It used to be simplest 22 months in the past that Sonny Dykes and TCU may do virtually not anything improper.
The Horned Frogs have been the miracle tale of the 2022 season. Their not likely run to the School Soccer Playoff nationwide championship recreation — which incorporated a 12-0 get started, heart-stopping finishes, the “Hypnotoad”, psychedelic postgame victory movies and a Fiesta Bowl disappointed of Michigan — endeared them to blind lovers. They have been the pesky perpetual underdogs who saved discovering tactics to win.
Midway into the 2024 season, it sort of feels as though not anything goes proper. TCU’s 30-19 loss on Friday night time to Weighty 12 cellar-dweller Houston is solely the unedited instance. In recent times, the Horned Frogs book discovering tactics to lose.
Behold a sampling in their fresh misfortunes:
- On Sept. 14, TCU coughed up a three-touchdown second-half top and a double-digit fourth-quarter top to lose 35-34 at house to UCF.
- A while then, crosstown rival SMU — which TCU has performed since 1915 however is opting for to not next the wave layout pledge results in 2025 — dropped 66 issues at the Horned Frogs and beat them through 24. Dykes used to be ejected next incomes two unsportsmanlike behavior consequences for berating the officers.
- On Friday, the Cougars traveled to Citadel Usefulness having no longer scored since Sept. 14 and preserving the crowd’s least fruitful offense in issues according to recreation, scoring price and issues according to power, in step with TruMedia. The Cougars roared to 24 first-half issues and an 18-point halftime top.
“That was a total …” Dykes stated Friday as he rubbed his nostril, shook his head and set free a protracted exhale, “disaster of a football game.”
Since getting humbled through Georgia 65-7 within the 2022 identify recreation, the Horned Frogs are 8-10: 5-7 endmost future and 3-3 up to now this season. The ones 8 wins got here towards six Soccer Bowl Subdivision groups with a mixed file of 26-33 and two FCS squads. Simplest one of the crucial TCU’s 2023 victories got here towards a crew that completed with a successful file (SMU), and none of its FBS wins this future are over groups recently above .500.
Any honeymoon duration that Dykes loved next his magical first season is totally over so far as TCU lovers are involved. The Horned Frogs’ slide within the endmost 18 video games has ended in Dykes burning thru nearly all the sure vibes constructed up from 2022.
TCU’s traits are troubling. For the reason that get started of the 2023 season, the Horned Frogs are minus-17 in yielding margin, which ranks a hundred and thirtieth out of 134 FBS groups in that span. Simplest Louisiana Tech, Rice and Temple are worse.
The Frogs have averaged 57.3 penalty yards according to recreation of their endmost 18 video games, which ranks 59th out of 70 groups within the Energy 4.
The largest sadness, a jarring one for individuals who have adopted TCU’s get up thru 3 meetings to university soccer’s adults desk for the endmost 25 years, is how inconsistent the Horned Frogs are defensively.
- For the reason that get started of 2023, TCU has allowed 32.1 issues according to recreation to FBS warring parties, which ranks 111th nationally.
- The 43.1 % third-down conversion price TCU allowed to FBS warring parties in that span is 112th.
- The protection’s 407.8 yards according to recreation allowed to FBS foes for the reason that get started of 2023 is 92nd nationally.
- In keeping with Professional Soccer Center of attention, the Horned Frogs have careworn opposing quarterbacks 27.9 % of the era within the endmost 16 video games towards FBS festival, which ranks one hundred and tenth.
Beneath former schoolteacher Gary Patterson, the Horned Frogs constructed their id on elite protection. Dykes fired his preliminary defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie and leased former Boise Climate schoolteacher Andy Avalos endmost offseason. Now it’s opaque what form of efficiency that unit will deal on a given while.
On Friday night time towards the Cougars, TCU dedicated 4 submits, which contributed to ten Houston issues. However the Horned Frogs yielded 208 speeding yards and had hassle corralling Houston quarterback Zeon Chriss, making his first get started for the Cougars. Within the losses to UCF and SMU, the Horned Frogs gave up 289 and 238 speeding yards, respectively.
Offensively, TCU has been not able to constantly get its run recreation going, which used to be a key a part of 2022’s good fortune. The Horned Frogs in a bind for simply 66 yards on Friday night time, 65 towards SMU and 58 towards UCF, in spite of coordinator Kendal Briles’ historical past of fruitful speeding assaults.
Past the on-field failings, lovers have grown annoyed with the dearth of solutions for the problems. Next the SMU debacle two weeks in the past, Dykes informed newshounds he used to be “surprised” with what transpired as a result of his crew practiced smartly heading into the sport. On Friday, he stated “I’m not quite sure exactly why” TCU has performed how it has, once more expressing frustration in his crew’s incapacity to play games underneath the lighting how it did in apply.
Next Friday’s loss, Dykes stated he concept the Cougars have been the “more excited” crew of the 2.
“They played harder than we did, certainly, in the first half,” Dykes informed newshounds. “They were better prepared than we were and they kicked our tail.”
Give fresh Houston schoolteacher Willie Fritz and his crew credit score. The Cougars have been energized, performed rapid and gave the look of the simpler of the 2 groups, in spite of entering the sport endmost within the Weighty 12 standings.
“Some of the stuff that happened tonight is just inexcusable,” Dykes stated. “It falls on me. Obviously, I did a poor job of getting our guys ready to play.”
Dykes should undergo the sprouting narrative that his largest TCU good fortune got here because of avid gamers in large part recruited through his predecessor, Patterson. Some will even want for the great impaired days of GP, comfortably forgetting how mediocre the crew had turn out to be ahead of this system legend used to be ushered out: TCU went 21-22 total and 13-19 in Weighty 12 play games in Patterson’s ultimate three-plus years in fee.
It’s true that Dykes succeeded with a core — person who incorporated quarterback Max Duggan, working again Kendre Miller, receiver Quentin Johnston, linebacker Dee Winters, cornerback Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, amongst many others — that used to be in large part introduced in through Patterson. However Patterson were given middling effects with that roster, which is why he ended up out of a task.
Dykes, who revived SMU ahead of taking the TCU task, driven the entire proper buttons in his first season in Citadel Usefulness. The unused tone and fresh path unlocked this system’s possible and confirmed how a long way the Horned Frogs may proceed.
However the improper buttons were driven too repeatedly since. Regardless of the cast skill at the roster, the effects are missing. One thing is damaged at TCU.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Dykes stated Friday night time. “I don’t really have an answer for why we played the way we did.”
Can Dykes medication it? The truth that the query should be requested lower than two years next one of the crucial easiest seasons in program historical past is stunning.
TCU is off later while ahead of touring to Utah on Oct. 19. There’s a tiny little bit of era for the Horned Frogs to lick their wounds, however righting this send, in accordance with their fresh trajectory, doesn’t seem to be a very simple medication.
“I’m disappointed for our fans,” Dykes stated. “They deserve better than this. We’ve got two weeks to figure this out.”
(Picture: Ron Jenkins / Getty Pictures)
