TCU entered the season with a clear target in mind: make a run at the Big 12 championship game. Instead, after Saturday’s 21-13 loss to Central Florida, the Horned Frogs are already staring at a question they hoped wouldn’t come up until much later: have they fallen out of the race before the season is even halfway over?
At 2-2 overall and 0-1 in Big 12 play, there is still plenty of football left. The conference has a habit of producing messy standings, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see a team with multiple losses still find its way to Arlington in December.
But that’s the optimistic reading. Through four games, TCU has given off the opposite vibe.
The biggest issue is offense, and it starts with the new system under Gordon Sammis. The Horned Frogs were supposed to look more physical, more balanced and more reliable on the ground. Instead, they’re averaging only 11.5 points in their two games against Power Four competition, and the numbers on the run game are not much better than last season’s struggles.
Against UCF, TCU managed just 33 rushing yards. For the year, the Horned Frogs are sitting at 138.8 rushing yards per game and 3.9 yards per carry.
That’s basically a replay of last season, when TCU averaged 131.4 yards per game and 3.9 yards per carry. The Horned Frogs finished 14th out of 16 Big 12 teams in rushing last year, and they’re 15th in the league through four games now.
That’s a rough outcome for a line that was supposed to be a strength. There was real hope this group could be TCU’s best since Sonny Dykes’ first season in 2022, especially with Sammis’ reputation for developing offensive linemen and offensive line coach A.J.
Ricker already in the building. The Horned Frogs added Noah McKinney from Oklahoma State and Jaheim Buchanon from Florida International through the transfer portal, while veterans Ben Taylor-Whitfield and Cade Bennett were back in the mix.
The experience was there. The results haven’t followed.
Dykes didn’t hide his frustration after the game.
“We have to be able to run the football, that’s the thing we have to do,” Dykes said. “Our offense is built upon being able to run the football and do it consistently.”
With the run game stalled, TCU has leaned heavily on senior quarterback Jaden Craig in its two matchups against Power Four opponents. The Harvard transfer has not thrown a touchdown against a P4 defense and has turned it over three times, including two interceptions against UCF.
The protection has been shaky too. TCU is 14th in the Big 12 in sacks allowed with nine, another sign the offense is fighting uphill before the ball is even snapped. The Horned Frogs have had trouble both creating lanes and keeping Craig upright.
Then there were the penalties, and those hurt just as much. TCU matched its season high with 11 against UCF, and five came on offense. Among the self-inflicted wounds were an illegal snap on a fourth-and-1 try, plus a false start followed by a holding penalty after the Horned Frogs had reached the red zone.
That kind of sloppiness has piled on top of the offensive problems. TCU has been doing enough damage to itself that it’s hard to separate execution issues from discipline issues. Dykes made that point plainly.
“The bottom line is we’re doing a lot of this to ourselves,” Dykes said. “When you play against good football teams, and you create your own problems, you’re gonna have a difficult time winning those games, and we did that today. We created so many of our problems that we couldn’t overcome it.
“And so as we get into conference play, play against good teams, we’re going to have to quit doing that or the outcome’s gonna be the same.”
The schedule does TCU no favors next. No.
9 BYU comes to Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday after a bye week, which makes the challenge even steeper.
And right now, the Horned Frogs’ biggest opponent may not be the one lined up across from them. It may be the one in their own huddle.
In Other News...
TCU Just Gave Fans A Brutal Reason To Worry Before BYU
TCU opened Big 12 play with a frustrating 21-13 loss to UCF, a game that had enough positive flashes to keep the Horned Frogs from looking hopeless, but not nearly enough clean execution to leave anyone feeling good about where the season is headed. The defense did its part by forcing multiple turnovers, and wide receiver Jordan Dwyer returned to the lineup, but the offense never found a steady rhythm and the mistakes piled up in the form of 11 penalties.
Jaden Craig still managed 310 passing yards, yet the two interceptions were part of a night that kept the Frogs chasing the game instead of controlling it. Missed opportunities were the theme, and with BYU coming next week, TCU is suddenly carrying a fair amount of baggage into a matchup that will demand much sharper execution on both sides of the ball. [Read more 🡒]
UCFs Big 12 Win Still Left One Early Concern
TCUs first Big 12 outing of the season ended in a 21-13 loss to UCF, and the box score left at least one obvious question hanging over the Horned Frogs offense. The Frogs actually outgained UCF in total yards, but they never turned that advantage into enough points, in part because the running game never got going and the offense kept putting itself behind the sticks with turnovers and penalties.
Jordan Dwyer, Jeremy Scott and Jeremy Payne each helped move the ball at different points, but inconsistent protection and four turnovers repeatedly interrupted any rhythm. There were encouraging signs on the other side of the ball, too, as TCU held UCF down on the ground and finished with two sacks, yet the defenses work was not enough to cover for an offense that kept missing chances. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Still Exposed One Big Question About TCUs Defense
TCUs defense did plenty to make the night uncomfortable for UCF, particularly with how it handled the ground game and turned a few possessions into opportunities the other way. Vernon Glover Jr. and Kylin Jackson helped spark that effort with key plays, and for stretches it looked like the Horned Frogs were controlling the kind of game they wanted to play.
Still, the bigger question hanging over the performance is whether that was enough to say TCU had truly solved anything. Keyone Jenkins completed 19 of 20 passes, and even with the turnovers and run defense doing real work, the Horned Frogs never fully put UCF away on that side of the ball. [Read more 🡒]