TCU’s bye week might feel a little too quiet for fans itching for answers, but the bigger picture around college football offers one small comfort: the Frogs are hardly alone in this mess.
TCU sits at 2-3 after dropping its first two Big 12 games, and with Baylor next on the schedule, the math has already started. Fans are no longer just talking about what went wrong. They’re doing the bowl-eligibility count on their fingers.
That uneasy feeling is spreading across the Power Four. Through games completed Oct. 7, 2026, 12 of the 67 programs in the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC are also 2-3. Michigan State, Arkansas and South Carolina are on that list, along with TCU.
There are 14 Power Four teams with losing records and five more sitting at .500, which means 19 programs are at .500 or below. Among those 67 teams, only Georgia Tech and Rutgers have worse winning percentages than TCU’s .400.
TCU is also one of 14 Power Four teams that are 0-2 in conference play. Michigan, Penn State, Washington, Michigan State, Arkansas and Vanderbilt are in that group as well.
Not every team is in the exact same spot, though. Michigan, Penn State and Washington are all 3-2 overall, even if they have yet to win a conference game.
Michigan State and Arkansas match TCU in both categories at 2-3 overall and 0-2 in league play. South Carolina is 2-3, but has already taken three SEC losses.
That broader view is enough to make a bad week feel a little less isolating, even if it doesn’t solve anything for TCU. The Frogs still have the same issues they had before the bye: losses to North Carolina, UCF and BYU, with point totals of 10, 13 and 10 in those games. Their wins came against Grambling State and Arkansas State.
TCU’s offense remains the obvious place to start. Aiden’s look at the numbers explains why the season averages don’t tell the full story, and the BYU report card digs into what worked and what needs to get better. Kari Ashley has also given the Frogs something to hold onto, and his role in the offense is part of that case.
The schedule now shifts to Baylor, with kickoff set for Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. CT in Waco. Jason’s Baylor film review offers a closer look at what TCU is walking into.
There are seven regular-season games left, split between four at home and three on the road. The path is straightforward: TCU needs four wins in those seven games to reach six regular-season victories and get to bowl eligibility.
Beat Baylor, and the Frogs would need three wins in the final six. Lose, and they’d need four of the last six.
For one weekend, though, TCU fans can step back and watch the rest of the country sweat through the same kind of questions. Michigan State and Illinois are both 2-3 and 0-2 in the Big Ten, with a conference win there for the taking.
Washington hosts Iowa on Friday night, and a win would give the Huskies their first Big Ten victory. South Carolina faces the possibility of an 0-4 SEC start.
Oklahoma’s trip to Texas carries its own extra layer, and an upset would be welcome from TCU’s side of things.
Misery may love company, but company does not fix the Frogs’ problems. Still, for a bye week, it beats staring at the standings alone.
The break is here. Baylor is next. And there is still plenty of football left.
In Other News...
TCUs New Offense Has A Problem Fans Cant Ignore
TCU came into the season hoping a new offensive coordinator and some personnel changes would help the offense find a cleaner rhythm, but the results have been hard to miss. The scoring has lagged, the protection has wavered and the run game has slipped in the wrong direction, leaving the Horned Frogs with an attack that has not matched the expectations around it.
The deeper concern is that this does not look like a simple early-season hiccup. Advanced metrics and game film both point to the same problem, with the run game especially stuck behind uneven offensive line play and limited efficiency from the backs. There are individual bright spots along the front, but the overall picture still leaves TCU searching for answers it has not quite found yet. [Read more 🡒]