Frog Recap: What we learned from TCU’s win over Stanford

The Horned Frogs showed plenty of potential on both sides of the ball, but some inconsistencies and disciplinary issues remain.

The TCU football team opened its season with a victory Friday evening, outlasting the Stanford Cardinal 34-27 in Palo Alto to begin the 2024 campaign with a 1-0 record. The Horned Frogs showed plenty of flashes on both sides of the football, as the defense generated four sacks while the offense compiled 465 yards. Josh Hoover looked solid in his 2024 debut, throwing for 353 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for a score. Jack Bech emerged as a potential breakout playmaker at wide receiver and newcomer JaTravis Broughton was solid in coverage against Stanford’s Elic Ayomanor and others.

While the Horned Frogs emerged victorious, some questions still remain as TCU looks forward to its home opener against LIU this coming Saturday. Here are the biggest things we learned from TCU’s road win over the Cardinal on Friday evening.

TCU’s improved pass rush delivered in Week 1

We’ve heard from both head coach Sonny Dykes and TCU players that the defense will have a much more potent pass rush than it did under former defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie last season, when the Horned Frogs deployed a 3-3-5 scheme. With TCU now featuring an EDGE rusher role, there has been more emphasis on getting after the quarterback and less emphasis on the secondary and the linebackers holding up in coverage over extended periods of time. The Horned Frogs recorded four sacks against Stanford, with multiple EDGE rushers stepping up including veteran Marcel Brooks, who had 1.5 sacks in the win. Newcomers Cooper McDonald and Devean Deal also had sacks for the Horned Frogs, who compiled 10 tackles for loss on Friday night. It’s still very early in the season, but TCU’s aggressiveness on defense led to (mostly) positive results, despite some costly penalties.

The Horned Frogs remain potent, but inconsistent on offense

While the TCU offense gobbled up yards in its first season under Kendal Briles, the Horned Frogs had noticeable flaws including an inability to finish drives with points and avoid turnovers at inopportune moments. Those issues, which plagued TCU all season last year, resurfaced in the win over Stanford. Although TCU had 465 yards of total offense and gained 24 first downs, the Horned Frogs turned the ball over on a failed exchange between Josh Hoover and Cam Cook, which came directly after a 40-plus-yard gain. Wide receiver J.P. Richardson also turned the ball over in Stanford territory, fumbling after a solid gain. Moreover, TCU missed a 39-yard field goal and failed to convert on a fourth-and-4 play near the Cardinal redzone, with the Horned Frogs opting to throw short of the sticks.

TCU overcame suspect playcalling on its final redzone drive of the evening, where Briles called a first-down throw despite Stanford having only two timeouts and around a minute left on the game clock. Cook ultimately clinched the win with his rushing touchdown, but it’s clear from Friday’s game that TCU’s goal-line and red-zone offense, which were each worked on extensively over fall camp, remain a work in progress. However, with two receivers (Jack Bech and J.P. Richardson) eclipsing 100 yards and Savion Williams hauling in 11 catches, the ceiling remains high for the Horned Frogs, who played without Dylan Wright and JoJo Earle and gave Boise State transfer Eric McAlister only limited snaps.

Penalties continue to be an issue for the Horned Frogs

TCU committed seven penalties for 100 yards during Friday’s game, three of which came during Stanford’s first drive of the evening. The Horned Frogs struggled with penalties last season, averaging 6.2 infractions (80th) and 53.6 penalty yards (76th) per game in 2023. TCU’s three penalties in the opening drive allowed Stanford to score the first touchdown of the night, while further mistakes throughout the game enabled the Cardinal to keep drives alive. The Horned Frogs will struggle in Big 12 play if they can’t get out of their own way and it will be on both Dykes and his staff to calm the players down entering Week 2 against LIU.