Horned Frogs in dire need of win tonight to keep bowl hopes alive
TCU Coach Sonny Dykes glances up at the scoreboard during a timeout in the first quarter against Kansas State Saturday October 21, 2023 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. (Lynn Harrington/stayaliveinpower5)
It’s no mystery that the Horned Frogs need to win at least two of their final four games to reach bowl eligibility.
TCU doesn’t currently have a winning record, which is a far cry from a team that was 8-0 approaching November last season. There’s no denying subpar quarterback play, and lackluster defense has the team on the brink of generating a losing campaign for the second time in three years.
The Horned Frogs are probably the biggest underachievers this fall. It’s hard to argue against that when Sonny Dykes’ boys started out the season at No. 17 in the AP Poll.
However, TCU (4-4) is coming off a bye-week, which means Dykes has hit the reset button on his second year with the program. November separates the contenders from the pretenders, and the Horned Frogs have an opportunity to finish strong down the stretch. Traveling on the road to play a Texas Tech team with five losses tonight, will probably be TCU’s best chance to get back in the win column.
It just so happens that the Horned Frogs have lost their last two road tilts by double-digits. If the defense tightened up, the offense added new wrinkles to the playbook, and leaders emerged over the bye-week, the team should be in good hands. Two weeks ago Kansas State held TCU to its’ lowest point total since November of 1993.
Dykes and his players need to show that embarrassing performance was a fluke. So the Horned Frogs are going to either come out inspired and ready to ball, or flat and sluggish because they’ve checked out on the season. With Dykes being the great game day motivator that he is, TCU should be up for the task.
The Horned Frogs have won five of the last six against the Red Raiders, including four-straight. As a matter of fact, TCU hasn’t lost in Lubbock since 2013. Dykes intends to keep it that way, and a win at Jones AT&T Stadium, will build more motivation as the Horned Frogs navigate through the Big 12 gauntlet.
Quarterback Chandler Morris is still sidelined with a knee injury, so backup Josh Hoover should get the start again. Hoover has 745 passing yards, five touchdown tosses and four interceptions since filling in for Morris. Dykes is going to need better execution from Hoover and the offense this time around.
It’s going to take a complete team effort in order for the Horned Frogs to pull out a win. That means the rushing attack must be efficient, the defense can’t be missing tackles, and Hoover has to improve his accuracy. TCU has no margin for error, which makes tonight a must-win, and Dykes has to deliver.
