Sonny Dykes built his name on offense, which is why TCU’s current mess cuts so deep. The Horned Frogs are 2-3, and the part of the program that was supposed to carry them has instead become the problem.
Even worse for Dykes, the quarterback who has made his old school look even worse is Josh Hoover, now starring at No. 5 Indiana.
Hoover has been spotless in Bloomington. He has thrown 17 touchdown passes without an interception and has not lost a fumble.
That puts Indiana alone atop the nation in fewest turnovers with one. Meanwhile, TCU sits tied for 81st in FBS in turnovers lost with eight.
That gap has given Dykes more grief from frustrated TCU fans and observers, some of whom are pointing to coaching as the reason for the contrast. That’s a stretch, but it also does not help that Hoover is thriving after leaving Fort Worth. In his two-plus seasons as TCU’s starting quarterback, he threw 33 interceptions.
The timing is brutal for Dykes, whose offense has gone from his calling card to a liability. His replacement at quarterback has not worked out, and the same issue that haunted TCU in losses over the last two years is still hanging around.
This is the first time in a while Dykes has felt real pressure. His seat is getting warmer than it has since his days at California, and the unit he was once known for has fallen apart.
TCU’s place in the sport hasn’t helped the mood. The Big 12 has five teams in the current Top 25, and with its payroll and facilities, there is no obvious reason TCU should not be among them.
Instead, for the fourth straight mid-October, the Horned Frogs are outside the national football conversation. The spotlight games and TV windows are going elsewhere.
Since the start of the 2023 season, TCU has been ranked only three times. It opened 2023 at No. 17, then dropped out after losing to Colorado and never returned that season.
It was never ranked in 2024. In 2025, it reached No. 24 in Week 4, lasted one week, then showed back up only in the final AP Poll at No.
- This season, TCU has not been ranked at all.
The Top 25 is never a perfect measure, but it matters as a showcase. For a college program, that’s part of the job.
Dykes is not being held to Lane Kiffin at LSU standards, and nobody is asking TCU to win a national title. No Big 12 team has done that since Texas in 2005, and the conference’s only current member with a modern-era title is BYU, back in 1984.
What is expected is a run at the Big 12 crown and a shot at the playoff, goals Dykes and athletic director Mike Buddie have put on the table. Those kinds of seasons usually come with rankings, strong TV slots and national attention. TCU has had none of that lately.
The Horned Frogs have at least managed to clean things up late in the past two seasons, finishing with nine wins and bowl victories after rough starts. But this year looks like another salvage operation, with the team once again trying to play itself into a second- or third-tier bowl.
And then there’s the offense, which remains the loudest issue. Dykes has spent 17 seasons building teams that could score, from Louisiana Tech and California to SMU and much of his time at TCU.
He has had quarterbacks like Jared Goff, Davis Webb, Shane Buechele, Max Duggan and Hoover. This version is not in that class.
Among 138 FBS teams, TCU ranks 93rd in third down conversions, 110th in rushing and tied for 103rd in first downs. Harvard-transfer quarterback Jaden Craig has shown a few flashes, but he has not gotten enough help from his receivers or offensive line. The offense ranks 92nd.
The strange twist is that TCU’s defense has actually been excellent. It is tied for 12th nationally in points allowed, which makes it Dykes’ best defense in five years in Fort Worth.
That only sharpens the sting. Hoover may have been a little loose with the ball at TCU, but every game this season is another reminder of how much the Horned Frogs, and their coach, miss him.
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For Texas, that means every throw and every decision gets amplified in a way most quarterbacks never have to navigate. Steve Sarkisian has acknowledged the weight that comes with Mannings position, and the comparison to Peyton Mannings early days only underscores how unusual this stage already is. The football part is only one layer here, though, because the noise around Arch has a way of making even ordinary quarterback development feel like a national event. [Read more 🡒]
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TCUs Bye Week Exposed A Big 12 Threat Fans Cant Ignore
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Houstons upset of Kansas State was the clearest sign that a familiar conference hierarchy can crack fast, and it gives TCU another data point to consider as it looks ahead to the rest of its schedule. The Frogs are coming back into the mix with plenty left to sort out, and the bye-week snapshot made clear that opponents can look one way on paper and very different once the game gets going. [Read more 🡒]