Category: TCU Horned Frogs

Pair of Big 12 clashes are must-see TV on Saturday

These are the best games to check out in the Big 12 on Saturday.

The Big 12 is one of the deepest basketball conferences in the country with five teams ranked in the top 25 of the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll.

It certainly makes for some interesting basketball in conference play. You can add that Texas, Cincinnati, Iowa State, TCU, and Texas Tech are all worthy of being ranked as well. Welcome to the murderer’s row of basketball.

With the college football season finished, eyes are coming back to the hardwood just in time for the run to March. On Saturday, there are plenty of games in the Big 12 to keep an eye on but here are the best ones.

No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners at No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks

NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Oklahoma Sooners and Kansas Jayhawks are both coming off disappointing losses for different reasons. The TCU Horned Frogs were able to take down OU thanks to the Sooners’ inability to score consistently in an 80-71 loss. Oklahoma trailed 78-61 with under two minutes to go but only managed a 10-2 run to cut the lead to nine before the final buzzer. On the other hand, Kansas built a nice first half lead at 35-19 with under four minutes to go. The Knights outscored the Jayhawks 46-25 over the next 24 minutes of basketball.

Who will get off the snide and avoid back-to-back losses just three games into Big 12 play? Tune in for the game at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

No. 2 Houston Cougars at TCU Horned Frogs

Chris Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The aforementioned TCU Horned Frogs will host the No. 2 team in the country in the early evening hours. The Houston Cougars are coming off their first loss of the season to a stingy Iowa State squad. The Cougars have averaged 75.3 points per game but were held to 22 points under that number by the Cyclones’ defense. They forced Houston to turn the ball over 16 times in that game. On the other side, you have a TCU squad that is coming off the upset victory of No. 3 Kansas, can they keep it going against No. 2 Houston? The plan should be the same as the Oklahoma matchup, keep your turnovers to a minimum while forcing the Cougs into making mistakes.

Does TCU get another huge win or does Houston rebound? Tune into that game at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Bonus Game: Kansas State Wildcats at Texas Tech Red Raiders

Olivia Raymond/For the Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jerome Tang (Kansas State) and Grant McCasland (Texas Tech) were longtime assistants for Scott Drew at Baylor, now they are adversaries. On Saturday, Texas Tech looks to extend their longest winning streak in the conference to 9 games. They are 2-0 in conference play after knocking off Texas and Oklahoma State. Kansas State is also 2-0 after wins over UCF and West Virginia.

Which team stays unbeaten in Big 12 play? Tune in at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN2

TCU and SMU’s ‘Battle for the Iron Skillet’ to be put on hold following 2025 matchup

Another classic college football rivalry game appears to be on the death’s doorstep.

Another classic college football rivalry game will be coming to a screeching halt. Due to conference realignment and expansion, rivalry games have consistently been dying over the last decade; the Big 12 and Big Ten expansions this summer have only sped up the death of these historic rivalries. 

The “Battle for the Iron Skillet” rivalry following the 2025 season will be “paused,” according to multiple reports. Action Networks’ Brett McMurphy was the first to report the news on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.

The two Dallas-Forth Worth-based programs create one of the more unique rivalries in the fact that the two programs are only separated by 35 miles. 

The Iron Skillet rivalry has had 101 meetings since the first matchup between the two programs on October 18, 1915. Of the 101 matchups, TCU leads the series with 52 wins to SMU’s 42 wins; the two programs have also tied seven times throughout its history.

The Horned Frogs hold that lead despite SMU winning 15 consecutive matchups from 1972 through 1986. However, since 1989, TCU has been the dominant program in the rivalry, winning 24 of the last 32 matchups. 

Last season, TCU defeated SMU 42-34, snapping a two-game winning streak in the series for the Mustangs. Of course, it was the first matchup between the two programs as well, since former SMU head coach Sonny Dykes took over as the head coach of TCU. 

Other notable rivalries that have been put on pause or have died completely due to conference realignment include the “Border War” between Kansas and Missouri and Texas vs. Texas A&M. More rivalry games are expected to come to an end in the near future. Rivalries such as “Bedlam” between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and Oregon and Oregon State’s rivalry, once nicknamed “Civil War,” will also be played one last time for the foreseeable future this fall. 

TCU among teams expected to take a step back in 2023

Can the Horned Frogs rekindle their 2022 magic? Not so fast my friend, as Lee Corso would say.

Over the last several seasons we have seen our fair share of suprise teams make a run to the College Football Playoffs. It began in 2019 when the LSU Tigers made a historic run behind the heroics of Joe Burrow.

That was followed up in the 2021 season when the Michigan Wolverines overtook the Ohio State Buckeyes. That same season the first Group of Five team, Cincinnati, made it to the CFP semifinals. You can add the TCU Horned Frogs to the list with their 12-1 finish. It earned them the No. 3 ranking and they defeated No. 2 Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl to earn a national championship appearance but they were outclassed by Georgia.

According to 247Sports national analyst Chris Hummer, the TCU Horned Frogs aren’t a candidate to come close to their production from 2022.

What Hummer Says…

TCU’s 2022 season wasn’t just historic. It was an anomaly. Teams that recruit like TCU don’t make the national title game. The Horned Frogs shattered a glass ceiling. And while it feels silly to doubt a team that just accomplished that feat, it’s still likely the Horned Frogs come back to earth.

While Hummer expects a 10-2 campaign, that would certainly count as a tumble in his eyes. That likely puts them in contention for a Big 12 title game berth, they wouldn’t be among the top four teams for the College Football Playoffs in all likeliness. That would get them into a New Years Six bowl game if they were to win the conference title for the first time since 2014.

Losing the production from Max Duggan and Quentin Johnston won’t be easy to replace in 2023. Chandler Morris was the starting quarterback when they broke camp but an injury allowed Duggan to take back his starting job, which he never relinquished.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have the Oklahoma Sooners who can’t get much worse than their 6-7 campaign last season. Brent Venables has done a good job of adding talent to the roster but they need to go out and prove it. Their cupcake schedule, which features zero Power Five matchups in nonconference play, should help them win 8-9 games in 2023.

Check out Hummer’s full list of teams to rise and tumble in the upcoming season.

Home field advantage: Who was the most dominant at home in 2022?

These teams were the best at defending the home turf in 2022.

The game of college football has a massive following and a large part is due to the traditions and pageantry of the sport. Home games in college football are just at another level than we see around most of the NFL.

Sometimes they get a little too rambunctious, just look at the Tennessee vs Ole Miss game last year. Does anyone need some mustard?

Regardless of how that game turned out, there is just something about watching your favorite team at home. The rankings were determined by the team’s record at home and the average margin of victory in those games.

Best nonconference matchups of the 2023 college football season

The best 20 nonconference games of the 2023 season.

We are under 100 days to the college football season but who is counting anyway? Well, just about everyone is. Teams are gearing up to make a run at the College Football Playoffs and end Georgia’s run of dominance. The Bulldogs are 29-1 over the last two seasons where they won the title in both.

Can anyone step up and prevent them from joining the Minnesota Golden Gophers in college football immortality? Minnesota won three straight titles in the early to mid-1930s. A feat that has seems impossible to repeat, until now. Almost a century later, we could be witnessing history.

Before we get to the CFP, there is plenty more that needs to be addressed. Teams have fall camps, nonconference games, and the run to their respective conference championship games.

In their 100 storylines to follow, CBS Sports ranked the best 20 nonconference matchups of the 2023 college football season. Plenty of eyes will be on the likes of Alabama, Colorado, Texas, and Texas A&M, but who else should we be paying attention to ahead of conference play?

One notable matchup missing is the opening game of the season in Dublin, Ireland, where Notre Dame and Navy are set to meet on the gridiron. That game was among our must-see games in each week of the 2023 college football season.

Check out the list from CBS Sports:

Fox puts Deion Sanders, Colorado in the spotlight with Big Noon Saturday

The Deion Sanders era of Colorado Football will be nationally televised.

The Deion Sanders era at Colorado is going to start off with a nationally televised matchup on Fox, the network announced on Monday.

Fox has selected Colorado’s season opener on September 2 against the TCU Horned Frogs for week one’s edition of Big Noon Saturday. Big Noon Saturday is Fox’s premier timeslot for the week, looking to put their biggest game in the noon window.

The matchup is set to place in Fort Worth on September 2 as the Buffaloes look to take on the nation’s runner-up from last season.  Last season, TCU defeated Colorado 38-13.

It has been an extremely active offseason for Colorado.

While the Buffaloes program is becoming a popular talking point around the college football world, it hasn’t been all positive publicity. Sanders and his program have come under fire for how they have gone about their roster construction including having players who they didn’t deem fit for the new era of Colorado football, to enter the transfer portal. While that isn’t an uncommon practice in college football, it has rarely been in the public sphere to this degree.

The program also saw over 47,000 fans show up for their annual spring game while season tickets have sold out for the first time since 1996.

The Buffaloes are coming off a 1-11 record under head coaches Karl Dorrell and Mike Sanford. They also went 1-8 in conference play, their lone win coming against California.

Prior to his time at Colorado, Sanders spent three seasons at Jackson State where he went 27-6 including 19-2 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play. He did, however, lose both of his Celebration Bowl appearances.

The Horned Frogs, however, are coming off a historic season as referenced above. After a perfect regular season, TCU would lose the Big 12 Championship game to Kansas State before making the College Football Playoffs. They would defeat Michigan 51-45 in the Fiesta Bowl before losing to Georgia in the national championship game 65-7.

Post spring composite rankings have Georgia, Michigan at the top

Check out where your favorite team ranks in the composite spring rankings.

Heading into the 2023 college football season, most of the headlines will involve the Big Ten and SEC conferences. In our composite rankings, those two conferences make up the top five. Overall, the Pac-12 had the second most teams appear.

Here is the full breakdown of teams by conference:

SEC 8
Pac-12 6
Big Ten 5
Big 12 5
ACC 3
G5/Independents 4

The four polls that make up the post-spring football composite rankings:

Using the four polls we had ties at the No. 3, No. 12, No. 21, No. 27, and No. 30 spots among the teams listed. The full post-spring rankings are listed below, ties listed in alphabetical order.

Former TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston has special message for his mom after being drafted

Former TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston had a special message for his mom after being drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers.

The NFL Draft and other sports have the rare opportunity to change the fortunes of a family not just in the immediate but for generations to come.

Even for those from well-off families, the chance of becoming a multi-millionaire overnight is life-changing. It just doesn’t affect the players themselves, however, but those around them.

That’s exactly the case for former TCU star wide receiver and brand new Los Angeles Chargers wideout Quentin Johnston and his mom.

As caught on NFL Films’ “Hey Rookie: Welcome to the NFL” television series, shortly after being selected by the Chargers last Thursday night, Johnston had a message for his mom.

“She’s going to be putting her two weeks’ notice in today. She can retire.” Johnston told everyone at his draft party. “I don’t want you working another day,” he added.

According to Spotrac, Johnson’s projected contract for being the 21st overall pick is expected to be four years for just shy of $14.2 million. Out of the projected $14.1 million, he’ll receive a signing bonus of $7.3 million.

This past season for TCU, Johnston recorded 60 receptions for 1,069 yards and six touchdowns. He’ll join a wide receiver room in Los Angeles that consists of Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Joshua Palmer, and Jalen Guyton among others.

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Chance Nolan reveals his transfer destination

The Frogs add a quarterback to the roster.

The TCU Horned Frogs add another quarterback to their roster for the 2023 college football season.

Last season Chandler Morris was named the starting quarterback to begin the year but an injury in the opening game paved the way for Max Duggan to take back his job. Despite Morris recovering from that injury, the senior quarterback didn’t relinquish his spot. TCU would march all the way to the CFP championship game before being vanquished by the Georgia Bulldogs.

With Duggan heading to the NFL following the 2022 season, Morris was expected to take back the starting job. Behind him the team has Josh Hoover and Luke Pardee as the primary backups. You can now add former Oregon State quarterback Chance Nolan to the list.

The Beavers added former five-star quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei to the roster following Nolan’s departure. He appeared in five games for the Beavers in 2022 completing 59.5% of his passes for 7 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Overall, the 6-foot-3 quarterback has 4,153 yards passing with 32 touchdowns to 20 interceptions. The team found success under backup Ben Gulbranson, who appeared in 10 games last season.

Nolan tweeted, “Blessed and Excited for the Next Part.”

Coming out of high school as part of the 2020 recruiting cycle, Nolan was listed as the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the country as a three-star prospect from Menifee, California, according to 247Sports.

The Frogs have recently added a wide receiver through the transfer portal with Minnesota’s Dylan Wright committing to the program on Apr. 6. TCU will have plenty of talent on that side of the ball a Alabama’s Tommy Brockermeyer and JoJo Earle, as well as LSU tight end Jack Bech all joining the Frogs in 2023.

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TCU suffers another transfer portal loss as DB Kyron Chambers enters portal

TCU continues to see players hit the transfer portal with DB Kyron Chambers being the latest.

After losing wide receiver Jordan Hudson to the transfer portal, the TCU Horned Frogs are also set to lose defensive back Kyon Chambers to the protal according to Joe Cook of InsideTexas.

The class of 2022 prospect did not see any playing time for TCU as a true freshman this past season. Chambers was considered a three-star cornerback by three of four recruiting services with On3 ranking him as a four-star prospect and the 275th-best player in the country. They also had him as the 30th-ranked cornerback in the 2022 recruiting cycle.

Chambers chose the Horn Frogs over offers from Arizona, Indiana, Arizona State, Colorado, Houston, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Syracuse, Texas Tech, Washington, and Washington State among others.

Notably, shortly after the report of him entering the transfer portal came out, Chambers had an interesting tweet. Tweeting at Arizona State’s passing game coordinator and wide receiver coach Ra’Shaad Samples. As noted above, Arizona State was one of the schools that did offer Chambers when he was coming out of South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas, Texas. Like Chambers, Samples is a native of Dallas.

Chambers is one of nine TCU players to enter the transfer portal this month as the Horned Frogs go through a bit of a roster transformation. The program is currently in the second year of the Sonny Dykes era after reaching the College Football Playoff National Championship Game last season where they lost to the Georgia Bulldogs 65-7.