It goes without saying that New Year's Day 2011 will forever hold a special place in the hearts of TCU football fans: The day the Horned Frogs captured a memorable 21-19 Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin to cap off a perfect 13-0 season.
But over the last eight years, most TCU fans likely had no idea of the inspiration for the gameplan head coach Gary Patterson against the Badgers in Pasadena -- until Monday.
The key elements: Current-day Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst, and a job opening at Texas.
During a breakout session at Big 12 Media Days at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Patterson reportedly revealed to media members that he was in on the news that Chryst, then Wisconsin's offensive coordinator, was vying for the same role on Mack Brown's staff at Texas as the 2010 season wrapped up.