The Horned Frogs are 2-0, and it feels like we have so much to catch up on, but at the same time, there’s little Frog football to dissect from the first two games and subsequent lopsided victories. 48-14 — that isn’t just the age gap between Bill Belichick and his girlfriend dashed across from former Giant Lawrence Taylor’s preferred age for a romantic partner. It was the score of TCU’s domination of the Tar Heels.
Full transparency: After UNC mowed through the Frogs during their first drive like my sons do a box of nutritionally garbage cereal, I was a little worried, and everyone attending in powder blue was ready to hand Belichick a lifetime contract. That’s when the fairytale ended, and the Horned Frogs rattled off 41 offensive and defensive points before North Carolina found the endzone again for the second and final time.
The most exciting part of the opening game was that it wasn’t. Josh Hoover (#10), outside of the opening drive, was remarkably accurate and seemingly unstoppable: 27/36 for 284 yards and two scores by the end of the evening. Kendal Briles called 35 rushes for a combined 258 yards and two touchdowns to complement Hoover, and five purple running backs saw action, exactly the balance fans should want to see from a team that seems able to compete with anyone in the conference right now.
Veteran safety Bud Clark (#21) snagged an interception and returned it for a score, and Devean Deal (#11) scooped a fumble for six as well. Two newcomers — running back Kevorian Barnes (#2) and wide receiver Jordan Dwyer (#7) — exclaimed their presence with 113 rushing yards and 136 receiving yards, respectively, and a touchdown each. Dwyer was Hoover’s favorite target early and often. Eric McAlister (#1) drew full-time attention from the Heels’ best cornerback, leaving Dwyer open throughout the evening while he accumulated nine receptions.
Barnes, a transfer from UTSA, excites me (in a completely platonic way). His majestic dreadlocks taunted defenders as he powered past them with speed and explosiveness all evening. In what looks like a stacked backfield right now, Barnes seems to have the greatest game-breaking potential from a traditional running back sense and pass blocks like a jack-in-the-box with Oppositional Defiant Disorder.
Enough good news and praise, because despite two feel-good weeks against UNC and Abilene Christian, whom the Frogs beat 42-21 on Saturday, it’s time for the first real test of the season. The game against SMU has surely been circled since TCU’s 66-42 loss last season during one of the sloppiest games I’ve witnessed from the Frogs since I started following the Iron Skillet series in the mid 1990s. This game might determine which school retains the humble but iconic trophy for the rivalry’s longest-ever layoff.
Since the teams started clashing in 1915, they’ve never taken more than two years off at a time without meeting (1919-20 and the 1987-88 death penalty years). Other than those, there are only a smattering of odd seasons where the two cross-city rivals didn’t brave the gridiron so fans could razz about whose trust fund was bigger.
Like our Frogs, we don’t have much concrete information about how good the Mustangs are this season. The Horsies surrendered more than 600 yards in an overtime loss to Baylor, but otherwise they’ve paid two opponents and logged two completely unremarkable victories. What should give every fanatic pause is what we’ve seen from Andy Avalos’ defense thus far, which can only be described — and charitably — as mixed.
The Tar Heels were locked down outside of their opening drive, and the Frogs frustrated starting quarterback Gio Lopez until he was benched in favor of Max Johnson, son of Super Bowl-winning quarterback Brad Johnson. Max, a true pocket passer, showed poise and precision as he exposed an unprepared secondary for UNC’s second score of the game, granted it was far out of reach at that point.
ACU was held scoreless in the first half, thanks in part to the Wildcats’ kicking woes as they missed two field goals and trailed 28-0 at halftime. Veteran quarterback Stone Earle found his swagger in the second half and helped his offense rebound for 21 points and nearly 300 yards through the air. Saturday was never in question, but Earle clearly carved a Frog defense that — at least when in zone coverage — is anything but lockdown against competent passers. That should scare Frog faithful when SMU visits on Saturday morning.
If that Baylor-SMU game was any indication, we’re probably in for another shootout. SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings (#7) tossed for more than 3,000 yards during their playoff-appearance run last season, has already thrown for more than 800 this season, and is a rushing threat as well. The Frogs did cough up the ball five times in last year’s meeting (three fumbles and two interceptions), four of which Hoover was directly responsible for. Hopefully, the maturity and confidence from Hoover continues, and a clean game from the Frogs results.
Avalos’ defense showed themselves to be a mostly capable unit against UNC but less so against Abilene Christian, though in a film sense they’re not rewarded for revealing clever coverages or tricky stunts against a team they overmatched in a game that was decided early. Historically, TCU rebounds well after losing to that team in Dallas, having not lost in consecutive seasons since 1992-1993. (TCU lost in 2019 and 2021, but the 2020 game was canceled.)
Dykes is undoubtedly ready to retrieve the trophy he’d possessed up until last season, winning it first with the Mustangs in 2019, then usurping it during his first season with TCU. The Frogs still hold a 10-victory lead over the Ponies in the all-time series, but Saturday morning’s game might prove the most significant in the modern era. Both teams are back in power conferences (though different ones), and each can boast a somewhat recent playoff appearance. Moreover, whoever steals the skillet is able to put a big fat TBD on when they’ll be challenged for it again, as it will surely be the series’ longest-ever layoff. “To be determined” is a long time when you’re thinking about when fans might have a chance to reclaim bragging rights, and I’m sure we’d all sleep soundly each night on puffy pillows of money and hubris.
