We’re all guilty of it. Part of aging into the finest version of ourselves is an increased willingness to admit our wrongs, stupid decisions, and miscalls. I’m not perfect. I still possess JCPenney stock, cargo pants, and hope for the American middle class. However, unwavering pride that prevents us from reversing course on bonehead calls of the past is one the seven deadly sins — and perhaps the most egregious in college football.
I wasn’t overly optimistic about the Frogs’ chances to pull the upset against once-defeated BYU late Saturday night. The TCU offense hasn’t played particularly well down the stretch, the Cougars still have plenty to fight for, and Head Coach Sonny Dykes and company have won on the road only twice this season. The end result wasn’t the worst defeat of Dykes’ TCU tenure, but it was the third and worst of the season as the Frogs dropped a seemingly uncontested dud 44-13.
The Frogs weren’t exactly boatraced but more freight-trained as the Cougars clearly and consistently steamed ahead for yards in chunks, never slowing down, and kept to a steady and consistent schedule. At the first stop, the score had already climbed to 17-0, and with nearly 20 minutes of game clock expelled, the Frogs’ offense was on the field for just over 3 of those. TCU drew as close as 10-24 late in the first half — mostly thanks to the sheer will of receiver Eric McAllister (#1) — but the 17-point lead held through halftime, and the Frogs were never able to come any closer than a two-touchdown deficit.
The defense, which is still markedly improved over last season, was fully exposed as unable to stop the power run, quarterback run, or midrange passing attack. It’s entirely possible the Cougars could have won this game by more than a touchdown by throwing zero passes, but Bear Bachmeier (#47) completed 23 of them for nearly 300 yards anyway while running and throwing for a touchdown of each flavor. The Cougars accumulated 28 first downs (nearly twice that of the Frogs) and successfully converted two of three fourth-down attempts. Bachmeier was hurried occasionally, but the point of attack was all BYU as a new line of scrimmage was established on nearly every run between the tackles while the purple defensive front was bullied back.
All the aforementioned is really just window dressing, pre-snap movement, a bait-and-switch for what we should all be discussing. Saturday was the TCU offense’s second-lowest scoring performance and lowest total-yard outing since OC Kendal Briles arrived in Fort Worth. The Frogs’ 41-3 loss to Kansas State during Briles’ first year was the worst scoring effort, but 2023 TCU outgained Saturday’s squad by a handful of yards. No matter where it falls in the statistics, the offense is broken. Injuries to offensive linemen and the backfield aside, there is simply too much talent languishing on this roster for the Frogs to be this inefficient, out of sync, and underachieving.
Sometimes the “I” test is all you need. “I” see Cougar receivers running downfield in open patches of grass. “I” saw Cyclone tight ends using formations to find effective matchups against run-stopping linebackers. “I” see Horned Frogs in tight coverage being locked up by corners and safeties. Either Briles’ play design is ineffective, the calls are ill-timed, the entire system is flawed, or all of the above. Dykes is a good coach and will publicly defend his coordinators, but I know what my eyes see, and as a much greater football mind than me, he undoubtedly does also.
It’s rare for a coordinator hire to draw as many visceral reactions as Kendal Briles did. He also had the misfortune of trying to replace Garrett Riley, who had tremendous success for one season, then bounced for Clemson, which isn’t doing much better currently. Briles also carried unprecedented baggage from a scandal at a rival university. Admittedly, most of this is not fair to the man himself, but we’re past that now. It’s nearing the end of three seasons without a running game, reliable red-zone scoring, or any predictable future for an offense not completely predicated on outstanding quarterback play to function. Josh Hoover (#10) is an objectively good quarterback, and ignoring such is a dangerous assumption there’s another as good as or better coming down the line or out of the portal. (There probably isn’t.) Despite Hoover’s potential, he’s thrown 10 interceptions this year and put the ball on the turf four times (though none of them were lost) — not a model of efficiency.
Over seven conference games, TCU has five scoreless first quarters. The first frame is where an offense should be rolling off a script, with extremely tight execution and without being stymied by defensive adjustments. During nine “real” games (ACU doesn’t count), the Frogs have scored 24 total first-quarter points and are not even averaging a field goal across the season. That is objectively awful.
I don’t know what else needs to be said, other than: “Stop being too proud to recognize you were wrong, Coach.” I’m not convinced Dykes should pack up shop and the staff should be liquidated, but I’m increasingly among the minority. In the immortal words of Big Tom from the 1995 teenage-boy classic Tommy Boy: “In [college football], you’re either growing or you’re dying. There ain’t no third direction.” That sentiment, though it was originally quoted for auto parts, has never been truer for the college game than it is today. Sending Briles down the road is the least cataclysmic and most restrained response that could possibly be made to a second underwhelming season among the last three.
I’m not privy to what is happening in closed offices around the TCU athletic complex, but if Dykes is not seriously entertaining the notion of retooling the offense with new leadership, then hopefully someone is appealing to the greater good to consider it. If nothing changes, or Dykes is too proud to fix what is obviously broken, everyone, including the staff, players, and fans, will continue to watch this team with ever-increasing, almost comforting apathy.
TCU visits the 8-2 Houston Cougars Saturday afternoon. The Cougs are still in the mathematical hunt for a conference-title-game berth. U of H has a more balanced offensive attack than the Frogs (they actually run the ball effectively) and have lost only to Tech and somehow West Virginia. This is a homecoming of sorts for Briles, who has both coached and played there. You can bet he’ll be pulling out all the stops to save his job or at the very least increase his stock for the next one he senses is coming. Unless Dykes is fully committed to jumping on the grenade the way his predecessor Gary Patterson did, Briles will surely be the fall guy for Dykes to receive one more season with the big whistle — but a short leash. Yet if Dykes doesn’t offer his sacrificial lamb soon, he might be joining the coordinator he’s too proud to fire on the coaching carousel.
