A college football sicko is someone who watches everything, and follows the storylines everywhere. Even if it means watching “bad” football, a sicko finds the storylines and the stakes playing out on the field.
The “Sickos Only” Big 12 Game of the Week is between the TCU Horned Frogs and Kansas Jayhawks. TCU is 2-2 and coming off of an embarrassing loss last week to SMU, while Kansas is 1-3 with no wins over FBS competition this year.
This game is, understandably, on ESPN+ at 3:30 PM ET, but you will want to keep an eye on it because of the implications it can have on college football as early as Monday.
There is not a pair of teams in the Big 12 with a wilder roller coaster over the last 24 months than head coach Sonny Dykes’ TCU Horned Frogs and head coach Lance Leipold’s Kansas Jayhawks. But College Football Playoff appearance and historic program turnaround aside, Saturday’s Big 12 matchup is between two teams that have simply not played well this year… even though they were supposed to be improved.
TCU did not start the year ranked, but all reporting in the offseason indicated they were focused on getting back to the top of the Big 12. Meanwhile, Kansas was 8-36 between 2018-2021. But under Lance Leipold Kansas saw improvement every year, from 2-10 in 2021 to 6-7 in 2022, then to 9-4 in 2023. This time a year ago, Leipold was a name thrown around premier programs that needed new coaches. Now? It feels like everyone’s figured him out.
What makes this a game fans can’t overlook is that the losing team’s coach is going to be on the hot seat Monday. The winner? They’ve got a conference win under their belt and are building the program back up. The losing coach is just a loser, but the winning coach? They “navigated adversity.”
Even amidst their struggles, TCU and quarterback Josh Hoover flaunt a prolific offense. The Horned Frogs have 20 touchdowns in 4 games, but only two wins. Further, the losses have been embarrassing. Falling apart vs UCF was only trumped by getting blown out by cross-metroplex rival SMU. The cherry on top? Watching Coach Dykes ushered off the field in Dallas after getting ejected. Kansas, led by quarterback Jalon Daniels, entered the year as a dark-horse Big 12 contender but presently would settle for winning a Big 12 game. Daniels is a true dual-threat quarterback, and Kansas will need to put a lot on his shoulders to pull this one out.
Parker’s Pick: TCU. While they aren’t the CFP team of 2022, they have shown the ability to play FBS football… and that may be all it takes this weekend.