stadium. Hein ’13 said yes. They’re getting married in April.

TCU students and staff on spring break walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday on March 7. On that date in 1965, armed policemen attacked civil rights demonstrators who were attempting to march to the Alabama state capital in Montgomery.

Twenty-two Horned Frog students took part in the observance, which was part of a six-day, five night bus tour covering the civil rights movement for a class taught by TCU history professor Max Krochmal. Students kept a journal of the trip, which counts for 10 percent of the grade for the course HIST 40873 The Civil Rights Movement in America. Pictured above are (left to right) Adam Powell, Christy Smith, Timeka Gordon, Samantha Koehler, Rochelle Harris, Jarrod McClendon, John Cogswell and Mitchell Simmons.

Students also visited Medgar Evers home, Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center and other civil rights movement sites in Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama. The group also spoke with veterans of the civil rights movement at each stop.

The tour was sponsored by the TCU Center for Community Involvement and Service Learning and TCU Inclusiveness and Intercultural Services.

Follow the class’s journey on its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tcucrbt

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Future Horned Frogs Elijah (age 10) and Emma Canafax (age 8) show their TCU spirit with the snowman they built in front of their home in Roanoke, Texas. They are the children of Matt ’01 and Rachel Canafax.

Excellent job! Love the TCU stocking cap!

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Michael Capps ’04 of Keller, Texas, sent us this photo of the TCU snowman he built near his home. “This is a picture of what a TCU alum does on a snow day in Texas – make a snowman with school spirit!,” he wrote.

We love it! Go Frogs!

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