Althouse: "UW, TCU a big mismatch

December 27, 2010

"UW, TCU a big mismatch — off the field."

"Big vs. small. Public vs. private. Midwestern vs. southern. Mammal vs. amphibian.... 'In general, people at TCU acknowledge there's somebody higher and bigger than us'...."

58 comments:

Bartender Cabbie said...: I think Wisconsin may probably be the 2nd best team in the nation. That is saying a lot. TCU is a very good team but probably not quite up to this level yet. They are fast though. The Badgers will have to adjust to that or it they may have a problem.; 12/27/10, 10:02 AM
Anonymous said...: Mammal vs. reptile. The horned frogs of TCU are actually lizards.

Peter; 12/27/10, 10:02 AM
Bob_R said...: But you ain't got nothin like Billy Clyde Puckett and Shake Tiller.; 12/27/10, 10:18 AM
virgil xenophon said...: Is anybody around here old enough to remember Jim Swink?--Back in the 50s/early 60s when TCU was a national powerhouse.; 12/27/10, 10:32 AM
TosaGuy said...: "[TCU] was listed as one of the fittest campuses by Men's Health."

UW won't be making that list anytime soon.; 12/27/10, 10:49 AM
master cylinder said...: No to Swink....but I do remember Jim Wacker from the 80's.I was a Wacker Backer. They were bad then, it was all about SMU. Now their roles have reversed.; 12/27/10, 10:52 AM
traditionalguy said...: TCU suffers the little school that is better than the Famous School and therefore cannot get a game against a Texas or an Ohio State...beating them means little, but losing to them means a lot. Next year they join the Big East and will travel their tails of to be a BCS eligible school. The recruiting is already getting many inquiries from the Northeast from athletes that want to get away from home and learn the Texas lifestyle. As for the Rose Bowl, Wisconsin will find that TCU's line outweighs them. Texas football aint easy.I will feel bad seeing the Professor's school humiliated like that.Texas never would play TCU for that reason because they knew the truth that the rest of the sports world will soon see is a hard fact.; 12/27/10, 10:53 AM
AllenS said...: As for the Rose Bowl, Wisconsin will find that TCU's line outweighs them.

Are you sure about this? Do you have access to the rosters of both teams?; 12/27/10, 10:59 AM
MadisonMan said...: It's too bad I can't watch the game on TV this year.

I am also doubtful that the TCU line outweighs Wisconsin's.; 12/27/10, 11:01 AM
Lincolntf said...: "In general, people at TCU acknowledge there's somebody higher and bigger than us,..."

"...Whereas at Wisconsin, we know that NOBODY is higher than us..."; 12/27/10, 11:02 AM
garage mahal said...: As for the Rose Bowl, Wisconsin will find that TCU's line outweighs them. Texas football aint easy.I will feel bad seeing the Professor's school humiliated like that

TCU hasn't seen an offensive line anywhere near as good as Bucky. Quite a sight to see 350lb lineman athletically running 10-15 yards down field looking for someone to block. They will need a higher power to stop that can of whoop-ass from opening up.; 12/27/10, 11:08 AM
David said...: There is certainly something bigger.

It's the Badger offensive and defensive lines.; 12/27/10, 11:12 AM
Titus said...: Where is the Althouse and Meadsy Poo family and I going for lunchie today?

Somewhere cute please with a roaring fire and vegan options.

thanks doll.

Did you all see TCU's new fab outfits by Nike?; 12/27/10, 11:14 AM
jerryofva said...: Wisconsin will win this game. If the BCS conference had a playoff I would put my money on the Badgers to win it. They peaked at the right time and were probably the best team in college football at the end of the season. However, like all Big Ten [+2] schools the long layoff between the end of the season and the Rose Bowl is often a momentum killer.

I will say the TCU did the right thing by joining a major conference although they took the easy way out. The Big 12 has two slots open. I think the Big 12 is a natural fit for both TCU and Boise State.; 12/27/10, 11:31 AM
jerryofva said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/27/10, 11:32 AM
kjbe said...: This is truly going to be a fun game to watch and I expect our running game to just grind them down - it's happened all season..; 12/27/10, 11:34 AM
Titus said...: I think Wisconsin's coach is kind of hot.; 12/27/10, 11:39 AM
Titus said...: And aren't the Packers now in the playoffs?

Congrats. The Pats, of course have home field advantage all the way.

Arran Rogers is very hot. Love him with a beard and those eyes are dreamy.; 12/27/10, 11:41 AM
virgil xenophon said...: Master Cylinder/

You should Google/Wiki Swink. He was an All-American half-back when TCU was killing Texas and winning the Cotton Bowl. He eschewed pro ball to go to medical school, went to Vietnam and was awarded the Purple Heart as a medic and is now retired Age 74 and living in his home town he grew up in. Quite a guy..

PS: Swink was a participant in a never-to-ever-be-repeated (due to rules changes) O-O tie with Air Force in the 1959 Cotton Bowl. (The only other one was a 1947 "ice-bowl" O-O tie between LSU & Ark); 12/27/10, 11:47 AM
Anonymous said...: Next year they [TCU] join the Big East

Obviously the league commissioners got an F in Geography 101.

Peter; 12/27/10, 11:50 AM
Titus said...: When I was little UW sports sucked, with the exception of the hockey team.

Once the dykey, Shalala came in though she hired some good people.

Dykey Wykey's know sports. And they love whale watches.; 12/27/10, 11:52 AM
David said...: No Titus the Packers are not in the playoffs. They must defeat the Bears first.

Packers and Bears . . . .; 12/27/10, 11:52 AM
master cylinder said...: VX-I will. I'm thrilled for the Horned Frogs, they get very little respect here in DFW, as alums from UT and A&M swamp the place. Cute little school-TCU.
It was perfect for me-decent art program and friends made for life.; 12/27/10, 11:55 AM
Original Mike said...: "...beating [TCU] means little, but losing to them means a lot."

Yeah, I'm not thrilled with this match up. It's a no win situation.; 12/27/10, 11:55 AM
Titus said...: They kept saying on the telecast that the Packers are virtually in.

How disappointing.

The Bears suck. New England beat them by like 30 points.; 12/27/10, 11:57 AM
AST said...: Don't forget Slingin' Sammy Baugh.; 12/27/10, 11:57 AM
jerryofva said...: Titus:

The Bears beat the Packers in the first game and they will beat them like a drum again.; 12/27/10, 12:08 PM
Big Mike said...: It should have been Stanford in the Rose Bowl. I'm enough of a traditionalist to want to see a Big Ten vs. Pac 10 matchup.; 12/27/10, 12:12 PM
Anthony said...: Yeah, I would have much preferred to see Wisconsin-Stanford. I wish they'd just dump the BCS, but not in favor of a playoff; I wish they'd go back to the old bowl tie-ins.

Myself, I am in Seattle and rooting hard for the SeaChickens to win this coming Sunday to put them in the playoffs. Why? Because a team with a losing record will be in the playoffs. Then I can say to all those bowl-game bashers, Eat My Shorts.; 12/27/10, 12:35 PM
traditionalguy said...: The Wisconsin fans here are in a state of denial and overconfidence. The Horned Frogs don't know how to lose. ( Secret:In football fast wins and slow loses). Go ahead and call me America'sFootballico, but the Rose Bowl game Saturday is in the bag.The Las Vegas guys are not fooled by Big Ten myths.We are at Amelia island where the Michigan and Mississippi State fans like to stay for the Gator Bowl earlier saturday. We always look forward to the New Year's Eve Bash with the crazy fans from both schools.; 12/27/10, 12:45 PM
Col Mustard said...: I will say the TCU did the right thing by joining a major conference...

TCU is moving to a conference inferior in football to the one they are leaving. It's moving to a conference annointed with an automatic bid to a BCS bowl and the mega-bucks that confers. Utah did the same. I believe TCU will actually compete in the Mountain West again in 2011 - if so, they may catch Boise on the regular schedule. No wonder TCU wanted to go to a league where an un-ranked four-loss team can go BCS-bowling.; 12/27/10, 12:49 PM
traditionalguy said...: Let me add that one Gator Bowl year we mingled with the West Virginia fans. That was a strange group and seemed like a Scots-Irish street gang . And now TCU is the new guy in the Conference that West Virginia always has won. We look forward to that match up in future years.; 12/27/10, 12:51 PM
traditionalguy said...: The Big Twelve is now the small Nine plus Texas who keeps all of the money. TCU went where they will get some money too...and the new stadium that pays for is going up as we speak. I believe that the Professor is a secret TCU fan, as evidenced by her love of all things Purple, but I wont tell so that she will not lose her liberal Badger Lover cache in Camp Randall circles.; 12/27/10, 1:01 PM
Anonymous said...: TCU must have gotten better in the past 25 years. I went to Rice back when the Southwest Conference still existed. Rice was everyone's first pick for a homecoming game. TCU was second.; 12/27/10, 1:01 PM
kjbe said...: Tradguy, this Badger fan is soooo not confident - just hoping our system of pounding wins over their speed. Truly, we don't know how we match up - no one knows until this thing starts up.; 12/27/10, 1:02 PM
SteveR said...: TCU has been, at different times, among the best or worst, of college football. Its funny having lived in that area for 20 plus years to see all the fair weather fans. Hardly anyone in the DFW area goes to TCU or even considers it. its pricy and kind of snobby, but no doubt a fine school.

TCU may not win but UW is not a lock. Texas has a lot of great high school football talent and TCU has its share.

Davy O'Brien went to TCU; 12/27/10, 1:19 PM
virgil xenophon said...: Classfactotum/

Just goes to show how these things go in cycles. In the 50s/early 60s RICE was a national powerhouse also along with TCU. They had an double All-American pass-catch duo in QB King Hill and WR Buddy Dial. Dial went on to All-Pro status w. a couple yrs running win-less Steelers team (no small feat, that, to make it playing for a win-less team) while Hill never made it big and ended up as long-time much-traveled QB coach. This was pre-AFl. In todays expanded league Hill would have, imo, been an unqualified starter.; 12/27/10, 1:34 PM
virgil xenophon said...: And I agree w. Anthony about much preferring the old bowl conference tie-ins. The Bowls wouldn't have existed (or even exist now) but for the indefatigable work of the Bowl Committees/local boosters who created the entire system to promote winter tourism in the South/SW/West. I also ABSOLUTELY HATE/DEEPLY DEPLORE the dropping of traditional bowl names like Peach, Sun,Tangerine, etc., (which made historical/geographical/cultural sense) to be replaced by abominations like the "Chick Filet" Bowl taking away much of the unique glamor of the event which mated the game with the area in which it was played--and even the physical trophies themselves--many of which were works of art.

(It's the same logic that has caused Mardis Gras to thankfully so far resist the overt commercializaton of its' many parades.); 12/27/10, 1:49 PM
Phil 314 said...: Funny how the linked article didn't mention two obvious differences:
-Ft. Worth in the heart of the reddest of Red States represented by a Republican and author of What's Right About America, Celebrating Our Nation's Values
-Madison the very blue city in Wisconsin also represented by a woman but of a decidedly different political persuasion

And that's not to mention the liberal state school versus the conservative secular school

(PS I wonder if they're saying in Ft. Worth:

We don't need no stinkin' Badgers); 12/27/10, 2:08 PM
Toad Trend said...: @Jerryofva

"Titus:

The Bears beat the Packers in the first game and they will beat them like a drum again."

Not if Bipolar Jay has rectal-cranial inversion as he is wont to do. And, the Bears allowed the Jets 34 points - not good. Right now I have to give the nod to the Pack - Rodgers looked sharp yesterday and he has the best arm in the league.; 12/27/10, 2:36 PM
Shanna said...: I hope TCU wins. They're the little school that could this year.

But not as much as I want to see Arkansas, Auburn and LSU SMOKE their opponents. I want Auburn winning by 40 points. 2nd my ass.; 12/27/10, 2:51 PM
vnjagvet said...: King Hill started a few games for the Eagles when I lived in Philadelphia. He played when Sonny Jurgenson or Norm Snead started and were injured. He was also the regular punter.

He was definitely a journeyman QB, and was not a fan fave.; 12/27/10, 3:01 PM
X said...: Well, since Wisconsin and The Big Ten both have losing records in The Rose Bowl, let's just wait and see what happens.

I'll give this to The Big Ten: They always have the most September and October #1 teams in the nation.; 12/27/10, 3:22 PM
X said...: and don't forget Bob Lilly; 12/27/10, 3:24 PM
Anonymous said...: I also ABSOLUTELY HATE/DEEPLY DEPLORE the dropping of traditional bowl names like Peach, Sun,Tangerine, etc., (which made historical/geographical/cultural sense) to be replaced by abominations like the "Chick Filet" Bowl taking away much of the unique glamor of the event which mated the game with the area in which it was played

For several years when I was a child I watched the Peach Bowl each New Year's Eve. How I deplore the replacement of that fine moniker with some naming-rights crap.

Peter; 12/27/10, 4:04 PM
Anonymous said...: Virgil, Rice's claim to fame is Frank Ryan, who played as an undergrad, then played pro ball and got his PhD in math in the off season. We comfort ourselves with having smart football players and with beating homeless teams, as in the Tulane game of 2005. We also make the Aggies mess up their half time show. You take what you can get.; 12/27/10, 4:07 PM
Beldar said...: TCU's football program has had conspicuous success over the last few years. Several members of my extended family have degrees from TCU and my father did some post-grad work there after WW2, so I'll definitely be rooting for them to beat Wisconsin. And I think they will.

But I can't help but recall the "cockroaches" label they were given long ago:

"When a mediocre TCU football team upset his Longhorns in 1961, denying them a national championship, [legendary Texas head football coach] Darrell Royal looked for a metaphor in the agony of defeat and could find none more apt than the bane of the insect world. 'They're like cockroaches,' he said of TCU. 'It's not what they carry away that kills you; it's what they fall into and mess up.'"; 12/27/10, 4:11 PM
virgil xenophon said...: Class factotum/

I always liked your sunken gnd-level stadium when we (LSU) used to play over there in the early 60s. Univ. of Colorado's is similarly nicely sited. Makes for a nice "gladiator" effect..; 12/27/10, 4:17 PM
Mark O said...: Texas Christian is going to kick your PC ass.; 12/27/10, 5:17 PM
DaLawGiver said...: TCU will smite your heathen excuse for a football team. With the hammer of a righteous running game and the controlled speed of an incensed hummingbird they will lay waste to your psyche and steal all your footballs.

You have been warned.; 12/27/10, 6:03 PM
XWL said...: The Badgers have made Santa Monica their HQ for Rose Bowl pre-game fun.

Good for the economy around here. I don't know if the visitor's bureau will hand out red clothes for all the vagrants to wear, but here's hoping (at least many of the homeless have done their part by doing their best to smell as if they're drenched in badger urine)...

(below, from santamonica.com)

Join thousands of Badger fans at the world-famous Santa Monica Pier for what could be a record-setting crowd. Show your Badger spirit at the official Wisconsin football pep rally with the UW Spirit Squad, the UW Band and other special guests.

Fans in attendance will also have the opportunity to get all their official Badger Rose Bowl gear from Bucky's Locker Room. The free event gets underway at 3 p.m. PST.; 12/27/10, 6:48 PM
XWL said...: Forecast calls for sunny skies and temps in the low 50s for the rally at the Santa Monica pier, which I guess if you're from WI sounds like shorts and t-shirt weather.; 12/27/10, 6:52 PM
Donna B. said...: Go Frogs!; 12/27/10, 7:01 PM
Anonymous said...: Virgil, I miss the Southwest Conference and Rice playing teams that were in Texas and the adjacent states. Who cares about a Rice/Memphis or Rice/UCF match? Yes, Rice almost always lost, but at least we were losing to our neighbors and not traveling 500 miles for the privilege.; 12/27/10, 8:13 PM
MadisonMan said...: The real question is: Will there be enough Brandy in all of SoCal for all the BOFS that will be ordered?

My recollection is that Badger fans drank Vegas dry one year. That's some doing. And they drank all the beer in Pasadena.; 12/27/10, 8:17 PM
PfMoen said...: it's always an away game for the cold staters- just sayin'
Go Boise!; 12/27/10, 11:30 PM
Kev said...: Next year they [TCU] join the Big East

Obviously the league commissioners got an F in Geography 101

Well, considering that, in a year or two, the Big Ten will have 12 members and the Big 12 will have 10 members, they must have also earned a zero in math.; 12/28/10, 5:59 AM
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