TCU spent its bye week away from the field, but the Big 12 picture kept shifting around it. A few Power Four teams that looked stuck a week ago found a way to kickstart their seasons. Others only dug deeper.
That is the backdrop as the Horned Frogs head into Saturday’s trip to Baylor in Waco.
TCU sits at 2-3 overall and 0-2 in Big 12 play, and the math is simple enough: the Frogs need a result, not just a reset. A week off can help with perspective. It does not put points on the board.
The weekend around college football showed just how quickly a season can change direction. Oklahoma walked into the Red River Rivalry needing a jolt and got one in the biggest way possible, stunning No.
1 Texas 27-24 on a field goal as time expired Saturday. The Sooners moved to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in SEC play after losses to Michigan and Georgia, while Texas fell to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
South Carolina delivered a similar surprise of its own. The Gamecocks entered the weekend at 2-3 overall and 0-3 in SEC play, then went to No.
16 Florida and won 38-19 in Gainesville. That pushed South Carolina to 3-3 overall and 1-3 in the SEC and snapped a three-game losing streak.
Neither result erased the rough starts those teams had endured. But both changed the conversation.
That is the part TCU can’t lose sight of. One win can flip the tone around a program fast.
Not every team got that kind of lift. Michigan State went into the weekend at 2-3 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play and came out with a 38-37 overtime loss to Illinois, dropping the Spartans to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the conference. Illinois improved to 3-3 and picked up its first Big Ten win.
Washington had a shot at its first Big Ten victory, too, but Iowa handled the Huskies 41-24 on Friday night. Washington slipped to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in conference play.
Penn State’s problems deepened as well, with USC beating the Nittany Lions 31-23 to leave them at 3-3 overall and 0-3 in the Big Ten.
Three teams entered the weekend looking for a conference breakthrough. None got one.
TCU knows that feeling well enough. The Frogs just got to watch it from the sideline for a week.
Now the focus shifts to Baylor, which enters the rivalry game at 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Big 12 play after a bye of its own. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT Saturday on FS1.
The Bears have won four straight since their season-opening loss, and their 55-19 win over Arizona State served as a loud warning about the kind of game they want to play. Jason’s Baylor film review takes a closer look at how the Bears want to win.
For TCU, the bigger issue is what has happened on offense. The Frogs have scored 10 points against North Carolina, 13 against UCF and 10 against BYU.
That adds up to 33 points across three losses. The defense kept the BYU game within reach, but the offense has not done enough to turn those chances into wins. Aiden’s look at TCU’s offensive numbers explains why the season averages do not tell the whole story, while the BYU report card revisits another missed opportunity.
A win Saturday would move TCU to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play before the Frogs host West Virginia on Oct. 24.
A loss would leave TCU at 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the Big 12, and it would also mean needing four wins over the final six regular-season games to get to six victories.
That is what hangs over this one. Not the usual rivalry backdrop.
Not the bye week. Just the simple question of whether TCU can finally give people something better to talk about.
As Jason laid out in what Saturday’s Big 12 games mean for TCU, the rest of the conference kept moving while the Frogs waited. Now it is TCU’s turn to answer.
Oklahoma changed its season against Texas. South Carolina did it against Florida.
The Horned Frogs will try to do the same in Waco.
In Other News...
Sonny Dykes Just Put TCU's Biggest Baylor Week Concerns In Focus
With Baylor coming up next, Sonny Dykes used his media availability to sketch out where TCU stands after the bye week and what the Horned Frogs still want cleaned up. He was joined by Jamel Johnson and Jeremy Payne, and the conversation touched on the teams progress, the offensive direction the staff wants to keep pushing, and the challenge Baylors offense presents as the rivalry game draws closer.
Dykes also spent time on individual performances and the general confidence level around the program, which has been a useful theme for TCU as it turns the page from the break to game week. What he would not do, at least publicly, was spell out every detail of the staffs self-scouting from the bye or get too specific about the receiver room picture, leaving a couple of the most interesting personnel questions still hanging as the Frogs move into one of their most watched weeks of the season. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Comes Out Of The Bye Facing A Big 12 Gut Check
Baylors visit with TCU arrives with both teams rested and plenty on the line, but the tenor is different on each sideline. The Bears are trying to keep their conference start clean after a strong opening stretch, while the Horned Frogs are looking to steady themselves after a shaky first month and make the most of a bye week that gave them time to reset. It has the feel of a true early Big 12 measuring stick, with one team trying to protect momentum and the other trying to get back on track before the league race starts to tilt.
For TCU, the matchup carries extra weight because the Frogs need a sharper showing against a Baylor team that has looked comfortable in recent weeks. Coaches on both sides have already addressed their teams' performances and the challenge ahead, and the setup suggests a game that will say plenty about where TCU stands after its open week. A win would help change the tone quickly; another stumble would only deepen the questions heading into the heart of conference play. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Has Every Reason To Take This Baylor Rivalry Personally
TCU is getting ready for a rivalry game that has already carried a different kind of edge inside the building. Players have made it clear this one means more than the usual Big 12 week, with the Bluebonnet Battle trophy in play and both teams bringing defenses that can make every snap feel like it matters. For a roster that includes several transfers, the matchup has also become a chance to prove they understand what this game means to the people around the program.
The Horned Frogs know Baylor has had the upper hand recently, and that alone gives this meeting a sharper tone than most. There is a sense of unfinished business in the way TCU is talking about the game, along with a quiet confidence that contributions can come from all over the lineup when the moment arrives. Against a rival like this, even the subplots feel personal, and the Frogs seem intent on treating it that way. [Read more 🡒]