TCU and UCF both arrive at Saturday’s Big 12 opener in Orlando with momentum, but also with a little unfinished business.
Each team is 2-1, each has already taken a loss, and each is trying to turn a recent win into something sturdier as conference play begins. TCU comes in off back-to-back victories after dropping its opener to North Carolina in Dublin, Ireland.
UCF, meanwhile, snapped back with a 44-30 home win over Georgia State after a loss at Pitt on Sept. 12.
TCU’s latest step forward came in a 31-7 home win over Arkansas State last Saturday. Jaden Craig threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns, while Ed Small turned in the best receiving game of his career with seven catches for 164 yards, including one touchdown.
"We're 2-1 -- we're disappointed that we're not 3-0," TCU coach Sonny Dykes said. "There's nothing we can do about that.
We just have to continue working and getting better and improve. We're nowhere where we need to be.
And I'm confident we're nowhere near where we're gonna be."
UCF leaned on its ground game to handle Georgia State. Duke Watson delivered a career-high 177 rushing yards and scored twice, helping the Knights pile up 304 rushing yards among 390 total yards.
The Knights also got a lift from Keyone Jenkins, who made his first start at quarterback in place of the injured Alonza Barnett III. Jenkins completed passes for 86 yards and a touchdown and added 25 rushing yards with two more scores. UCF expects him to start again against TCU while Barnett remains out with a hamstring injury.
"Keyone came in and did a good job," UCF coach Scott Frost said Monday. "Obviously, we're in a situation with injuries you don't want to have to be in, and all you can do is figure them out. You don't have another option."
Frost also pointed to the parallel starts both teams have had through three games.
"Our season and TCU's has been pretty close. We both played a really tough game and lost a close one," Frost said.
"We've had similar paths to get to this point. I'm sure both teams want to continue improving and getting better.
Looking forward to this challenge."
In Other News...
Former TCU Locker Room Incident Just Took A Serious Turn
The fallout from a locker room confrontation that shook TCUs football program has now moved into the legal realm. The Tarrant County District Attorneys Office has filed an aggravated assault charge against former safety Jacob Fields over allegations that he assaulted wide receiver Dozie Ezukanma inside the teams locker room, turning what had already been a troubling internal matter into something far more serious.
Ezukanma was hospitalized with a brain bleed and concussion after the incident, and Fields was dismissed from the team and later arrested. Both sides have already addressed what happened and the circumstances surrounding it, but the criminal case adds a new layer of uncertainty around a situation that has lingered over the program for months. [Read more 🡒]
BYU's Hot Start Just Got Overshadowed By A Very Strange Bear Bachmeier Story
BYUs undefeated start in 2026 has already put Bear Bachmeier in the spotlight, and his profile only grew during the Cougars Week 2 game against Arizona. Late in the broadcast, Fox Sports analyst Robert Griffin III brought up a story Bachmeier had shared about his familys unusual dinner routine, turning a routine game telecast into one of those moments that immediately spread beyond the scoreboard.
The remark landed with enough force to overshadow the action for a stretch, even though neither Bachmeier nor Griffin has addressed it further since. For a quarterback who has helped fuel BYUs hot opening run, it was a bizarre detour from the usual conversation about wins, momentum and what comes next, leaving the story hanging in a way that feels almost as unusual as the anecdote itself. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Football Is Building Something Bigger Than Wins And Losses
TCU football has been leaning into a different kind of team-building this fall, one that reaches beyond meetings, lift sessions and game planning. Through Victory Calling, a program co-founded by Nate Guyton, the Horned Frogs are working to strengthen peer support and mental fitness among players, giving teammates tools to recognize changes in behavior and check in when something seems off.
The effort is meant to complement the mental health resources already in place, not replace professional care, and it reflects how much college football asks of players beyond Saturdays in the fall. For TCU, the bigger goal is simple but meaningful: build a culture where community, leadership and compassion help players carry the weight of the sport and everything that comes with it. [Read more 🡒]