It might not mean anything, but it could mean something: The TCU Horned Frogs intend to play 12 games this college football season.
They don’t have the final say over whether they will get to play 12 games. The Big 12 will soon (one would assume) announce its planned schedule for the 2020 season. Yet, TCU is going about its business with an eye on playing a full schedule, as reported by Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
TCU football is going forward with plans of playing 12 games this fall. Finalizing agreements with new opponents in Week Zero and Week 2.https://t.co/eG42c6SpH2
— Drew Davison (@drewdavison) July 23, 2020
One would be inclined to think that if a Big 12 member school is trying to play 12 games, the Big 12 would be trying to play 12 games as well.
This inclination is justified by other reports from the college sports world:
Bob Bowlsby says that Big 12 is still focused on playing a 12-game regular season. Acknowledges that "plus-one" model has been discussed. Bowlsby: “Yeah, we’ve talked about that and any other model you could name.”https://t.co/1t6sg3roFL
— Chuck Carlton (@ChuckCarltonDMN) July 23, 2020
It is fascinating to see the various Power Five conferences operate on such different wavelengths.
A lot of the reportage from ACC and SEC markets has pointed to the adoption of a conference schedule plus one or two nonconference games.
The Pac-12 and Big Ten, of course, have committed to conference-only schedules.
The Big 12 is acting aggressively, trying to play 12 games. Alabama of the SEC has also tried to replace early-season opponents, including USC, which suggests that the Crimson Tide — like TCU — are making robust efforts to play a 12-game slate as well.
Teams and conferences are going in all sorts of directions, with little uniform direction or sense of purpose. This is the reality we inhabit in college football.
Which teams is TCU trying to replace? Davison’s story notes that UNLV — originally scheduled to play California on Aug. 29 in Las Vegas at the new Allegiant Stadium — could be TCU’s new opponent. The Horned Frogs have already started their walk-throughs and other activities which would normally precede the beginning of training camp, so TCU is not behind schedule in that regard.
TCU’s September 12 date — vacated by Prairie View when the SWAC shut things down for the fall — will reportedly be filled by a team within driving distance of the TCU campus.
Again, none of these efforts by TCU might ultimately matter, but the story here is that schools and conferences are hardly on the same page. Will there be lasting effects of this particular lack of cohesion in the college sports community, or is all of this a one-off which — when the pandemic lifts — will fade away?
We won’t know the answer to that question for some time.