TCU’s path to another late-season push may have started in much the same way as the last two: with a timely jolt and a little bit of belief.
The Horned Frogs have already shown under Sonny Dykes that they can catch fire after an uneven stretch. In 2024, they sat at 3-3 before winning six of their final seven.
In 2025, they were 6-4 and then ripped off three straight wins, capped by an Alamo Bowl victory over USC, to finish No. 25.
Now TCU is back at 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12, and a 17-6 road win over Baylor has given the program reason to think another turnaround might be coming. West Virginia visits Amon G.
Carter Stadium at 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2, and the Horned Frogs will try to build on what Dykes called a confidence-boosting result.
“Anytime you can go on the road in the Big 12 and win against a team [Baylor] that is 4-1 and has played as well as they played [it’s good],” Dykes said Tuesday. “Coming off that open date, they seemed to have a ton of momentum, and we didn’t seem to have a whole lot. I think it was a good win for our guys and gave us some confidence moving forward.”
The last two TCU surges had obvious on-field triggers. In 2024, Jack Bech and Savion Williams emerged in the Wild Frog package and helped fuel a 9-4 finish. Last season, Jeremy Payne took over as the lead back and jump-started the run game, averaging 117 yards during the Horned Frogs’ three-game winning streak.
This year, the spark may have come away from the field. Earlier this month, the team’s captains held a players-only meeting before the BYU game.
TCU is 1-1 since then, but it nearly knocked off the now-No. 2 Cougars and then beat Baylor, which had won four straight.
Players-only meetings usually carry a warning sign, but senior tight end Ka’Morreun Pimpton said this one landed differently for TCU.
“I think it was just letting us know that at the end of the day we can go do what we want as a team,” Pimpton said. “We have the players, we have the coaches that know what they’re doing and can put us in the best position.
At the end of the day it’s just about us executing. It was pretty big for us as players to understand that at the end of the day ... we got to do this together.”
Against Baylor, the offense looked more connected. Senior quarterback Jaden Craig threw for 296 yards, with senior receiver Jordan Dwyer accounting for 150 and sophomore slot receiver Ed Small adding 91. Craig absorbed four sacks and TCU managed only 33 rushing yards, but the Horned Frogs still scored multiple touchdowns against a Power Four opponent for the first time this season.
Dykes said Craig was at his best in the game.
“I thought it was probably Jaden’s best game at quarterback. He seemed more settled,” Dykes said.
“It was good to have some healthy players back. Jordan Dwyer being back and healthy was obviously a big, big part of the game.
I think moving forward, hopefully we’ll develop a little bit of an offensive identity and be able to execute better than we have.”
West Virginia gives TCU a chance to prove that was more than a one-game blip. The Mountaineers are last in the Big 12 in passing defense and total defense, and they rank 130th nationally in scoring defense. Every Big 12 opponent they’ve faced has scored at least 40 points, and every FBS team on their schedule has scored at least 24.
Still, Dykes said there is talent on that side of the ball.
“They’re young in spots,” Dykes said. “I think they’ve been searching a little bit defensively, but you turn on the tape and they’re athletic up front.
I love their linebackers, the guys can run and hit. They play very aggressive.
It’s a physical defense.”
West Virginia does bring some disruptive traits, ranking fourth in the Big 12 in sacks and leading the conference in forced fumbles. That means TCU cannot assume points will come easily, especially with its own issues in pass protection and ball security.
Pimpton was confident the Horned Frogs can handle the challenge.
“I think we can go out there and make a lot of plays and put some points on the board,” Pimpton said. “I feel like for us it’s about executing what we do and not letting anything else get in our way. Whatever they throw at us, we’ll be able to handle and go from there.”
Saturday also begins a difficult November stretch for TCU, with No. 25 Arizona, Kansas State, No.
10 Utah and No. 8 Texas Tech waiting ahead.
For now, though, the Baylor win has put the Horned Frogs in position to see whether another late run is starting to take shape.
In Other News...
Baylor Heads Into Tough Road Stretch With One Problem To Fix
After Baylors 17-6 loss to TCU, Dave Aranda spent part of his postgame attention on what comes next, and the answer is a tricky road test against Kansas. Aranda said the Jayhawks bring a versatile offense that can stress a defense in a number of ways, with both the run game and the quarterback element creating problems. For a Baylor team that has generally been stout against the run this season, the challenge is less about attitude than about matching that discipline over another tough stretch away from home.
The bigger concern may be on the other side of the ball, where Baylor has to find a way to get unstuck after an offense that sputtered against TCU. Aranda pointed to the teams issues in getting the ground game going and sustaining drives, and he made it clear that the offense needs to be sharper with consecutive road games looming. Against a Kansas defense that can make opponents earn everything, Baylor cannot afford another sluggish night if it wants to keep this trip from snowballing. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Faces A Familiar Threat As West Virginia Brings Serious Firepower
West Virginia brings a strange mix of danger and opportunity into its matchup with TCU, because the Mountaineers have found real production on offense while still leaving plenty of cracks for an opponent to attack. The biggest concern for the Horned Frogs may be the ground game, where West Virginia has leaned heavily on a back who once wore TCU colors and has become the centerpiece of the attack since moving on.
The quarterback play adds another layer to the challenge, with West Virginia getting strong results under center while its defense remains vulnerable in ways TCU will notice quickly. The Mountaineers have been beaten up in scoring defense and total yards allowed, so this feels like one of those games where the Frogs have to decide whether to chase the matchups obvious weakness or spend most of their attention trying to slow down the familiar threat coming back to haunt them. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Gets A Different Kind Of Baylor Test Next Week
Baylors four-game winning streak came to an abrupt halt with a 17-6 home loss to TCU, a result that sent the Bears sliding in a few national rankings and kept them on the outside of the AP Top 25 and the other major polls. For a team that had started to build momentum, the timing of the setback made the sting even sharper, especially with the offense unable to do enough to keep pace.
The Bears now turn to Kansas, where the focus will be on cleaning up the offensive issues that surfaced against the Horned Frogs and finding a way to get back on track. Baylor is still searching for the kind of consistency that can restore its standing, and the next game offers a chance to steady things before the seasons bigger questions start to pile up. [Read more 🡒]