The TCU Horned Frogs and Texas Longhorns are originally scheduled to face off on November 25 for Week 13 of the NCAA football season. However, there may not be a game at the Royal Texas Memorial Stadium on that day since the Longhorns are reportedly planning to boycott the match due to the rumored firing of coach Charlie Strong.
Talks about Strong getting fired by Texas emerged on Sunday. After spending three seasons with the Longhorns, university heads apparently are no longer happy with how Strong is directing the team. These feelings intensified after the Longhorns lost to the Kansas Jayhawks, marking the latter's first victory since 1993.
Earlier this week, Strong hinted about getting fired from the team by stating that he still wants to continue coaching the Longhorns.
"Next year I want to come back," he said according to Sports Illustrated. "Wins and losses don't stack up. You're looking at a young football team."
After news about Strong departing Texas emerged, various sources reported that his players are planning to boycott the upcoming game against the Horned Frogs to protest the pending firing of their coach.
According to a source close to the matter, the issue has divided the team. Others don't want to show up at the game while some are trying diffuse the situation.
"Some of the team is threatening to boycott the TCU game," the insider told the Austin-American Statesman. "Older players are trying to settle things down."
Longhorns receiver Jacorey Warrick confirmed that plans of a boycott are real. However, he noted that the team will not go through with it. Even though Strong's status came as a shock to them, Warrick noted that he and the other players are still focused on playing for Texas.
"Yeah, it was real, but we're not going to boycott," he said. "We're going to play. That was just people angry about expressing their thoughts. Coach Strong was not going to let us boycott that game."
"Everybody's emotional about it," offensive tackle Connor Williams added. "As a point, we're not just playing for Coach Strong. We're playing for the university as a whole and Longhorn Nation."
