Is TCU football beginning to turn the corner with its rushing attack?
Is TCU football finally beginning to turn the corner with its run game?
The Horned Frogs’ production on the ground in Saturday’s 42-36 win over Baylor is the latest sign of progress for TCU.
TCU averaged just 52 yards on the ground against Arizona State and Colorado to open Big 12 play. It led some to wonder if this would just be a repeat of last year when the Horned Frogs had one of the nation’s worst rushing offenses until Savion Williams saved the season by moving into the backfield part-time.
How would TCU fix the issue this year without a 6-foot-5 athletic marvel like Williams on the team, and also without starting left tackle Ryan Hughes, who suffered a season-ending injury against Colorado?
The answers to the issues so far have been feeding Kevorian Barnes and leaning more on the Horned Frogs’ growing arsenal of playmakers at tight end.
The Horned Frogs rushed for 196 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry against Baylor. Barnes rushed for 106 and Trent Battle had 75 as TCU ran for the most yards this season since the opener against North Carolina.
TCU offensive line battles through injuries
When fully healthy this season, Barnes is averaging 100 yards and 16 carries per game with three touchdowns against Baylor, Kansas State and North Carolina. Barnes credited the offensive line for opening up so many running lanes against the Bears on Saturday despite starters Cade Bennett and Coltin Deery being banged up.
“Those guys are tough,” Barnes said. “When the next man up is called, everybody is prepared. It’s a testament to the work that they’ve put in.”
Somehow the unit is still showing signs of progress despite the mounting injuries.
Last week against Kansas State, TCU’s running backs averaged 5.5 yards per carry, but the offense went away from the ground game too quickly as the game got away from the Horned Frogs.
TCU made sure not to make that same mistake again against Baylor, and now it’s the second straight week TCU’s running backs have averaged more than five yards per carry.
Head coach Sonny Dykes said the coaching staff has been challenging the unit all season, and it’s starting to pay off.
“I thought we did a really good job up front,” Dykes said. “We’ve been hard on our offensive line because we haven’t performed up to our capabilities, but I think those guys were outstanding today.”
Dykes and the staff didn’t just coach the offensive line hard leading up to this game, they also did more schematically to provide support in the run game.
TCU uses 12 personnel with four tight ends contributing
TCU leaned more on 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends, two wide receivers) more than it has all season with the four tight ends — DJ Rogers, Chase Curtis, Lafayette Kaiuway and Ka’Morreun Pimpton — getting extended action against the Bears.
“We wanted to get into some 12 (personnel) and see how they would play it,” Dykes said. “They played a lot of two-safety against 12, and I think that played a big part [in why] we were able to run the ball so successfully. Those guys brought a physicality to it.”
Not only did it result in the big day on the ground, it also led to Pimpton’s first touchdown as a Horned Frog, and Rogers was also a factor with 30 yards and a touchdown.
With Pimpton — a 6-foot-6, 250-pound LSU transfer from North Crowley High School — fully healthy, TCU has a diverse skill set at tight end that could create more possibilities for the offense in the final stretch of the season.
“Our tight ends played unbelievable tonight,” quarterback Josh Hoover said. “We were in 12 a lot tonight, and they did a great job blocking all day. They made some great catches. With Pimp in the end zone, he’s a big target. We had a good play call, and coach dialed it up. I tried to put it as high as I can. I looked out there, and the guy guarding him was a foot shorter than he was. I just had to give him a chance, and he made a great play.”
Before getting too excited about the run game’s development, it’s fair to point out that Baylor entered Saturday’s contest allowing 177 yards on the ground, while Kansas State’s run defense wasn’t much better. It’s still a sign of progress that TCU is finally able to exploit bad run defenses, but it’s too early to believe the problem is completely fixed.
TCU will have another opportunity Saturday to build confidence against a West Virginia run defense that allowed 255 rushing yards against Central Florida, but the true tests don’t come until the final quarter of the season against Houston, BYU and Cincinnati.
The Horned Frogs are making progress on the ground, but there’s still more work to be done.
This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 4:40 AM.
