Why Sonny Dykes isn’t surprised TCU vs. Kansas is a Top 25 showdown
While most of the country will be surprised that TCU and Kansas have ascended into the Top 25, that list doesn’t include head coach Sonny Dykes.
He always had the belief that the Horned Frogs could be pretty good and he realized earlier than the most that the Jayhawks would be as well.
“You could kind of see it coming two or three games in with Kansas. We had the open week and I put the tape on of them against West Virginia and Houston and I was like ‘Woah, this is a good football team,’” Dykes said. “It didn’t take long to watch the tape and see that these guys are playing at a very high level. They do a great job with their scheme and their players are playing well.”
Dykes had plenty of praise for Kansas coach Lance Leipold and what he’s been able to do in a short time for the No. 19 Jayhawks (5-0, 2-0).
“It’s pretty remarkable how quickly he’s been able to teach them how to win. Sometimes that takes a long time. He’s done a great job of building the program. You can tell they’re completely bought in to his way of doing things and the culture of the program,” Dykes said.
Only in his second season Leipold has led the Jayhawks to the most wins since 2009 with seven games remaining. Kansas is a legit team and TCU (4-0, 1-0) isn’t taking Saturday’s game lightly. The Horned Frogs understand this isn’t of the Kansas of old.
“Our team certainly respects them. They’ve got a lot of good players. They put a lot of pressure on you to match them from an execution standpoint,” Dykes said. “Today I thought we’ve had one of the best Tuesday practices we’ve had, if not the best. So far we’re in a good state of mind.”
It’s the third straight week the Horned Frogs will be in a game that has national attention. First it was Iron Skillet Week, then it was facing Oklahoma, now College GameDay will be present in the lead up for the game.
TCU has done a solid job of blocking the outside noise and Dykes is curious to see if that can continue as the praise rolls in for the 17th ranked Frogs.
“The players have to decide for themselves, either we’re going to listen to this or we’re not,” Dykes said. “It’s the same people that told them they weren’t really good that are telling them now that they’re really good. They did a good of blocking it out on the front end, but to me this is the more dangerous end.
“When people are telling you how smart you are, how good you are. That’s more dangerous than people telling you, you’re not very good.”
There’s no time for TCU to pat itself on the back after dominating the Sooners. Kansas pushed TCU to the brink last year and has only improved led by Jalon Daniels.
A running Air Raid
Most Texas football fans are familiar with the Air Raid offense because Dykes is one of the coaches that helped popularize it. When he was examining the Jayhawks offense, he saw similarities though with a key difference.
“It reminds of a running-based Air Raid in a weird sort of way. They have answers for things. If you do this, they do this. You do that, then they do that. You’re kind of trying to catch up with them and they do a good job of staying ahead of you,” Dykes said. “They have a really unique run game.”
At the center of it is Daniels, who leads Kansas in rushing. While his legs make him formidable, Dykes said it’s his mental approach that really makes him tough to handle.
“He just does everything well. He’s really calm, doesn’t make mistakes, doesn’t force things. He does a fantastic job of taking what the defense gives him. He’s been well trained, you can tell they know what they’re doing with their scheme,” Dykes said.
Daniels may be asked to do more against the Horned Frogs as Daniel Hishaw Jr. is out. Hishaw tied Daniels with five rushing touchdowns and had over 250 yards on the ground.
The TCU defense will have to take a different approach with Daniels as opposed to Tanner Mordecai or Dillon Gabriel.
“I think this week is about discipline. Being able to know your reads, knowing what you need to do and executing your job. It’s all about doing your job this week,” linebacker Marcel Brooks said. “You have to respect what they’re doing now.”
Kansas averages more than 200 yards a game while TCU is allowing 3.4 yards per carry, a solid number. How the Horned Frogs fare against the multi-faceted Jayhawks running game will be the key matchup.
A simpler, yet effective pass rush
For the second straight week, TCU is facing the team that leads the conference in sacks. Oklahoma thrived on chaos and creating confusion with their different blitzes and movement up front.
Kansas has a little more of a straightforward approach. While it’s not as complex as what the Sooners were trying to do, that doesn’t mean it’s not just as challenging to deal with.
“They’ve gotten off to leads in pretty much every game. They come out and execute really well, then all of a sudden people are trying to play catch up,” Dykes said. “Oklahoma was creating pressure by blitzes and things like that, with Kansas it’s more just four down linemen getting most of the sacks. I think their tackles do a good job of collapsing the pocket, they’re bigger, physical guys. Their ends run well, it’s a formidable group to play against.”
When you’re able to generate consistent pressure with just three or four linemen, it makes life easier for defensive coordinator. That’s more bodies you can drop back in coverage while also not allowing the quarterback to be comfortable.
If TCU can protect Max Duggan like it has all season, evidence suggests that the Horned Frogs can have a big day in the air. Quarterbacks are completing 66% of their passes against the Jayhawks and Kansas has allowed the most passing yards in the conference.
Some of that is having big leads that have forced opponents to be one dimensional, but it’s also indicative of a secondary that can be had. In four straight games, Kansas has allowed an opposing quarterback to have at least 270 yards through the air.
If the offensive line holds up, it could be another prolific day for Duggan and the offense.
This story was originally published October 5, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
