TCU Preview
9 months 2 weeks ago - 9 months 2 weeks ago #377
by wvu4u2
TCU Preview was created by wvu4u2
Editor’s note: This is the fifth installment of a 12-part series previewing West Virginia’s football opponents for the 2023 season.
MORGANTOWN — TCU played in college football’s national championship game last season, but they know it was just that — last season.
The Horned Frogs enter their 2023 schedule — including a Sept. 30 game against West Virginia at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, in Week 5 — knowing they’ll need to replace several key pieces from last year’s run to have a chance at repeating their 2022 success.
“It was a fun ride to go on,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said at Big 12 Football Media Days at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. “Those players, man, their level of commitment and their respect for each other was really just fun to be a part of, and it was a hell of a ride and something I’ll never forget.“
At the same time, we’ve got to move forward. What happened last year is certainly not going to have any bearing on what’s going to happen this year. A big challenge for us. I think we’ve got a lot of eyeballs on us moving forward, and that’s what you want. You want to have high expectations for your program. You want people to pay attention.”
TCU was picked seventh in last year’s Big 12 preseason poll, but made a perfect run through the regular season, including a 41-31 victory over the Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium in late October.
The Horned Frogs fell in overtime to Kansas State in the Big 12 title game and were selected for the College Football Playoff, where they topped Michigan 51-45 before ultimately getting blown out by Georgia 65-7 in the championship.
Expectations are tame for TCU again this fall, as they enter fifth in the conference’s preseason poll.
The Horned Frogs received three first-place votes.
TCU has taken on the slogan “all steak and no sizzle.
”“We want to fly under the radar a little bit, and I think it’s a role that we relish,” Dykes said. “And we want to overperform and underpromise. That’s kind of our mentality in our program.”
The Horned Frogs finished in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense with 38.8 points per game last year, but have faced plenty of turnover this offseason.
While Dykes is back for his second season as the program’s head coach, Kendal Briles has replaced Garrett Riley — who left for Clemson after the season — as offensive coordinator, and the Horned Frogs will no longer have Heisman Trophy finalist Max Duggan at quarterback, after he threw for 3,698 yards and 32 touchdowns and rushed for another 423 yards and nine scores in 2022.
Chandler Morris returns after starting the 2022 season at quarterback, but he left the opener in the third quarter due to injury and Duggan carried those duties the rest of the season.
TCU also has redshirt freshman Josh Hoover and Oregon State transfer Chance Nolan in the room competing.
The Horned Frogs are also without their top two running backs from a season ago, as well as their top three pass catchers and some pieces along the line.
n the backfield, Emani Bailey and Trent Battle are expected to step into larger roles, and the Horned Frogs added Alabama transfer Trey Sanders and four-star recruit Cam Cook at the position.
Savion Williams is the top returning receiver after totaling 392 yards and four scores on 29 catches a year ago, and TCU also brought in another Alabama transfer in JoJo Earle, who started five games for the Crimson Tide last fall.
“I think that the offense will look pretty similar, but it truly comes from a different place. Garrett was more of a traditional air-raid guy and had pretty air-raid-heavy or air-raid-centric concepts. Kendal has got a lot of the same things but probably a little more wrinkles than we had in the past.”
TCU ranked tied for 90th national in scoring defense at 29 points allowed per game and 95th in total defense with 408.2 yards allowed per game last fall, but Dykes says he believes his team will “take a big step defensively” in the second season under coordinator Joe Gillespie.
TCU lineman Damonic Williams, linebacker Johnny Hodges and defensive back Josh Newton were all picked defensively on the preseason All-Big 12 team.
“My hope is this year we take a big step defensively like I think we will,” Dykes said. We have a lot of speed. You name some of the guys that have played a lot of football, and the group can run. The group is physical. I think they’re good tacklers. They’re good at fundamentals. They communicate well. All the things that good defenses do, we have the makings of getting there.”
Dykes anticipates his team will avoid the noise and pressure from making the national championship game last season, in part because TCU wasn’t expected to be there to begin with.
“There wasn’t a lot of pressure. There wasn’t a lot of expectations,” Dykes said. “We just got to go out and play every Saturday, and the challenge this year will be to not take on that burden and not worry about the expectations of the program moving forward.“
They were able to do it last year, so I anticipate them being able to do it this year.
This year’s meeting between the Mountaineers and Horned Frogs will be the 13th overall in the series. WVU leads 7-5.Kickoff time and broadcast information for the Sept. 30 game between TCU and WVU has not yet been announced.
Jared MacDonald covers WVU athletics. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow @JMacDonaldSport on Twitter.
MORGANTOWN — TCU played in college football’s national championship game last season, but they know it was just that — last season.
The Horned Frogs enter their 2023 schedule — including a Sept. 30 game against West Virginia at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, in Week 5 — knowing they’ll need to replace several key pieces from last year’s run to have a chance at repeating their 2022 success.
“It was a fun ride to go on,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said at Big 12 Football Media Days at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. “Those players, man, their level of commitment and their respect for each other was really just fun to be a part of, and it was a hell of a ride and something I’ll never forget.“
At the same time, we’ve got to move forward. What happened last year is certainly not going to have any bearing on what’s going to happen this year. A big challenge for us. I think we’ve got a lot of eyeballs on us moving forward, and that’s what you want. You want to have high expectations for your program. You want people to pay attention.”
TCU was picked seventh in last year’s Big 12 preseason poll, but made a perfect run through the regular season, including a 41-31 victory over the Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium in late October.
The Horned Frogs fell in overtime to Kansas State in the Big 12 title game and were selected for the College Football Playoff, where they topped Michigan 51-45 before ultimately getting blown out by Georgia 65-7 in the championship.
Expectations are tame for TCU again this fall, as they enter fifth in the conference’s preseason poll.
The Horned Frogs received three first-place votes.
TCU has taken on the slogan “all steak and no sizzle.
”“We want to fly under the radar a little bit, and I think it’s a role that we relish,” Dykes said. “And we want to overperform and underpromise. That’s kind of our mentality in our program.”
The Horned Frogs finished in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense with 38.8 points per game last year, but have faced plenty of turnover this offseason.
While Dykes is back for his second season as the program’s head coach, Kendal Briles has replaced Garrett Riley — who left for Clemson after the season — as offensive coordinator, and the Horned Frogs will no longer have Heisman Trophy finalist Max Duggan at quarterback, after he threw for 3,698 yards and 32 touchdowns and rushed for another 423 yards and nine scores in 2022.
Chandler Morris returns after starting the 2022 season at quarterback, but he left the opener in the third quarter due to injury and Duggan carried those duties the rest of the season.
TCU also has redshirt freshman Josh Hoover and Oregon State transfer Chance Nolan in the room competing.
The Horned Frogs are also without their top two running backs from a season ago, as well as their top three pass catchers and some pieces along the line.
n the backfield, Emani Bailey and Trent Battle are expected to step into larger roles, and the Horned Frogs added Alabama transfer Trey Sanders and four-star recruit Cam Cook at the position.
Savion Williams is the top returning receiver after totaling 392 yards and four scores on 29 catches a year ago, and TCU also brought in another Alabama transfer in JoJo Earle, who started five games for the Crimson Tide last fall.
“I think that the offense will look pretty similar, but it truly comes from a different place. Garrett was more of a traditional air-raid guy and had pretty air-raid-heavy or air-raid-centric concepts. Kendal has got a lot of the same things but probably a little more wrinkles than we had in the past.”
TCU ranked tied for 90th national in scoring defense at 29 points allowed per game and 95th in total defense with 408.2 yards allowed per game last fall, but Dykes says he believes his team will “take a big step defensively” in the second season under coordinator Joe Gillespie.
TCU lineman Damonic Williams, linebacker Johnny Hodges and defensive back Josh Newton were all picked defensively on the preseason All-Big 12 team.
“My hope is this year we take a big step defensively like I think we will,” Dykes said. We have a lot of speed. You name some of the guys that have played a lot of football, and the group can run. The group is physical. I think they’re good tacklers. They’re good at fundamentals. They communicate well. All the things that good defenses do, we have the makings of getting there.”
Dykes anticipates his team will avoid the noise and pressure from making the national championship game last season, in part because TCU wasn’t expected to be there to begin with.
“There wasn’t a lot of pressure. There wasn’t a lot of expectations,” Dykes said. “We just got to go out and play every Saturday, and the challenge this year will be to not take on that burden and not worry about the expectations of the program moving forward.“
They were able to do it last year, so I anticipate them being able to do it this year.
This year’s meeting between the Mountaineers and Horned Frogs will be the 13th overall in the series. WVU leads 7-5.Kickoff time and broadcast information for the Sept. 30 game between TCU and WVU has not yet been announced.
Jared MacDonald covers WVU athletics. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow @JMacDonaldSport on Twitter.
Last edit: 9 months 2 weeks ago by wvu4u2.
Please Log in to join the conversation.