TCU’s season has started to feel like one of those late-fall North Texas days: the change is real, but it doesn’t arrive cleanly or on schedule.
The Horned Frogs are coming off a 17-6 win over Baylor, a result that matters on its own and means even more because of who it came against. Beating the Bears is a key checkpoint in any TCU season, and in a year that has already been defined by inconsistency, it offered a badly needed lift.
That said, one rivalry win doesn’t wipe away the rough edges. TCU is still 3-3, and the issues that made the opening stretch so frustrating are still sitting there.
The offense, in particular, has been a problem. The Horned Frogs entered their bye week at 2-3 after back-to-back losses to UCF and BYU in which they managed just 23 total points.
Meanwhile, the defense kept showing it could hold up against strong opponents, only to be let down by an attack that couldn’t keep pace or cash in on chances.
That disconnect is what made the early part of the schedule so hard to read. The defense was competitive.
The offense often wasn’t. Sonny Dykes had a set of problems that couldn’t simply be blamed on a brutal slate.
Still, there’s a case to be made that the rough start may have forced this team to confront what it actually was before it could become something better. That’s not a comfortable thought for a program that came into the year with bigger ambitions than merely getting through the first half intact. But the Baylor win at least hinted that the frustration may have served a purpose.
Saturday’s game against West Virginia is the next test of whether that hint turns into something more.
The Mountaineers come to Fort Worth after a wild 45-42 win over Cincinnati, a game in which quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. piled up more than 500 yards of offense. West Virginia also gave up 622 yards in that shootout, which gives TCU a chance to keep building offensively against a defense that has had its own issues.
If 17 points against Baylor counts as encouraging, that’s the level of progress TCU is working with right now.
For Dykes and his staff, the bigger question is whether the Baylor result was a turning point or just a one-night break from the larger trend. Another solid defensive effort would not be a surprise. What TCU needs now is an offense that can do enough to make those defensive performances count.
There’s still a lot left in the season, and the Horned Frogs have a path to something much better than where they started. They’re not suddenly in the Big 12 title picture, but there’s still a chance to finish with real momentum instead of more regret.
West Virginia can obviously walk into Fort Worth and blow up that idea in a hurry. A loss would drag all the old questions right back to the surface and make the Baylor win look like a blip.
But there’s another possibility too: that the pain of September and early October was the price of learning what needed to change.
Autumn doesn’t bring new growth right away. First it clears the way for what comes next.
In Other News...
TCU Faces A Big 12 Test That Could Expose Its Biggest Issue
TCU heads into its Big 12 matchup with West Virginia carrying the kind of questions that tend to get louder in conference play. The Horned Frogs have leaned on their defense to stay steady, but the offense has been harder to trust, and that balance could be tested by a Mountaineers team that brings real threats on the ground and through the air with quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. in the mix.
Special teams could also loom larger than usual in a game like this, where hidden yards and field position may end up mattering as much as any single series. For TCU, the challenge is not just matching West Virginias physical edge, but avoiding the sort of offensive lull that can turn a winnable conference game into a long afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Leadership Shakeup Puts New Pressure On Sonny Dykes
Daniel Pullins resignation after less than two years as TCUs chancellor has added another layer of uncertainty around a program that already felt like it was headed into a pivotal stretch. Victor Boschini is back in the role, and while the change at the top is an administrative move on paper, it lands in a season where Sonny Dykes and athletic director Mike Buddie are already operating with pressure rising on multiple fronts. At 3-3, the Horned Frogs still have time to steady things, but the combination of conference position and wavering fan support has made every week feel a little heavier.
For Dykes, the timing matters because the rest of the season now looks like the clearest measuring stick for where this program is headed next. TCUs leadership shift does not change the scoreboard, but it does sharpen the spotlight on football results and the broader direction of the athletic department. Buddie is in the same lane, with both men likely judged less by what happened before and more by how the Frogs finish, which is why the second half of the schedule suddenly carries more weight than ever. [Read more 🡒]
TCUs New-Look Roster Faces One Huge Question Entering The Season
TCU womens basketball is heading into the 2026-27 season with a roster that looks very different from the one that powered its recent success, and that reality has put the focus squarely on how quickly the Horned Frogs can reset. Mark Campbell has framed it as a fresh start, with the challenge less about carrying over what worked before and more about carving out a new identity with a group that has to learn one another on the fly.
Among the pieces that should help the transition are Clara Silva in the frontcourt and portal addition Jadyn Wooten in the backcourt, two players who figure to shape how the new group comes together. Silva gives TCU a familiar anchor inside, while Wooten arrives with a chance to fit cleanly into the system and steady the offense, which makes her role one of the most important unresolved questions as camp and the season approach. [Read more 🡒]