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MARIO RUIZ/Daily Herald Brigham Young linebacker Kelly Poppinga (46) takes down Texas Christian strong safety Brian Bonner (6) in the first quarter Thursday, November 8, 2007.

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TCU wide receiver Derek Moore, top, can't come up with a pass under pressure from BYU defensive back Quinn Gooch (25), defensive back Dustin Gabriel (28) and linebacker Cameron Jensen (35) in the second half of their football game, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006, in Fort Worth, Texas. BYU won 31-17, ending TCU's 13 game winning streak. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

MATT SLOCUM

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BYU quarterback John Beck (12) throws against TCU in the first half of a football game, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

DONNA MCWILLIAM

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BYU quarterback Max Hall, right, is sacked by TCU defensive tackle John Fonua in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

Donna McWilliam

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TCU's Ed Wesley, left, runs out of a tackle by BYU's Scott Johnson during the first half of an NCAA college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/George Frey)

George Frey

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TCU quarterback Andy Dalton, right, is hit as he releases the ball by BYU's Jordan Pendleton during the first half of an NCAA college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/George Frey)

George Frey

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TCU quarterback Andy Dalton (14) throws a pass in the first quarter against BYU defenders Shane Hunter (51) and Kyle Van Noy (45) during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010, in Fort Worth, Texas. TCU beat BYU 31-3. (AP Photo/Jeffery Washington)

Jeffery Washington

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BYU wide receiver O'Neill Chambers, left, is tackled by TCU linebacker Tanner Brock (35) during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffery Washington)

Jeffery Washington

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TCU cornerback Jason Verrett (2) defends a pass in the end zone against BYU wide receiver Cody Hoffman (2 ) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Arlington, Texas, on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. The pass fell incomplete. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

LM Otero

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JEREMY HARMON/Daily Herald BYU's Matt Allen, left, and Kelly Poppinga, celebrate as they leave the field during the Cougars victory over New Mexico to win the Mountain West Conference championship in Provo Saturday November 18, 2006. The Cougars remain undefeated in the conference and face the Utes on November 25.

Jeremy Harmon

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BYU … TCU … Utah.

For much of the late 2000s, those were the college football teams that battled it out for the top spot in the Mountain West Conference with each having their moments of glory.

Cougar special teams coordinator/defensive ends coach Kelly Poppinga played linebacker for BYU during that time and remembers what those clashes were like.

“I’ve got some really great memories of playing those guys and some that aren’t so good,” Poppinga said earlier this week. “In 2006, we went down there and they have one of the nation’s longest home winning streaks and we played a great game to win 31-17.

“I think that was one of our first conference games that year and that really set us up to go undefeated in conference. That was one of the most memorable games I ever had as a player.”

The Cougars knocked off TCU in Provo the next year before the Horned Frogs took control of the series, winning the next four in a row.

“I remember when we were favored but they came here and whooped our butts,” Poppinga said. “During that time it was BYU, Utah or TCU that was going to take the championship and those were battles.”

Both current BYU head coach Kalani Sitake and Cougar defensive coordinator Jay Hill were at Utah during that stretch, so they recall what it was like to face some really good Horned Frog squads.

“Utah went to the Sugar Bowl in 2008 and then TCU went to BCS bowls in 2009 and 2010,” Hill said. “It was like a dogfight every time we’d play one another. TCU has got a great program and they’ve got a great tradition. They’ve done phenomenal things from Gary Patterson on to the new staff that went to the national championship last year. This is a well-coached team that knows how to play football and has done so for a long time.”

Being back in the same league with a former rival like TCU after a dozen years apart is something unique this season for the Cougars.

Sitake said that additional background makes for a fun element and he’s excited for the atmosphere at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth on Saturday.

“I think for the fans, it’s exciting that we have a little bit of that history there,” Sitake said. “It’s so cool to get to go out there and have that experience. They have a really, really nice fan base. It’s tough to go in these places, because they have great support and we want to make sure that we show our best.

“More than anything I want to want to enjoy the environment and have our fans be able to be in that environment as well. It’s big-time football. We’re really excited that we’re here and that our fans get to be part of it.”

But it’s still a game that both teams want to win and the players today are focused on that much more than what happened years ago.

“I feel like we’re really going to have to match their energy and their effort because they have a lot of guys that fly around on the defensive side,” BYU junior wide receiver Keanu Hill said. “But there are holes that we I feel like we can exploit. Really the main focus is making sure we have the intensity against them.”

TCU is coming off a pair of disappointing losses to West Virginia and Iowa State, but Cougar defensive lineman Tyler Batty said he feels that is going to make the Horned Frogs even more dangerous.

“Their record doesn’t speak to how good they are,” Batty said. “I think they’re going to come out and give us a really good shot. I still think they’re going to be a very dangerous team because they know how good they have been in the past and of course they’re going to strive to reach that same level.”

Much has been made of TCU starting quarterback Chandler Morris getting hurt but Poppinga said he’s personally seen how teams can rally around a backup quarterback.

“I told the guys that story about in 2012, against maybe one of the best defenses in BYU history, how Oregon State’s NFL quarterback got hurt and they had some backup guy we had never even heard of come in here and slings it around for like 400 yards,” Poppinga said. “I’ve had this before where guys relaxed because it was a backup quarterback. We’ve got to take it to this guy. We’ve just got to make sure this guy doesn’t feel comfortable throughout the game.”

Keanu Hill said the Cougar offense knows how good TCU is and wants to get the upper hand quickly, if at all possible.

“The key coming in is starting fast,” Keanu Hill said. “I feel like the last couple games we haven’t really started as we wanted to, but then we kind of got into a groove later on. I feel like this game for sure we want to come in start fast and finish first.”

BYU at TCU

TIME:1:30 p.m. MT

TV:ESPN

WHERE:Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth

THE WORD: This will be the 12th meeting between BYU and TCU with the Horned Frogs holding a 6-5 edge. The two teams are 4-4 in conference matchups but TCU won the last game when they beat the Cougars, 38-28, in a non-league game at Cowboys Stadium in 2011. BYU’s last win was in 2007 when the Cougars defeated the Horned Frogs, 27-22, in Provo … BYU and TCU spent time in both the Western Athletic Conference and the

Mountain West Conference together, matching up twice in the WAC (1996, 97) and six times in the MWC (2005-10) … TCU head coach Sonny Dykes faced BYU as a head coach at Cal in 2014 (a 42-35 Cougar win) and twice as the offensive coordinator at Arizona (a 20-7 BYU win in 2007 and a 31-21 Wildcat win in 2008).