After a strong finish, can TCU football’s season be considered a success?
On Oct. 5, it was a legitimate and fair question to wonder if Sonny Dykes was already on the hot seat two seasons after leading the TCU football program to the national championship game.
After a 5-7 2023 season, the Horned Frogs were sitting at 3-3 with ugly losses to Houston, SMU and Central Florida. The offense was productive, but inconsistent and Dykes’ hiring of Andy Avalos on defense looked like a potential flop.
But despite the mounting adversity and doubt, Dykes and the Horned Frogs pulled through the storm by winning five of their last six games including the regular season finale against Cincinnati, 20-13.
The season could’ve slipped away from TCU like it did last year, but Dykes showed growth as a coach for not letting it happen again. And now many of the questions we had in October have been answered.
The Horned Frogs confirmed that Josh Hoover is the quarterback of the present and future. Offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, who has taken his fair share of criticism, helped save the season by being creative enough to put the 6-foot-5 Savion Williams in the backfield more.
Andy Avalos? His defense held three of TCU’s final six opponents to 13 points or less despite injuries to the front seven.
The 8-4 record is the second-best regular season finish since 2017.
For many programs across the country, this would be considered a successful season. But what about at TCU? When asked in the moments after the win over the Bearcats, Dykes provided a thoughtful answer.
“I look at it two ways, number one I’m really proud of our team for winning five of their last six,” Dykes said. “We created some momentum for ourselves leading up into the bowl game and into next year.
“Just proud of those guys. It wasn’t real pretty, but they hung in there and continued to believe and do things the right way. When things don’t go the way you want them to, a lot of organizations break down and I think our guys got stronger.”
All over the Big 12 there are examples of teams letting go of the rope as adversity continued to mount. Just look at teams like Oklahoma State and Arizona which entered the season as contenders and now exit it with plenty of questions about the future of the program.
Many of the questions facing TCU in the preseason and in October are now answered as the Horned Frogs improved their win total by three games and reached a bowl game.
TCU did this despite losing their best defensive lineman to Oklahoma after spring practice. There were also season-ending injuries to starting cornerback Avery Helm and offensive lineman Cade Bennett. Bennett’s absence in particular was a major blow as TCU was going to lean heavily on the former two-time All-Mountain West selection.
Many put TCU’s ceiling around eight or nine wins this year and even then it was considered a bit optimistic in the preseason. The Horned Frogs checked off many boxes they needed to this season, but the question still remains. Was this season successful?
Some would argue no due to TCU’s schedule. The Horned Frogs avoided playing four of the top five teams in the conference, though it should be noted that we all thought TCU had a tough draw with teams like Arizona, Utah and Oklahoma State, but those teams underachieved this season.
The Horned Frogs also blew an 18-point lead to 4-8 UCF. A victory in that game at the very least would’ve had TCU tied for first place in the standings.
Dykes understands some of the frustration because he felt it himself, even after the win over the Bearcats. On one hand Dykes is proud his team didn’t fold, but he also knows TCU had a chance to be playing for a title this season.
“At TCU we want to compete for championships,” Dykes said. “When you’re not playing for one in the last game of the season, then we didn’t meet our expectations. That’s the way it’s always going to be. I am disappointed in the run of three or four games in the middle of the season that weren’t very good.”
Dykes understands the standard the fanbase wants to hold the program to. It’s also human nature to wonder about the ‘what if’ scenarios.
What if TCU used the Williams wildcat package against UCF or inserted talented defensive linemen Markis Deal into the starting lineup sooner? What if TCU went for it on fourth down against Baylor and was able to pull off a win in Waco?
These are fair questions that will keep Dykes and some fans awake at night over the next few days, but it’s important to not lose sight of what actually happened on the field this season. The Horned Frogs showed growth from the head coach to his coordinators to the mental toughness in the locker room.
Learning how to win is hard and sometimes ugly, like the earlier part of TCU’s schedule, but it’s clear those lessons stuck with the Horned Frogs to close the season. Ultimately the true barometer of whether this was a successful year won’t come until next December.
If the Horned Frogs are able to reach the Big 12 title game in 2025, we’ll all look back at this season as a necessary building block the team had to go through. On the flip side if TCU finishes around .500 then this season will have absolutely been a blown chance at sneaking into the College Football Playoff.
For now, fans will have to find comfort in knowing that the program has regained the momentum it lost last season. An 8-4 finish may not be great, but always remember it could be much worse.
This story was originally published December 1, 2024 at 1:14 PM.
