Offensive Offense
This simply cannot continue. Whatever redeeming coaching qualities one may have scrounged together when the offensive coordinator hire was announced, used to justify the risk of throwing all your earned
goodwill into the garbage bin, those have been proven fruitless. The perceived potential upside never justified the obvious downside, with the caveat that TCU must be in the Big 12 Title game every year of his tenure to even consider looking past it. TCU has not been near contention for three straight seasons and the offense has regressed as the Patterson-era players filter out of the program. Since Sonny Dykes brought Kendal Briles to Fort Worth as OC & Associate Head Coach in 2023, the Horned Frogs are 20-15 overall, with three of those wins coming vs. FCS opponents, and just 12-13 in Big 12 play. Was it worth it?
Hideous in the red zone, pathetic & predictable on 3rd down, atrocious running game, incapable of turning flashy yardage totals into points, unable to put games away with a lead or get back into games when trailing. In this game in Provo, TCU hit all the low notes that have become hallmark of the Briles era. TCU was held off the scoreboard in the first quarter for the fifth time in its seven conference games this season; the Frogs were 1-10 on third down; Josh Hoover threw two interceptions with one being returned for a touchdown; TCU kicked two field goals after drives stalled inside the 15. After that second short FG on the opening drive of the second half which cut the deficit to 14 points, TCU’s drive chart proceeds as follows: Interception (3 plays, 5 yards), Punt (3 plays, 5 yards), Punt (3 plays, -3 yards), Interception TD (2 plays, 1 yard), Turnover on downs (9 plays, 44 yards).
Meanwhile, when players leave this offense they hit new heights in new homes. WR Jordan Hudson is the leading receiver for the SMU Mustangs, in pursuit of a 2nd straight trip to the ACC Championship and College Football Playoff; QB Chandler Morris is also contending for the ACC Title, leading a ranked Virginia squad, RB Cam Cook is leading the nation with 130.4 rush yards per game at Jacksonville State. Players that Sonny Dykes and Kendal Briles discarded are flourishing elsewhere.
Bullied
It was an ugly performance in all aspects of the game on Saturday in Provo and there is plenty of blame on Andy Avalos and the defense as well. The difference in physicality, focus, speed, and pure talent was as lopsided as it has been since the National Championship Game vs. Georgia. From moment one BYU was so clearly a better team: better prepared, better coached, stronger, faster, and more disciplined.
Before the game turned into full garbage time, BYU scored on its first seven drives, doing so with such cool ease that it seemed everyone understood there would be no stress in this contest. BYU earned 28 first downs, the most TCU has allowed all season, including two 4th down conversions as the TCU Defense could not get off the field even when it was making stops. The Cougars gained 447 yards of total offense as Bear Bachmeier took a scalpel to the Horned Frogs defense, slicing it up through the air & ground, completing 70% of his passes for 296 yards and a TD while adding 59 rushing yards and another score with his legs. Whatever BYU wanted, it could get. TCU just did not have the bodies to bang up front with BYU, nor the skill talent to overcome that disadvantage. The Horned Frogs now sit in the bottom portion of the Big 12 standings, with conference wins only over other teams in the league’s basement and with games remaining only against programs fighting for a spot in the Conference Championship. Staring down a real possibility of four straight losses to close the season that started with such fireworks, it’s a failure to have fallen this far.
