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TCU Announces 2004 Football Schedule
March 1, 2004 A Thursday night, season-opening, nationally televised home game kicks off the 2004 TCU football schedule, released by the Conference USA office today. The Horned Frogs' 11-game slate includes six home games and five road contests. Game times are not yet available. The Horned Frogs, coming off an 11-2 season and ranked in the nation's top 25 in both polls for the second straight year and for the third time in the last four years, open the 2004 season at home for the first time since 1999, when Northwestern visits Fort Worth on Thursday, September 2. The ESPN cameras will be on hand for the pre-Labor Day meeting between the Frogs and Wildcats. It will be the fourth meeting between the two private schools, with TCU holding a 2-1 advantage over the Big 10 foe, including a 48-24 win in Evanston, Illinois in 2002. SMU will make the trek along I-30 from Dallas to Fort Worth on Saturday, September 11 for the 85th meeting between the two Metroplex rivals. In a series that dates back to 1915, the Frogs hold a slim 39-38-7 advantage in the all-time series, but have captured the "Iron Skillet," which goes to the winning team, in each of the last five meetings, including a 20-13 win in Dallas in the 2003 regular season finale. The Frogs take to the road for the first time in 2004 when they travel across the state to Lubbock to face an old rival in Texas Tech on Saturday, September 18. It will mark the 53rd meeting between the two Texas rivals, but the first time they have met on the gridiron since 1995. It will also mark the Frogs' first regularly-scheduled contest with one of the four schools which merged with the Big 8 to become the Big 12, following the breakup of the SWC. "We start out with a tough non-conference schedule, with two of our first three games against teams that went to a bowl game last year, and the other game is a rivalry game," said TCU head coach Gary Patterson. "I do like the idea of playing SMU early in the season, rather than later in the season as there is more on the line at that time." The Frogs open their fourth season of Conference USA league action at home when they host the USF Bulls on Saturday, September 25. TCU came away with a hard-fought 13-10 win in Tampa a year ago in the first meeting ever between the two schools. Following the USF game, four of the Frogs' next five games are on the road. TCU will travel to West Point, New York to face Army on Saturday, October 2, then enjoy an off-week before heading to Birmingham to face the UAB Blazers on Saturday, October 16. The Frogs return home to face in-state rival Houston on Saturday, October 23. TCU won a wild 62-55 shootout in Houston a year ago and have scored at least 30 points in nine consecutive games against UH, but the Cougars still cling to a 13-10 lead in the all-time series. The Frogs are back on the road the following week when they visit the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday, October 30. TCU will be looking to avenge an overtime loss in their only previous trip to the Queen City, a 36-29 setback in the 2002 season opener. The Horned Frogs won handily in Fort Worth a year ago by a 43-10 margin. TCU's second national television appearance will come in their next contest at Louisville. The game date, which has not yet been finalized with ESPN, will be played either Tuesday, November 9, Wednesday, November 10 or Thursday, November 11. The Frogs have dominated the series with the Cardinals, winning all three previous matchups, including a 45-31 victory in Louisville in 2002 and a 31-28 win in Fort Worth last season. If the Horned Frogs are still in contention for the conference title, they will enjoy the advantage of finishing the season with a pair of home games. The defending Conference USA champion Southern Miss Golden Eagles will visit Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth on Saturday, November 20. Southern Miss handed TCU its only regular season loss of the 2003 campaign by a 40-28 score, but TCU still holds the all-time lead in the series, three games to two. The regular season comes to an end two days after Thanksgiving on Saturday, November 27, when Tulane comes to Fort Worth. TCU leads the all-time series with the Green Wave by an 8-3 margin, including a 38-35 season-opening win in the Superdome last year. "As is usually the case, we will have to play strong in November to win the championship," said Patterson. "I always like to finish out the season at home," he added. With 11 football-playing schools in Conference USA, the Frogs will again not play two league opponents. For the second straight year, TCU will not face either Memphis or East Carolina in 2004. 2004 TCU football schedule DAY DATE OPPONENT SITE TV Series Record Thursday September 2 Northwestern Fort Worth ESPN Saturday September 11 SMU Fort Worth Saturday September 18 Texas Tech Lubbock Saturday September 25 USF* Fort Worth Saturday October 2 Army* West Point, NY Saturday October 16 UAB* Birmingham, Ala. Saturday October 23 Houston* Fort Worth Saturday October 30 Cincinnati* Cincinnati TBA November 9/10/11 Louisville* Louisville ESPN Saturday November 20 Southern Miss* Fort Worth Saturday November 27 Tulane* Fort Worth
All game dates are subject to change. *-Denotes Conference USA game
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