Chip on the Shoulder
An entire offseason worth of hype, the primetime stand-alone Monday night slot, the big game to cap off one of the biggest opening weekends of college football ever. And yet, even with all that attention, you’d be forgiven for thinking there was a football game at all involving two teams. The attention was entirely on the Tar Heels, entering the game following a 6-7 season and Fenway
Bowl loss due to its hiring of legendary former NFL coach Bill Belichick. This attention deficit was not only throughout the offseason, it was even more heavily weighted during the pregame build up on game day and during the broadcast. The Horned Frogs didn’t take too kindly to being considered an afterthought to the Belichick circus. TCU is a program that has always fed off the disrespect; you look past the Frogs, the Frogs will run right over you, and that’s exactly what happened Monday night. TCU took the Tar Heels’ best punch to open the contest and returned fire with one knockout blow after another. Perhaps no one was talking about the Frogs ahead of this contest, but by outclassing UNC in every phase on Monday, this squad has made a statement that TCU will not be ignored.
Air Jordan
Between NBA Hall of Famers and beauty pageant girlfriends, there were many Jordans in Kenan Stadium on Monday night, but one stood above the rest. In his first game as a Horned Frog, Idaho transfer wide receiver Jordan Dwyer stole the show. Dwyer caught all nine of his targets for 136 yards and a 27-yard touchdown reception. With Eric McAlister demanding attention from UNC’s top cornerback, Dwyer was left with room to move about the secondary. And QB Josh Hoover found him at every tun, delivering darts for first downs, dropping rainbows in the bucket, and giving Dwyer every opportunity for the breakout performance in his FBS debut.
Defending with an Attitude
The TCU Defense got punched in the mouth on the first drive of the season but bounced back with a vengeance to torture QB Gio Lopez and UNC Offensive Coordinator Freddie Kitchens the rest of the way. The Tar Heels opened the game with a seven play, 83 yard drive to easily and methodically slice through TCU into the end zone for the game’s opening score. Outside of that drive and a garbage time scoring drive led by backup QB Max Johnson, TCU held the North Carolina offense to 59 total yards, forcing three turnovers and five three-and-outs. Frogs were flying all over the field, playing with a speed and physicality reminiscent of the best TCU squads. Bud Clark showed why he is one of the nation’s best defensive backs, baiting Lopez into a lazy throw to the sideline, snatching it and waltzing back to the endzone for a game-breaking pick-six. Jonathan Bax sacked a scrambling Lopez in the second half, forcing a fumble recovered by Devean Deal and returned for a scoop & score, and Jamel Johnson led the team with 7 tackles, including a hit stick TFL. The Horned Frogs were getting pressure, stuffing the run, and locking down receivers in coverage.
Running? Back!
In 2024, TCU rolled out one of the nation’s worst rushing attacks, an inefficient unit that forced the entire offense on Josh Hoover’s shoulders. It was a major point of emphasis for the offseason, so much so that the TCU media guide called the run game out as a focus of improvement. The Frogs brought in RB Kevorian Barnes from UTSA where he was Conference USA Freshman of the Year, but had failed to reach those heights the next two seasons. TCU knew Barnes still had the juice and he earned the RB1 role for the Horned Frogs; on Monday he showed the world what the can do, going full Beast Mode in Chapel Hill on Monday. Barnes ran for 113 yards on 11 carries, including a back-breaking 75-yard TD run on the first play of the 2nd Half. The return of Cade Bennett from injury was huge for the Frogs, he and the entire offensive line were creating massive running lanes for all the RBs to cruise through. Tight Ends, Wide Receivers, and even backup QB Ken Seals during mop-up duty could be seen yards down field throwing blocks support the run game. Each of TCU’s backs ran with power and purpose, never falling on first contact and finishing runs with authority. Trent Battle took his lone carry of the night for a 28 yard TD scamper; Nate Palmer & Jeremy Payne each had 7 carries combining for 89 yards; true freshman Jon Denman helped the Frogs salt away the final minutes of the game with 26 yards of his own and making UNC defenders beg for the final buzzer. TCU’s 258 rushing yards on Monday surpasses the best rushing performance of 2024 by 83 yards, a 175 yard team effort vs. Oklahoma State. If the Horned Frogs can sustain this fearsome rushing attack to pair with Josh Hoover airing it out, TCU can be a dangerous offense.
