TCU’s season is at a turning point, and Saturday’s visit from Kansas comes with no shortage of pressure baked in.
The Horned Frogs are coming off a 24-20 loss to West Virginia and now sit at 3-4 overall and 1-3 in Big 12 play. With five games left, TCU needs to win three of them to reach bowl eligibility, and the path gets tougher after this weekend with Arizona, Kansas State, Utah, and Texas Tech still ahead.
That is what makes the Halloween matchup at Amon G. Carter Stadium feel especially important.
Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT, and with a blackout planned at The Carter, TCU has a chance to reset the mood in Fort Worth.
Inside the KillerFrogs staff, the confidence is stronger than the results might suggest. Twelve staff members picked TCU to beat Kansas, while only two sided with the Jayhawks. Most of the predictions point toward a relatively tight, low-scoring game, with TCU landing in the 20s and Kansas somewhere in the teens or low 20s.
Here are the staff’s score picks:
Baileigh Sheffield (3-3, six submitted picks): TCU 27-14
Emma Swinney (4-3, one closest prediction): TCU 24-21
Michael Bara V (5-2, one closest prediction): Kansas 24-17
Ryann Zeller (3-4, one closest prediction): TCU 24-20
Sean Foushee (4-3, one closest prediction): TCU 20-13
Tori Couch (3-4, one closest prediction): TCU 27-24
One prediction stood far apart from the rest: Seth’s 42-21 Kansas pick.
A few staff members laid out the case for a TCU win in sharper terms. One wrote, “TCU survives Halloween at the Carter, but it probably makes us sweat through the fourth quarter.
TCU won’t lose three consecutive home games. No more than one turnover from the offense.
Jaden Craig is the more accurate passer. TCU’s defense will get this done.”
Another sees a late swing in the Frogs’ favor: “Trailing the Jayhawks 17 to 14 in the game’s final seconds, TCU quarterback Jaden Craig finally leads a game-winning drive for the Horned Frogs.”
There was also confidence in TCU’s defense. One staffer said, “Kansas has a decent running game, but I think TCU has a stronger defense. They’ve only been allowing 13.9 points per game.”
Another noted the offense remains the concern, but the defense can carry the day: “It’s hard to have much trust in the offense to finish drives, but the defense does enough in this one.”
Not everyone is sold on a clean turnaround. One staffer wrote, “TCU is all out of sorts right now, and I don’t think this is the get-right game people think it is. Leipold’s seat is hotter than some expect, and he’s coaching for it like Sonny.”
Still, the overall lean is clear, and one prediction summed up the expectation this way: “I think TCU is going to pull off the win, but it will be a fight. TCU’s defense will continue to be elite, and the offense will put enough points on the board to win the game.”
The West Virginia loss also shook up the staff standings. Emma Swinney, Michael Bara V, Aiden Reed, and Tom Burke were the only staff members who picked the Mountaineers to win in Fort Worth.
Emma earned closest-prediction credit with West Virginia 28-17, finishing seven combined points away from the actual 24-20 result. Jackson James and Tori Couch were also seven points off, but both had TCU winning, and closest-prediction credit only goes to someone who picks the winner.
Michael now holds the best winner-picking record at 5-2. Emma, Seth Dowdle, Tom, and Sean Foushee are next at 4-3.
Emma has also moved into the lead in cumulative differential at 122, just ahead of Ryann Zeller at 124. That race continues to tighten as the season goes on.
Cumulative differential measures the total absolute error in each staff member’s predicted scores across the season, so lower is better. The win-loss records track winner picks, while the differential standings reflect score accuracy.
No closest-prediction credit was awarded for North Carolina because every staff member picked TCU to win. The six closest-prediction credits handed out through West Virginia went to Sean for Grambling State, Tori for Arkansas State, Tom for UCF, Ryann for BYU, Michael for Baylor, and Emma for West Virginia.
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