Welcome to Tuesday Takes, where I give you three takes from the Big 12. It was a jam-packed week full of exciting news, but here are three things that have my attention going into week one.
The first thing that stands out is the noise around TCU after its loss to North Carolina in Ireland. That game was ugly.
The Horned Frogs piled up mistake after mistake and, in a lot of ways, did it to themselves. Jaden Craig, the starting quarterback, didn’t play well, but he also wasn’t getting much help with drops and penalties.
That said, the reaction feels bigger than the performance. North Carolina may be improved from a year ago, but in my eyes it still isn’t a good football team.
This wasn’t North Carolina simply outclassing TCU; it was TCU beating TCU. It was also the first game of the season, played overseas, with bad field conditions and everyone watching.
I’m not making excuses, but if that game had been played in Fort Worth, it likely would’ve looked different. There’s a long season ahead, so everyone needs to take a breath.
Another development worth noting: the Big 12 unanimously agreed to ban professionals from returning in all sports. I said the same thing last week before the conference made its decision.
The position is pretty straightforward to me. NFL players have no business coming back to college football.
Once you put your name in for the NFL, that should be it. I get why some players would want to keep that option open because of money, but enough is enough.
You chose to leave, or your time ran out. Either way, you left, and you should be done.
The biggest weekend storyline for the league may be the chance to stack non-conference wins. Most of the Big 12 is dealing with easier games, but three matchups matter: Colorado at Georgia Tech, Baylor at Auburn on a neutral site, and Boston College at Cincinnati.
After TCU’s loss, the conference could use a strong response. Colorado and Baylor are both touchdown underdogs, while Cincinnati is actually favored.
I do think the Bearcats will win, and I also think either Colorado or Baylor will pull off the upset. If that happens, the Big 12 will get two big-time wins this week.
In Other News...
TCUs Dublin Loss Just Reopened A Bigger Sonny Dykes Debate
The Dublin trip was supposed to offer TCU a fresh start, but instead it delivered more of the same unease around Sonny Dykes program. The Horned Frogs loss to North Carolina came with the kind of self-inflicted mistakes that have become too familiar in recent rough patches, and it only sharpened the scrutiny that follows a coach who was handed an extension after a run of disappointing results.
For TCU, the problem is bigger than one game in Ireland. The program has already carried the weight of painful setbacks during Dykes tenure, and this latest one fits into a pattern that has left fans wondering where the climb back actually begins. Even the odd talk of an Ireland curse feels secondary to the larger question now hanging over the Horned Frogs: whether this is still a program on the rise, or one stuck trying to outrun the losses that keep defining it. [Read more 🡒]
TCUs 2027 Class Is Already Giving Horned Frogs Fans Something To Watch
TCUs 2027 recruiting class already has a sizeable footprint, with 17 commitments in place and every one of them coming straight from the high school ranks. That means Horned Frogs fans can start following this group now, not just when signing day rolls around, because several of the commits are opening their senior seasons this week and immediately returning to the spotlight on Friday nights.
The appeal here is as much about the weekly chase as the long view. The article lays out the matchups for each committed player and what theyve been doing lately, giving TCU followers a chance to track how this class is developing in real time while the schedule still has plenty of unfinished business. For a program building toward the future, it is the kind of early recruiting watchlist that makes every game feel a little more connected to what comes next. [Read more 🡒]