Sonny Dykes says TCU has ‘mirrored’ last season’s College Football Playoff team

FORT WORTH, Texas — TCU is in the similar place it used to be at this level last season prior to making it to the nationwide championship recreation. The Horned Frogs are going into their Big 12 opener unranked, nonetheless looking for their means and with no person speaking about them being a playoff contender.

What is other this time is TCU (1-1) can’t have every other undefeated common season like the person who carried the Frogs the entire means into the four-team College Football Playoff last yr of their debut with trainer Sonny Dykes, even after shedding the Big 12 championship recreation.

“Honestly, our performance thus far this season has probably mirrored our performance a little bit last season,” Dykes mentioned. “We had a better Colorado team we played Week 1. If we had played a really good Colorado team last year, I don’t know how we would have fared in that game.”

Dykes has many times mentioned TCU used to be “probably a slightly below average football team” the primary 3 or 4 video games last season. But that squad simply saved profitable.

The Frogs had been within the preseason AP Top 25 this yr for the primary time since 2018, even though the nationwide runner-up used to be best seventeenth, prior to shedding 45-42 of their opener at house to a far other Colorado team with new trainer Deion Sanders. That were given the Buffaloes, a one-win team last season, into the ballot, and so they sponsored that up with a win at house over Nebraska last week to transport as much as 18th in the most recent ratings.

TCU did beat an FCS team in Week 2 like last yr, and now performs the convention’s lone opener Saturday night time at Big 12 newcomer Houston (1-1). The former Southwest Conference opponents will meet for the primary time because the 2007 Texas Bowl, and best 5th time because the SWC’s ultimate season in 1995.

“I think this game is going to help us figure out who we are,” junior left take on Andrew Coker mentioned.

The Frogs’ first 4 convention video games last season had been towards Top 25 groups, and so they two times overcame double-digit deficits in the second one part. Max Duggan, the quarterback who had misplaced his beginning task in camp, had taken over when Chandler Morris were given harm in the second one part of the season-opening 38-13 win at Colorado and changed into the Heisman Trophy runner-up.

“We kept working and we had tremendous buy-in and leadership and, you know, we had some guys that stepped up. … We were finding our way along last year,” Dykes mentioned. “And I think we’re doing some of that this year with a lot of new players. We think we’ve got some players that can be very productive and good. But there are a lot of new faces, and so we’re still trying to kind of get where we want right now.”

Morris is the beginning QB once more, and has finished 50 of 72 passes (69%) for 542 yards with 4 touchdowns. The former Oklahoma switch’s two interceptions within the loss to Colorado had been each close to or on the purpose line. But he finished 26 of 30 passes and had an outstanding 32-yard TD run within the 41-6 win over Nicholls State.

The Horned Frogs additionally went into this season with out their most sensible two working backs, most sensible 3 receivers and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley from the team that ended with a 65-7 loss as Georgia gained its 2nd nationwide championship in a row.

Including its additional time loss to Kansas State within the Big 12 identify recreation last December, prior to beating Michigan within the CFP semifinal recreation on the Fiesta Bowl, TCU had misplaced 3 of 4 video games till the win over Nicholls.

“I feel like that chip on our shoulder … it really never went away,” safety-turned-linebacker Namdi Obiazor mentioned. “How the last season ended, like kind of all summer, we were thinking about it.”

Coker, the 315-pound lineman, mentioned this yr’s team can’t get stuck up in speaking about last yr since that used to be a special staff with other leaders. But there may be one high quality Coker is satisfied to look has carried over from last season.

“Every week is attention to detail. I think one thing that we did and that we do well, is we try to take everything one week at a time,” Coker mentioned. “Don’t be caught looking ahead, don’t circle games on the schedule. Just take everything one week at a time. … We should keep going forward doing that.”

Next prevent, Houston.