Dear Kansas,

Well, look at us.

Both 3–4. Both 1–3 in the Big 12. Both coming into Halloween needing a win considerably more than we’d like to admit.

Although you did beat Baylor last week, so thank you for that.

We softened them up for you. You’re welcome.

An 11-point second-half lead, a blocked potential game-winning field goal, and a coaching change the next morning. Ouch. Even by college football standards, that was quite a weekend in Waco.

Meanwhile, we were at home discovering that beating Baylor does not automatically mean we have figured everything out.

So, now it’s your turn to visit the Carter. It’s Halloween. It’s a blackout. And I would really appreciate it if the scary part could be limited to what people are wearing.

We’ve had enough football scares, thank you.

Especially with you.

We Have Some History

I remember when we played you back in the ’90s, before we were conference neighbors.

We were still in the Southwest Conference for the 1994 and 1995 meetings, then the WAC for 1996 and 1997. You were on your own conference journey. Somehow, all these years later, here we are sharing the Big 12 standings and trying to find our way to a bowl game.

College football is weird.

We beat you in 1994. You took the next three, including that 52–17 game in Fort Worth in 1996.

We can move along pretty quickly past that one.

But since we joined the Big 12, you’ve developed a particular talent for making Frog fans uncomfortable. Even when we win, we don’t always get to enjoy the process.

Remember 2014?

We went to Lawrence with playoff hopes and came home with a 34–30 win that felt like we’d barely escaped something. That was supposed to be one of the manageable games on the schedule.

Apparently, nobody sent you the schedule notes.

Then there was 2016. We won 24–23.

One point. Very generous of you to leave us that.

And in 2018, we were driving late, down near your goal line, with a chance to pull it out.

Then the fumble.

You won 27–26. I don’t think we need to spend any more time discussing that particular memory.

Our history with you has given us plenty of reasons to watch until the very end.

Even when we would strongly prefer to relax.

But This Is Fort Worth

Here’s the part I like better.

We’re 12–2–2 against you in Fort Worth. You haven’t won here since 1996, and we’ve won all five meetings at the Carter since becoming Big 12 neighbors.

Do we protect the Carter when Kansas comes to town?

Historically, yes.

Comfortably? That depends.

There was the 43–0 win in 2017. Lovely. No notes.

There was also 23–17 in 2015 and 31–28 in 2021.

That last one required a Griffin Kell field goal with six seconds left. At home. Against Kansas.

So I’d love to say, “We aren’t playing in Lawrence. We should be fine.”

Of course, we should have been fine last week.

You can understand my hesitation.

Please Leave the Tricks in Kansas

After you, we still have Arizona, Kansas State, Utah, and Texas Tech.

Utah leads the conference. Arizona and Tech are among the teams tied for second. And our Thanksgiving plans include a trip to Lubbock, because apparently the holiday needed more stress.

We need this one.

I realize you do, too. That’s inconvenient.

So welcome to Fort Worth, Kansas. Enjoy the Halloween festivities. We’ll be the ones wearing black and trying very hard to project confidence.

You’ve already made enough memorable games with us.

This year, I’d be perfectly happy with a boring fourth quarter and a comfortable Frog win.

Safe travels.

Go Frogs!

KillerFrog.com

Follow the Game Day Thread, share your score predictions, and join the conversation on the Scott & Wes Fan Forum at KillerFrogs.com. KillerFrogs is an independent TCU fan community and sports media home covering Horned Frog athletics with news, analysis, podcasts, and plenty of purple opinions—lowering office productivity since 1997.