Sonny Dykes walked out of Halloween with a win and maybe the beginning of the end.
TCU beat Kansas on a day that should have been built for energy and noise at Amon G. Carter Stadium, but the scene around the game said everything.
The crowd was poor, boos rolled through the stadium, some fans wore bags over their heads, and others chanted “Fire Sonny!” It was the kind of afternoon that felt less like a celebration and more like a public airing of frustration.
The result itself does not help Dykes much. TCU is now 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the Big 12 after surviving a Kansas team that piled up more than 450 yards but managed only 16 points. For a program with the second-largest payroll in the Big 12, that is not the kind of narrow escape that calms anybody down.
What makes the moment so combustible is that Dykes’ job security has become the story around the program, and once that happens, it is almost impossible to pull the conversation back. The resignation of chancellor Daniel Pullin just over a week ago has pushed the issue onto the desk of his replacement, Victor Boschini. Boschini was also the chancellor in 2021 when Gary Patterson “resigned,” also on Halloween.
That earlier change carried a different kind of weight. Patterson was an icon in the community, and his departure came with a lot of political landmines and a fan base that needed to be soothed.
Dykes does not have that kind of built-in loyalty. If TCU decides to move on from him, it will not take the same level of donor diplomacy.
Dykes’ résumé at TCU is not empty. He is 40-21 there and 3-1 in bowl games.
He also delivered the program’s biggest modern moment, guiding TCU to a win over Michigan in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl, the Big 12’s only playoff win. That season brought him nearly every national coach of the year honor, and for one year the complaints disappeared.
But the shine did not last. Georgia’s 65-7 rout of TCU in the national title game never really let the program reset, and the Dykes era has felt stuck ever since.
TCU went 5-7 in 2023, then followed with consecutive 9-4 seasons and bowl wins, including last year’s overtime victory over USC in the Alamo Bowl. Even so, the Horned Frogs have not been near the top of the Big 12 or the playoff picture since the start of the 2023 season.
This year opened with more bad signs. An ugly fight between teammates in training camp set the tone, and the season began with a loss to North Carolina in Dublin, a game TCU essentially sold against Dykes’ wishes.
There are still four games left, and three are against ranked opponents. The lone remaining matchup that could reasonably be called a win is Kansas State, and the Nov. 14 crowd in Fort Worth is not expected to be much better than the one that showed up for Halloween.
Dykes can point to the fact that TCU has played five one-score games against Power Four opponents. The problem is the record in those games: 1-4.
So the afternoon that should have been festive ended up feeling awkward and miserable. TCU got the victory, but the bigger conversation was not about the scoreboard. It was about the coach.
In Other News...
TCUs Home Crowd Sent A Brutal Message Before A Huge Big 12 Game
Amon G. Carter Stadium had a strangely hollow feel just 10 minutes before kickoff for a game that carried plenty of weight for both sides. Kansas and TCU came in at 3-4 overall and 1-3 in Big 12 play, so this was the kind of late-October matchup that could still shape the rest of the season, even if neither team had much margin for error.
Kansas also made a late quarterback change, naming Cole Ballard as the starter shortly before the game. With both teams trying to avoid another damaging conference loss, the atmosphere around the stadium only sharpened the sense that this was more than just another Saturday, and the crowd response was a reminder of how quickly a season can turn into a pressure-packed chase for bowl eligibility. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Saw The Same Offensive Problem Cost Them Again Late
The Halloween win over Kansas fit a familiar TCU pattern this season: the defense kept the Horned Frogs afloat while the offense spent much of the night searching for answers. Even with the unit on the field a lot in the first half, the defense held up well enough to keep the game within reach, and there were at least a few signs the offense was starting to settle in, including a 28-yard rush from Ace Theus and some useful connections between Jaden Craig and Kari Ashley.
Those flashes mattered most late, when TCU finally put together the kind of decisive drive it had been missing in other tight moments. The offense showed a little more rhythm in the closing stretch and turned the game with a sequence that gave the Horned Frogs control, leaving Kansas to once again watch the same issue cost it down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Answered A Brutal Home Crowd With A Comeback Fans Needed
For a team that spent much of the afternoon hearing it from its own crowd, TCU found a way to flip the mood at Amon G. Carter Stadium. The Horned Frogs erased a 13-0 deficit late in the third quarter and pulled out a 22-16 win over Kansas, a result that felt as much about resilience as it did about the final score.
Kansas made things uncomfortable behind backup quarterback Cole Ballard, who was making his first start of the season and threw for 285 yards and a touchdown. But TCU kept hanging around until the game turned in the second half, and the comeback gave the Horned Frogs a needed lift after a rough start to the day. [Read more 🡒]