The Baylor–TCU football rivalry, known as The Bluebonnet Battle and The Revivalry, is an American college football rivalry between the Baylor Bears and TCU Horned Frogs. The first game of this long-standing series was played in 1899, making the rivalry one of the oldest and most played in FBS college football. TCU joined the Big 12 and resumed the annual game with Baylor, which birthed the nickname of "The Revivalry" for a short time. After 122 meetings, the series is the most-played college rivalry in the State of Texas.
History
Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas and founded as a Baptist institution the same year in Independence, Texas. Baylor permanently moved to Waco forty years later in 1885. TCU was founded in 1873 as AddRan Male and Female College by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark, in Thorp Spring, Texas, and was later renamed AddRan Christian University, relocating to Waco in 1895. AddRan was renamed Texas Christian University in 1902 and relocated again, to Fort Worth, in 1910 after a fire destroyed the school's main administration building. First contested in 1899, and having been played 122 times, the rivalry is one of the oldest and most-played series in college football history. The two schools are presently separated by only 90 miles.
When both schools were located in Waco, the Bears and Horned Frogs frequently faced off multiple times per season. In the early years of the rivalry, TCU and Baylor did not play as conference foes. Like most schools of that era, Baylor was independent until becoming a founding member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) in 1915. TCU subsequently joined the SWC in 1923, after competing as an independent (1896–1913 and 1921–22).
Baylor and TCU would play 69 times as SWC foes, until the SWC disbanded in 1995. Throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s, the Bears would hold an 18-9 advantage against the Horn Frogs. After a 10-year hiatus, the universities renewed the rivalry in a non-conference series in 2006–2007 and 2010–2011. During this series, TCU competed in the Mountain West Conference. TCU joined Baylor in the Big 12 Conference in 2012, and the rivalry game is now played annually as part of the teams' regular season conference schedules.
In 2014, No. 5 Baylor staged a dramatic comeback to win 61-58 over then No. 9 TCU, scoring 24 unanswered points in the final 10 minutes to overcome a 21-point deficit. The win was secured with a game-winning field goal by Chris Callahan as time expired.
In 2022, Undefeated No. 4 TCU visited Baylor for the 118th edition of the rivalry. In the game TCU's Griffin Kell kicked a game-winning Field goal as time expired, giving TCU a dramatic 29-28 victory over the Bears.
Rivalry name and trophy
On November 13, 2023, in a press conference with TCU and Baylor student government representatives, head coaches, and athletic directors, the two universities formally announced the name of the rivalry would be "The Bluebonnet Battle." The name was the product of a joint student effort between the Baylor and TCU student governments. The name was the product of an effort between the two schools' student bodies and replaced existing unofficial names for the game, despite "The Revivalry" being used by Baylor University in November 2022. The new name was selected to reflect the series becoming the most-played between two teams in the State of Texas in 2023. The Bluebonnet, which is also the state flower of Texas, lines Interstate-35 for parts of the year connecting both schools' campuses.
Close games and shutouts
Football games between Baylor and TCU have been decided by 7 points or less 45 times, including 7 ties.
Several of the Bears and Horned Frogs' meetings since the rivalry's annual renewal in 2010 have featured memorable, close contests. In 2011, Baylor notched a season-opening 50–48 win, with Robert Griffin III, leading a fourth-quarter Baylor drive to set up Aaron Jones' game-winning field goal over the Horned Frogs. In 2014, Baylor came back from a 21-point, fourth quarter deficit by scoring 24 unanswered points to win the game 61–58 with a last second Chris Callahan FG. The outcome of the 2014 matchup and TCU's fourth-quarter collapse was critical in knocking TCU out of the inaugural College Football Playoff; both Baylor and TCU would go on to compile 11–1 (8–1 Big 12) regular season records and ultimately neither team got a Playoff spot as the committee chose 12-1 (and eventual national champion) Ohio State instead. Many have speculated that neither team was chosen because they were co-champions and the Big 12 did not have an actual conference championship at the time (the Big 12 title was awarded to the team with the best conference record). In 2015, the rivalry game was played on Thanksgiving Friday night in Fort Worth, with temperatures in the 30s and pouring rain. After a lightning-delayed start, the high-power spread offenses managed only 14 points apiece in regulation, with TCU securing a 28–21 second-overtime victory with a fourth down stop. In 2019, Baylor outlasted TCU in triple overtime to remain unbeaten. In 2022, undefeated 10–0 TCU won a hard-fought game, 29–28, by lining up to kick a walk-off 40 yard field goal on a running clock. Baylor won in 2024 by a score of 37–34 after kicking a walk-off field goal.
Other events
In 1971, TCU coach Jim Pittman collapsed and died on the sideline in Waco during the rivalry game, the only time in collegiate history that a coach died during a game. The Horned Frogs would go on to win the game 34–27.
In 2025, the rivalry was impacted by severe weather, with three lightning delays in the fourth quarter totaling over two hours. Despite the delays, TCU defeated Baylor with a final score of 42–36.
Game results
Results by location
As of October 17, 2026