Baylor and TCU are set to add another installment to a rivalry that has been anything but ordinary in the modern era. The Revivalry - also known as the Bluebonnet Battle - has been packed with conference stakes, wild finishes and big-time individual efforts since 2010, and the series has delivered some of the Big 12’s most memorable games.
With Saturday’s meeting on deck, here’s a look at five of the greatest Baylor-TCU showdowns of the modern revival, ranked by significance, performance and pure drama.
The most recent classic came in 2024, when Baylor snapped a four-game losing streak in the rivalry behind redshirt freshman running back Bryson Washington. He piled up a career-high 196 rushing yards and scored four touchdowns as the Bears erased a 17-13 halftime deficit.
Washington’s fourth touchdown put Baylor in front 34-27 late in the fourth quarter, but TCU answered when Josh Hoover hit Jack Bech on a 24-yard touchdown pass to tie it with less than two minutes left. Sawyer Robertson then guided an 11-play, 59-yard march that set up Isaiah Hankins’ 33-yard game-winner as time expired.
The victory was Baylor’s third straight during a six-game closing run that helped the Bears rebound from a 2-4 start and finish 8-4.
One of the most dramatic finishes in the series came in 2022, when Baylor nearly handed No. 4 TCU its first loss of the season.
The Horned Frogs left McLane Stadium with a 29-28 win after Griffin Kell drilled a 40-yard field goal as time expired. Baylor controlled much of the game statistically, outgaining TCU 501 total yards and building a 28-20 lead in the fourth quarter after Richard Reese scored on a one-yard run.
TCU answered with a 90-yard touchdown drive, but a failed two-point try left Baylor up 28-26 with just over two minutes to play. After a punt and a quick push into field-goal range, TCU worked without any timeouts and rushed the kicking unit on the field before Kell delivered the finish.
The win kept the Horned Frogs unbeaten, preserved their College Football Playoff hopes and eventually carried them to the national championship game.
The 2011 opener between Baylor and TCU was the game that announced Robert Griffin III on the rivalry stage. Baylor took down the 14th-ranked Horned Frogs, who arrived after an undefeated Rose Bowl-winning season and a 25-game regular-season winning streak.
Griffin was electric, completing 21 of 27 passes for 359 yards and five touchdowns. Kendall Wright added 12 catches for 189 yards and two scores as Baylor surged to a 47-23 lead.
TCU stormed back with 25 unanswered points and briefly grabbed a 48-47 advantage with just over four minutes left, but Griffin answered with an 11-play, 60-yard drive. Aaron Jones kicked a 37-yard field goal with 1:04 remaining, and Mike Hicks sealed it with an interception of Casey Pachall.
It was Baylor’s first win over a ranked opponent since 2004 and the spark for Griffin’s Heisman-winning season under Art Briles.
The defining game of the modern Revivalry came in 2014, when Baylor beat TCU 61-58 in a matchup of undefeated top-10 teams. Fifth-ranked Baylor hosted ninth-ranked TCU at McLane Stadium, with both teams in the College Football Playoff chase.
Bryce Petty threw for a career-high 510 yards and six touchdowns, yet Baylor still trailed 58-37 after Marcus Mallet returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown with 11:38 left. Then came the avalanche: Devin Chafin scored on a seven-yard run, Petty threw touchdown passes to Antwan Goodley and Corey Coleman, and Baylor tied the game at 58 with 4:42 remaining.
After a turnover on downs, the Bears moved into range and Chris Callahan hit a 28-yard field goal as time expired. Callahan had entered the game 1-for-6 on field goals that season, but finished a perfect 4-for-4.
Both teams ended up 11-1 and tied for the Big 12 title, then watched the College Football Playoff committee leave them both out, with Baylor fifth and TCU sixth in the final rankings.
Before Baylor’s 2024 comeback, another overtime thriller kept the Bears unbeaten in 2015. Ranked No. 11 and sitting at 8-0, Baylor needed three overtimes to leave Fort Worth with its perfect record intact.
TCU held Baylor scoreless in the first half and led 9-6 late in regulation before redshirt freshman kicker John Mayers drilled a career-long 51-yard field goal with 36 seconds left to force overtime. Both teams scored touchdowns in the first extra period, then Denzel Mims caught a 20-yard touchdown from Charlie Brewer in the second overtime to keep Baylor alive.
Mims struck again with a four-yard touchdown grab in the third overtime to put the Bears ahead 29-23, and then Grayland Arnold intercepted Max Duggan in the end zone after TCU reached Baylor’s 1-yard line. The win pushed Baylor to 9-0 for the first time since 2013 and helped preserve a season that ended with an 11-1 regular-season record and a Big 12 championship.
In Other News...
Baylor Gets A Huge Revivalry Test With Home Momentum On The Line
Baylor enters this rivalry matchup with momentum, and that has made Saturdays visit from TCU feel like one of the bigger early-season measuring sticks in the Big 12. The Bears have started fast, and with both programs carrying plenty of history into the game, the stakes are about more than just one more conference result. Baylors key players and coaches have helped set the tone, while TCU arrives looking for a steadier stretch after uneven play and a reminder of how quickly rivalry games can shift the conversation.
Injuries and coaching pressure are part of the backdrop, too, which only adds to the intrigue surrounding the Horned Frogs trip. Baylors defense may also get a small boost with Garrick Ponder trending in the right direction, a development that could matter in a game where every possession feels bigger than usual. For TCU, the challenge is not just handling an energized home crowd but also finding a way to slow Baylors early-season roll before the rivalry stakes turn the noise up another notch. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Showed Off A Depth Battle Fans Will Be Watching Closely
TCU finished its preseason work with an 89-76 exhibition win over Wyoming, and the Horned Frogs used the night to keep sorting out who fits where before the games start counting. Brock Harding scored 16 points, Micah Robinson added 15, and the roster again showed the kind of balance that should make the early season rotation worth watching. The matchup also gave fans a look at several possible starting combinations and a closer view of the transfer pieces that are expected to matter right away.
Gavin Sykes supplied the biggest scoring burst with 17 points, giving TCU another reminder that the bench could end up being just as important as the opening five. For a team still settling on roles, that kind of depth is a good problem to have, even if the final answer is still a little fuzzy heading into the regular-season opener against Lindenwood. [Read more 🡒]
Former TCU QB Is Rolling Again But Bigger Tests Are Coming
Josh Hoovers start at Indiana has been exactly the kind of clean, efficient run that makes a quarterback look like he is settling in fast. Through six games, the transfer has helped the Hoosiers to a 6-0 start while putting up passing numbers that compare favorably with Fernando Mendozas 2025 season, and the ball security has been especially notable as Indiana has handled an early stretch that has not asked a great deal of him.
The bigger question is what happens when the schedule stiffens. Indiana has cruised through a relatively soft opening slate, so Hoovers passing pace and composure will face a different kind of pressure once the Hoosiers get into games against top-ranked competition, where windows close faster and mistakes tend to get amplified. For TCU fans, it is another reminder of how much Hoover has grown, but also of how much harder the next step can be. [Read more 🡒]