If you’re looking for a game each year to mark an instant classic, might as well go ahead and circle Oct. 24, 2020 when TCU goes to Baylor.

These two teams have combined for three of the best, most-contested, highly-emotional and vengeful games over the last five years and Saturday’s was no exception.

It took a last-second 51-yard field goal and then three back-and-forth overtimes for No. 12 Baylor to remain undefeated and beat arch-rival TCU 29-23.

TCU hit three field goals in the first half, including two by Jonathon Song in the final 29 seconds of the half. Baylor muffed a squib kick on the kick off following Song’s 37-yarder, but TCU could only convert it into another 31-yard kick. Griffin Kell connected from 47 yards out just 2:26 into the game.

Then Baylor hit three field goals in the second half, two in the fourth quarter, including a game-tying one from 51 yards out by John Mayers. His previous career long was 38 and had missed one from 31 yards out in the first half.

That was when the 9-9 game finally got interesting.

TCU received the touchback at its own 25-yard line. With three time outs and 36 seconds left in regulation TCU coach Gary Patterson elected to play for overtime and not try and win the game in regulation.

“You throw a pick there, you get beat. You’re on your own 25 yard line or whatever it was,” Patterson said. “That’s not smart football, to be honest with you. You’ve held them to nine points. Why wouldn’t you think that you could hold them again. I mean, i hear the boos.”

In overtime Baylor got the ball first and converted a pair of third downs to eventually punch the ball into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown.

TCU countered by picking up just one yard on its first three plays and on fourth-and-nine freshman quarterback Max Duggan chunked a prayer into the end zone. Tevailance Hunt came down with it and his arm hit the ground in the end zone before the rest of his body landed out of bounds. It was initially ruled an incomplete pass and Baylor began to celebrate, but the review overturned the call.

“It was awesome,” Patterson said of Hunt’s catch. “I’ll tell you this much, I couldn’t have made that catch. I know some of you guys are kind of surprised by that.”

In the second overtime TCU rushed the ball five times as Sewo Oloniliua scored from two yards out to give the Frogs a 23-16 lead. Baylor faced a fourth-and-five from the TCU 20-yard line putting the Frogs just one stop from a victory, but Charlie Brewer found Denzel Mims and he raced past a diving defender for the tying touchdown.

The seesaw match continued as Baylor got the ball first for the third overtime. It took just two plays to score, but the Bears were stopped on the required two-point conversion leaving the door open for a Frog victory.

“I thought we were going to win,” TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney said after they stopped the two-point conversion. “I just knew we were going to go down and score and punch the two-point conversion in. We just got to make the plays we need to make.”

TCU did punch it in on a third-and-five play when Duggan made one of the most electric runs you could ever hope to see, but review marked him down at the Baylor three-yard line.

“I feel like he was in. I feel like that was a great run,” TCU offensive lineman Cordel Iwuagwu said. “I feel like he was in, I don’t know what they saw, I feel like he was in.”

It sure was close and that caused a second lengthy review in overtime.

“I feel like I was glued to the screen today,” Gladney said.

TCU had to settle for first-and-goal from the three. Two plays later Olonilua was dragged down by a face mask and the Frogs had first-and-goal at the one-yard line. TCU lost three yards the first play then a holding penalty pushed the Frogs back to outside the 10-yard line where Duggan threw his third interception of the game in the back corner of the end zone.

“Honestly, we have to do better. We were at the 1?,” Iwuagwu said. “We have to get that. We do. Ain’t no excuses. We’ve got to get that.”

This is the fourth loss for TCU by seven points or less this season. There are no consolation prizes for these losses, in fact this was the toughest game of the year for Patterson.

“This is probably the most disappointed that I’ve ever been, but I’m also really proud of our kids, because it hurts more when you have a ballgame like this,” Patterson said. “They have three games left, they have to win two out of three if they want to become bowl eligible.”

TCU (4-5, 2-4 in Big 12) go to Texas Tech (4-5, 2-4) at 11 a.m. Saturday as both teams fight for their bowl eligibility.