Patrick Batteaux never took a snap as a pro quarterback, but on one afternoon, he outplayed a future Heisman Trophy winner who would be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, a three-time Pro Bowler with a 14-year NFL career.
Batteaux figures he is asked about his win as the quarterback of TCU when it upset Carson Palmer and USC in the 1998 Sun Bowl about once a month. The last few weeks have skewed the average.
TCU’s appearance in the Alamo Bowl against USC on Tuesday night in San Antonio will be the first time the teams have met since that sunny afternoon in El Paso when a program that had been terrible for decades started its climb to relevance by winning a game that “doesn’t mean anything.”
As much as games such as the Sun Bowl, Alamo Bowl and so many others are now glorified spring practices, to those who play in them, and care, they can provide a lifetime moment.
“It is one of the top five moments of my life; that is something that is very near and dear to me,” Batteaux said in a phone interview. “That week of the game, [TCU head coach] Dennis Franchione told me, ‘You know we’re going to beat them.’”
There are more accomplished men who have played quarterback for TCU in the last 30 years, but Batteaux’s mark on TCU is a signature that cannot be forged. As such, he belongs in the same sentence as Andy Dalton, Trevone Boykin and Max Duggan, three quarterbacks who years later led TCU to special seasons, and wins in the Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl.
Batteaux pushed his way into this group even though he was a quarterback for what effectively amounted to one season in a four-year college career; he completed less than 50 percent of his passes, and threw more interceptions than touchdowns.
Today, Batteaux is 47 and lives in Dallas. He is a senior vice president at Texas Bank and Trust. After he finished his college career, he spent two years with the San Diego Chargers as a receiver, and caught three NFL passes in 2001.
He then briefly visited Winnipeg to potentially play for the Blue Bombers in the CFL, but that didn’t stick. He retired from football and moved to North Texas. Looking at his LinkedIn profile picture, he doesn’t look too much older than he did on Dec. 31, 1998, the day TCU entered as a 16-point underdog against USC.
By that point, he had been the starting quarterback for the entire season, having made the switch from wide receiver under first-year coach Franchione.
“The crazy part is the reason I wanted to go to TCU in the first place wasn’t to play quarterback, but to play basketball,” said Batteaux, who was raised in Missouri City. “When I was being recruited, everybody wanted me to play defensive back. I was going to commit to Texas to play defensive back.
“My first love was basketball, and TCU had no problem with me playing both sports.”
That didn’t last long, but long enough for Batteaux to fulfill his dream of being a college football and basketball player. Batteaux was a receiver on the football team, and a reserve guard for coach Billy Tubbs’ basketball team.
Batteaux told Franchione he planned to stop playing basketball, and it was not long thereafter the coach asked him about trying quarterback. Coming off a 1-10 season in 1997, Fran had to be creative. Fran wanted to run the option, and Batteaux was one of the best athletes on an offense that featured future NFL running backs Basil Mitchell and LaDainian Tomlinson.
With Batteaux at quarterback, TCU started the season 4-1. Thanks to a handful of bizarre circumstances, the team landed in the Sun Bowl, its second bowl appearance in 14 years.
While TCU was delirious to be in a bowl game in El Paso, USC was checked out long before “opting out” became a thing. A USC roster that featured future NFL players Palmer, Chris Claiborne, R. Jay Soward, Chad Morton, Billy Miller, Larry Parker, Zeke Moreno and Daylon McCutcheon was dominated by a team of unknowns from the Western Athletic Conference.
TCU jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, and Batteaux completed four of five passes to win the game. By the time USC decided to care, it was too late.
The USC players walked off the field disgusted as the TCU players welcomed their friends and families to the turf to take pictures of themselves in front of a scoreboard that no one could quite believe was real, “TCU 28. USC 19.” For many of the players, that photo is permanent fixture in their homes, and that afternoon is one of the best experiences of their lives.
It was TCU’s first bowl win since the 1956 Cotton Bowl, and launched an era and transformation that even the most optimistic soul would doubt possible.
“I have season tickets to TCU games, and I keep in contact with a lot of those guys from that team. We sit in the same section together,” Batteaux said. “It’s really cool to be a part of that turning point of that program.”
For a game that “meant nothing,” it meant everything to the players who won, the university it changed, and provided a lifetime moment to the quarterback who bested a future Heisman winner and top NFL pick.
Mac Engel
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Mac Engel is an award-winning columnist who has covered sports since the dawn of man; Cowboys, TCU, Stars, Rangers, Mavericks, etc. Olympics. Movies. Concerts. Books. He combines dry wit with 1st-person reporting to complement an annoying personality.
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