TCU far removed from 12-0 regular season in 2022 and national title game in Dykes’ debut

AP Sports Writer

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — TCU is going back to fundamentals less than two years after playing in the national championship game.

The Horned Frogs are far removed from that undefeated 2022 regular season in coach Sonny Dykes’ debut that got them into the College Football Playoff for the first time.

Halfway through this season with a much-changed Big 12 and expanded 12-team playoff, TCU (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) has been plagued by turnovers, inconsistent play and some bad losses.

“You have issues every single year, you try to fix those issues, and that’s not an overnight fix typically,” Dykes said. “We have a pretty clear vision on what we need to emphasize and the areas that we need to improve in. And so I think that’s going to be the key for us moving forward, is just to play well, play to our capabilities, which we’ve done in halves this year. … We haven’t done it for a full game. Nowhere close.”

The Frogs got outscored 22-3 down the stretch and lost at UCF on a last-minute touchdown, Dykes got ejected at SMU as his former team put up 66 points against them and TCU lost at home in its last game to a Houston team coming off consecutive shutout losses. While second in the Big 12 scoring 35 points a game, TCU is 15th allowing nearly 31.

Dykes said there was a focus during the open date on fundamentals, including ball security and tackling.

TCU is 9-12 since being 12-0 at the end of the 2022 regular season. The Frogs made the four-team CFP even after an overtime loss to Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game, and beat Michigan in the semifinals before a 65-7 loss to Georgia in the championship game. They went 5-7 last season.

Fifth-year safety Bud Clark, who in the 51-45 win over Michigan returned an interception for a touchdown and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchback, acknowledged being surprised by the struggles of the Frogs. But the second-year captain believes the team built some momentum and grew closer during the open date.

“Stay glued together because this is where teams kind of find themselves falling off, everybody worried about next year, worried about what they’ve got for themselves,” Clark said. “But this year, we’re worried about each other.”

TCU plays Saturday night at Utah (4-2, 1-2), the Big 12 newcomer and preseason conference favorite now again without injured quarterback Cam Rising. The Frogs are then home for three of four games in the league that grew to 16 teams this season even after the departures of Texas and Oklahoma.

During the Houston postgame, Dykes described it as “a pretty devastating loss.” He said the most frustrating part was that his team just wasn’t playing to its potential, even with a great attitude and work ethic.

Frogs third-year sophomore Josh Hoover is second in the Big 12 with 334.5 yards passing per game and 16 touchdowns. But he has thrown six interceptions in three games since his first 143 attempts this season without a pick — the best streak for NCAA quarterbacks at that time.

“You just have to be smart and not try to do too much. And the big part of that is just trusting the players around you … just having an overall confidence in your team,” Dykes said. “When a quarterback has that, they can play at ease and know that they’re not living and dying on every single play. We’ve got to get Josh to that point where he feels that way.”

Dykes said the Frogs have to settle in and play with confidence, and can still be a good team this season.

Asked what that meant, Clark had a simple response: “Winning out.”

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