University of Colorado Boulder’s football team celebrates after a missed BYU field goal in the game against Brigham Young University At Folsom field on September 28th, 2025. (Peter FitzGerald/CU Independent)
On Saturday, Oct. 4, the University of Colorado football team (2-3, 0-2 Big 12) matches with Texas Christian University (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) for just the third time in program history, with the first meeting between the schools happening over three years ago. Despite the youth of the rivalry, the history of this newly Big 12 matchup is momentous. Both matchups thus far have put into motion storylines that have uniquely captured the national college football spotlight. Together, the matchups contribute a small but surprisingly significant chapter to the modern college football narrative.
Sept. 2, 2022- TCU 38, Colorado 13
Notable stats: M. Duggan- 2/3, 27 passing yards, Q. Johnston, 3 receptions, 22 yards
In the inaugural matchup between the Buffaloes and Horned Frogs, and the first game of the 2022 season, TCU emerged with a comfortable road win. Despite the score sitting at 7-6 in favor of the Frogs at halftime, with the only touchdown of the half deriving from a 60-yard Derius Davis punt return in the second quarter, TCU took off on Colorado in the second half to win 38-13. Long touchdown runs from Davis and Emari Demercado powered Texas Christian to 31 unanswered second half points.
The final three touchdown drives for the Horned Frogs were conducted under backup quarterback Max Duggan after starting quarterback Chandler Morris left the game with a leg injury late in the third quarter. It was a sign of what was to come as Duggan would start for TCU the rest of the season.
The Buffs finally answered TCU’s onslaught with a 23-yard touchdown connection from junior quarterback JT Shrout to freshman wide receiver Jordyn Tyson with just two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Shrout briefly played for Arkansas State University last season before retiring from football. While, Tyson, now at Arizona State University, is currently one of the nation’s premiere wide receivers and expected to be picked in the first round of the NFL draft come April.
Following their win over Colorado, TCU went on a historic run in 2022 under first-year head coach Sonny Dykes and former backup quarterback Max Duggan. TCU finished the season 13-2, with six wins over ranked opponents, the school’s first College Football Playoff berth and a National Championship appearance. The game of the season came during the Horned Frogs’ stunning 51-45 defeat of the University of Michigan in the College Football Playoff Semifinal. Notable players from the 2022 TCU team included Duggan, future first round pick wide receiver Quentin Johnston and 1,000-yard rusher running back Kendre Miller.
Sept. 2, 2023- Colorado 45, TCU 42
Notable stats: S. Sanders- 38/47, 510 passing yards, T. Hunter- 11 receptions, 119 yards, 1 interception
A year to the day after getting blown out at home, Colorado visited Fort Worth with a new look at head coach: hall of fame cornerback and personality Deion Sanders, in his first game with the program. Returning virtually no one from the 2022 team, the Buffs relied heavily on transfer additions and true freshmen to fill out the starting lineup. The game started quickly, with Colorado advancing down the field at the first opportunity and quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the coach’s son, throwing a touchdown pass to true freshman running back Dylan Edwards. The Buffs would score one more touchdown in the first half to match TCU’s Trey Sanders’ two rushing touchdowns, culminating in an unexpected 17-14 Colorado lead over the reigning National Champion runner-ups at halftime.
In the second half, the game immediately turned into must-see football. On the first play from scrimmage, Dylan Edwards took a short pass from Shedeur Sanders 75 yards to the house to give the Buffs a 10-point lead. TCU responded with a quick, three-play scoring drive of their own finishing in a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chandler Morris (2022 TCU’s beginning of the season starter) to tight end Jared Wiley. After Colorado punted, Morris led the Horned Frogs to the Buffs’ goal line, on the verge of taking the lead, when Travis Hunter, an unprecedented two way player at the college level, jumped a pass in the end zone and snagged a diving interception.
After the Hunter pick, the game turned into bedlam, with the Buffs and Horned Frogs each scoring three touchdowns during the final 17 minutes of the game. With four minutes remaining, another long catch and end-zone dash by Edwards put Colorado ahead 45-42. In the next drive, Morris and TCU turned the ball over on downs in Colorado territory to seal the Buffs’ victory. Sanders finished with a record setting 510 passing yards in his first game with the Buffs, while Edwards ended with over 150 yards and three touchdowns in his first college game.
In the aftermath of the stunning 2023 Colorado-TCU matchup, much attention was paid to the football program in Boulder, head coach Sanders, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter. With FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff and ESPN’s College Gameday on campus, Colorado won its next two games at home before falling to the University of Oregon in a demoralizing 42-6 defeat. The Buffs would go on to win just one more game in 2023, yet record audiences tuned in week after week, peaking at 10.03 million for the Oregon game.
Sanders, the quarterback, put forward a career year the next season in 2024 with 4,134 passing yards and 41 total touchdowns. He, quite controversially, was drafted in the fifth round of the NFL draft in April, 2025. Hunter won the Heisman Trophy in 2024 with over 1,300 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns while playing full-time on defense; he was drafted second overall after the season. Edwards would score just two more touchdowns in 2023 and promptly transfer to play for Kansas State University in his home state. After a solid year a season ago, Edwards has struggled with injuries to begin his 2025 campaign.
Game 3: the establishment of a rivalry
Saturday’s game will mark the third time Colorado and TCU have matched up and the first time the two teams will play while in the Big 12 conference together. New to the conference, and remaining separated from their traditional rivals of the University of Nebraska and Colorado State University, the Buffs’ delivery of another classic football could cement the Horned Frogs as a rival for years to come.
“The past is the past,” coach Sanders said about the expectations of the matchup considering its history. “We’re going to leave that there.”
“I don’t know if anybody knew those guys were going to be as good of players as they were,” reflected TCU coach Sonny Dykes on the matchup two years ago. “They had those guys for two years. And now they’re retooling a little bit.”
Both coaches earned their first win at their respective programs against each others’ school.
TCU (3-1) has returned to near 2022 form, having suffered their sole loss on the road a week ago to No. 25 Arizona State by a score of 24-27. Junior quarterback Josh Hoover, a member of the TCU 2022 National Championship runner-up team, has passed for 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns in the young season.
Colorado, alternatively, has struggled to a 2-3 start to the 2025 season and three quarterbacks have already appeared in games for the Buffs. Strides were made a week ago when the Buffs brought No. 23 Brigham Young University to the brink during a 21-24 loss, but a game-ending interception from senior quarterback Kaidon Salter slammed the window of opportunity shut. Saturday will provide a chance for redemption for Salter and the Buffs, in the place that started it all for coach Sanders two years ago.
Colorado will take on Texas Christian University in Fort Worth at 5:30 p.m. MDT on Saturday, Oct. 4. The game will be broadcast live on FOX.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Charlie Hewitt at charles.hewitt@colorado.edu.
