TCU is approaching Saturday’s home opener with Grambling State like a game that demands real attention, not a routine tune-up.
That starts with what Sonny Dykes sees on tape. The Horned Frogs’ coach said the Tigers have already shown enough through two games to earn respect, even before the matchup with TCU (0-1) kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday.
“You turn on the film with Grambling and the players can see,” Dykes said. “They’re going to see this team scoring points and stopping people, having success and making big plays. They play tough and physical and with great effort.
“So sometimes you got to convince the guys, but Grambling, their film and performance kind of speaks for itself.”
Grambling State enters at 2-0 and has done it with a deep backfield and a defense that attacks the football. The Tigers are coached by Mickey Joseph, the older brother of former Denver Broncos head coach Vance Joseph. Mickey Joseph has been in college coaching since 1995 and landed his first head-coaching job when Grambling hired him in 2024.
Dykes said that background matters, too.
“Mickey is a good football coach, I’ve known Mickey for a long time,” Dykes said. “Really impressed with their team. They played a bunch of different quarterbacks Week 1, I believe they got settled in Week 2 and decided on some guys.
“They scored 97 points in the first two games and have only given up 33. They’re scoring a lot of points, they’re moving the ball, they had a kickoff return for a touchdown. I’ve been impressed with what they’ve done so far.”
The Tigers have put up those numbers against two Division II opponents, but the offensive output still stands out, especially after they lost offensive coordinator Shyrone Carey just weeks before fall camp began.
That production has caught the eye of TCU’s players as well.
“They run hard, they really do run hard,” senior defensive tackle Ansel Din-Mbuh said. “It’s gonna be real important stopping the run, stopping the run early and not letting them get into a rhythm. We just have to assert ourselves, our dominance from the start of the game.”
Din-Mbuh said the Horned Frogs need to control things early and avoid letting Grambling build belief. With three FCS upsets over FBS teams already last week - Tarleton State over Bowling Green, The Citadel over Charlotte and Idaho State over Utah State - TCU has a clear reminder that no one can sleepwalk through kickoff.
The senior also said he understands the motivation Grambling players may be bringing into Fort Worth.
“They’re coming here to prove something,” Din-Mbuh said. “I’m sure a lot of guys a year from now they want to be at a place like TCU, like Ole Miss, like Memphis, a bigger school. And so to them it’s an opportunity to put great things on film, and what better opportunity to do that against a Power Four team like TCU?”
Din-Mbuh said that perspective hits home because he once felt the same way early in his career at Washingston State. He said that hunger to reach the highest level helped drive him then, and he expects plenty of Grambling players to have that same mindset now.
The team captain also made clear he won’t be treating the Tigers any differently than a Power Four opponent.
“I’m expecting them to come in here ready to play,” Din-Mbuh said. “I’m not gonna play them any different than I play anyone else.
They’re human, they bleed the same, they’re going to play the same as us. They’re going to play fast, physical, and so we just got to go win on our one-on-ones.”
If TCU brings that same edge across the roster, the Horned Frogs should be in position to handle their home opener without much trouble.
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