Game 1: at North Carolina Tar Heels
SEPT. 1 | KENAN STADIUM | CHAPEL HILL, NC | 7:00 PM
TV:
ESPN Streaming: ESPN App // WatchESPN Talent: Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe Radio: KZPS 92.5 FM, SiriusXM 382, TuneIn, Varsity App, Riff Ram App Talent: Brian Estridge, Justin Fuente, Elvis Gallegos Spanish Radio: KWRD 100.7 FM Talent: Miguel Cruz, Roberto Ramirez
GAME NOTES
ABOUT THE GAME
- TCU begins its fourth season under the direction of head coach Sonny Dykes in 2025. In his first three years, the 2022 National Coach of the Year has led TCU to more wins in his first three seasons (27) than all but one head coach in program history (Dutch Meyer, 29, 1934-36).
- Dykes has also led programs at SMU (2018-21), Cal (2013-16), and Louisiana Tech (2010-12). In all four stops, Dykes has led the program to the postseason, making him one of just six active head coaches to take four different schools to a bowl game. The others are Hugh Freeze, Butch Jones, Brian Kelly, Lane Kiffin, and Rich Rodriguez.
- Directing the TCU offense for his third season as the starting quarterback is redshirt junior Josh Hoover. In his redshirt sophomore campaign, Hoover set TCU’s single-season passing record with 3,949 yards on 313-of-471 passing with 27 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. He has thrown 42 touchdown passes in 19 career starts.
- Surrounding Hoover will be a new cast of wide receivers as 76 combined starts and 5,464 career receiving yards across their college careers left with the departures of Jack Bech, Savion Williams, and JP Richardson to the NFL
- TCU’s rushing attack was an offseason focus as the Horned Frogs rushed for just 113.9 yards per game last season, their lowest per game average since 1997 (110.2) and by far the lowest for a Dykes-coached team. Over his tenure as a head coach, Dykes’ teams have averaged 158.5 yards per game on the ground with his 2012 Louisiana Tech team posting 227.2 yards per game.
- Defensively, the Horned Frogs are led by Bud Clark, who led all safeties in college football last season with a 90.1 coverage grade. After logging a career high 68 tackles last season, Clark opted to return to TCU rather than head to the NFL, and his 11 career interceptions are two shy of cracking the program’s record book
- TCU and North Carolina are set to play the final game of Week 1 on Monday night in Chapel Hill. The Horned Frogs have not traveled to the state of North Carolina for a game since a 2002 trip to East Carolina as members of Conference USA
- The game is one of two Power 4 non-conference opponents for TCU this season. TCU is one of only two programs in the country to have 11 Power 4 opponents in their 2025 schedule.
- TCU is 10-6 since 2015 against non-conference Power 4/5 foes. Among those games in a true road environment (excluding bowl games), the Frogs are 4-1.
- The Horned Frogs enter the game, as a program, on a four-game winning streak, having won six of their final seven in 2024. The last time TCU entered a season on a four-plus game winning streak was 2014 after going 12-1 and defeating No. 9 Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl
UNIFORM WATCH
DEPTH CHARTS:
GAME DAY DETAILS
