It’s another bye week for TCU Football and the staff takes measure of the Horned Frogs into the season’s final stretch
Since the first Bye in October, TCU won three of four games and earned bowl eligibility. To what do you most credit this success?
- Anthony: Cleaned up the nonsense. In the five P4 games pre-bye, the Frogs averaged over 73 penalty yards per game and just under 3 turnovers per game – among the worst in the nation in each. It was undisciplined, unprepared, poorly coached, poorly schemed, and poorly executed football, with seemingly no answers for correcting the course. In the four post-bye contests TCU is averaging only 44 penalty yards and 1 turnover per game, including two consecutive games without a turnover. It was an impressive turnaround that must continue – and continue to lead to wins – to further restore confidence in the coaching staff.
- Austin: No more self-inflicted wounds. In TCU past four games, they’ve averaged one giveaway per contest. Through the first six games, the Horned Frogs turned it over more than two times per game. Aside from winning the turnover battle, TCU has accumulated less penalties than its opponent in three of its last four games. More cohesive football is being played and its shown in the box score. The drastically weak links aren’t as apparent as they were earlier in the season.
- Russ: I’m basically repeating what’s been said already, but TCU has (largely) avoided the self-inflicted mistakes like turnovers, penalties and poor in-game management. Josh Hoover has looked more like the Josh Hoover we saw earlier in the season and the addition of Savion Williams to the backfield has boosted an otherwise mediocre rushing attack. Even Cam Cook had a bounce-back game against Oklahoma State. If TCU can continue to win the turnover battle and avoid self-destructing penalties, I like their chances going forward.
TCU technically still has a chance in the Big 12 race, but fell out of real contention with bad losses. Given the shake-up around the league, which Horned Frogs loss do you look back with the most regret?
- Anthony: We may have all had visions of a Big 12 title run during the third quarter of the UCF game; TCU was dominant, Hoover was dealing, the defense was holding steady and all seemed right in the world. It sucks to lose to rivals Baylor & SMU, it was embarrassing to lose at home to Houston in the way that game played out, but the collapse vs. the Knights was the most devastating loss. The season plays out far differently with a win that the team had essentially already earned, including a continued inclusion as a contender in the Big 12 race. The coaching decisions in that game absolutely cost the Frogs the win and impossible to not look back as the moment the season was doomed to be something far less than it could’ve been.
- Austin: While losing to Houston felt like a complete gut-punch at the time, falling to UCF in week three was a tough blow. The Horned Frogs led 28-7 early in the third quarter. TCU allowed the Knights to rattle off 15 straight points before a Kyle Lemmermann field goal built a six point lead midway through the fourth quarter. UCF ultimately scored with less than a minute to go to take the lead for the first time all day. To put matters in prospective, TCU lost to a 2-0 UCF team. The Knights went on to lose five of their next six games, while using multiple different quarterbacks along the way. The Horned Frogs allowed KJ Jefferson to throw three touchdowns and 230 yards—his best passing performance of the season.
- Russ: My immediate answer was the Houston loss… But after more thought, I actually think the UCF loss looks worse right now. The Cougars have put together some promising games in recent weeks, even beating Kansas State, while the Knights have fallen all the way to 13th in the Big 12 standings. TCU wasn’t remotely competitive in the Houston game, whereas the Horned Frogs dominated early and blew a huge lead in their loss to UCF.
Through 10 games, what has given you the most hope for the future of TCU Football? What raises the most concern?
- Anthony: Josh Hoover is the ray of hope. He continues to improve and has reached a command of the offense in such a way that there are very few signal callers nationally you’d rather have behind center for the Horned Frogs. When he cleans up the turnovers, he really is one of the top passing QBs in the country. While he may be losing many of his top targets in 2025, there’s plenty to suggest that he has the juice to keep it rolling and have the Frogs contending again next season with Jordyn Bailey & Eric McAlister able to return, redshirting freshmen Gekyle Baker & Dozie Ezukanma set to hit the field, and the likely addition of experienced talent via transfer. My top concern for the future of the Frogs is the defensive front, particularly in defending the run. The change from Joe Gillespie to Andy Avalos has not really produced major strides forward this season. Although the sack count has been steady over recent weeks, TCU is off pace even from last year’s defensive debacle, needing six sacks over the final two games to match the 2023 total of 26. The run defense meanwhile has fallen off a cliff with star DT Damonic Williams’ transfer to Oklahoma; in 2024 TCU is 6th-worst among Power Conference squads in rush yards allowed per game. TCU & Avalos will need to bring in some of his dudes this offseason to give the unit a better chance of getting stops.
- Austin: The Horned Frogs have rebounded quite nicely, demonstrating the once forgotten resilience of a Sonny Dykes-led squad. Just two years ago, Dykes led the Horned Frogs to the national championship, maneuvering his way through several close calls. This season, TCU is 3-2 in one-score games. In both of TCU’s one-score losses, they led in the second-half. The Frogs could easily be 8-2 or even 9-1. Furthermore, the underclassmen have played well and the upcoming recruiting class is the best in the Big 12. What gives me the most concern is the age of TCU’s best unit, its receiving core. The Frogs will likely be without Savion Williams, Jack Bech, and JP Richardson after this season. There’s no replacing that level of talent.
- Russ: TCU’s passing attack has been the biggest strength of the team this season. Josh Hoover has thrown for 3,233 yards and 22 touchdowns with two regular season games (and one bowl game) still to play, meaning he could surpass 4,000 yards on the season! Just to understand how significant that would be… neither Max Duggan nor Trevone Boykin eclipsed the 4,000-mark yard (although Boykin was close in 2014). While TCU will lose a lot of its wide receivers including Savion Williams, Jack Bech and JP Richardson, the Horned Frogs will have Eric McAlister and young wideouts like Jordyn Bailey and Braylon James eligible to return. Improving the run game will be a priority over the offseason, but I really like where TCU is at right now in terms of throwing the football.
What is your ideal bowl game match up for TCU this year?
- Anthony: Even if TCU were to win out, I think the Alamo & Pop Tarts Bowls are likely out of reach. While I would love to see the matchup with Vanderbilt and former interim TCU head coach Jerry Kill who is currently on the Commodores staff, I think the most fun bowl game would be vs. LSU in the Texas Bowl in Houston. Approximately equal distance between the two campuses, it would be an awesome bowl environment even in the otherwise lifeless NRG Stadium. It would give TCU a marquee opponent and an opportunity to create big time buzz into 2025. An alternate fun choice would be against Washington in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, pairing the two most recent national runners-up.
- Austin: After looking at several projections, USA Today’s Army vs. TCU matchup in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowls stood out to me the most. A contest against a current, 9-0 team in Fort Worth is intriguing. Plus, as a Service Academy, Army is well-known ground-and-pound team. The Black Knights have already rushed for 3,014 yards and 35 touchdowns on the ground this season. TCU has been horrid against quality rushing attacks, but they’ve turned it around in recent weeks. A matchup between the best ground attack in the nation versus a middling, yet improving unit will be a fun storyline.
- Russ: The two most common predictions I’ve seen are TCU facing South Carolina in the Texas Bowl and TCU facing Vanderbilt in the Liberty Bowl. I think a matchup against the Gamecocks would be really exciting, as South Carolina has matched up well with some of the best teams in the SEC this season. Vanderbilt, who knocked off Alabama as a huge underdog earlier this season, is a great story and would be a good matchup for TCU as well. My hope would be for TCU to end up in the Texas Bowl, with the Liberty Bowl as a No. 2.