2022 record: 13-2 (+8 wins from 2021) 

Texas Power Poll ranking: 1 of 12 

THE GOOD 

Sonny Dykes. Max Duggan. Kendre Miller. Quentin Johnston. The entire offensive line. Dylan Horton. The linebackers. Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson. Josh Newton. Griffin Kell. The list doesn’t stop. TCU was picked seventh in the Big 12 to start the season and were unranked in every poll. The Horned Frogs leaped over those quiet expectations in Dykes’ first year in charge by winning the Fiesta Bowl over Michigan and playing for a College Football Playoff national title a year after winning five games and firing the only head coach the program knew this century. 

The Horned Frogs started the season 12-0. The offense finished ninth in the nation in scoring offense with 38.8 points per game. Duggan, who began the year on the bench, ended the year second in the Heisman Trophy voting behind USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Duggan threw for 3,698 yards and 32 touchdowns, adding 423 yards and nine scores on the ground. Miller led the team with 1,399 yards and 17 touchdowns while averaging 6.2 yards a run. Johnston broke out at wide receiver with 60 catches for 1,069 yards and six touchdowns. Steve Avila was a consensus All-American at guard. 

Even the defense improved dramatically with defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie ditching the Horned Frogs famed 4-2-5 for a 3-3-5 stack that helped slow down opponents in every phase of the game. They allowed 34.92 points per game in 2021. Opponents scored 34 rushing touchdowns in 12 games and averaged 5.8 yards a catch. And the secondary only managed 10 interceptions. This year, TCU only allowed 29 points per game and 4.3 yards a rush. Opponents scored 29 rushing touchdowns in 15 games and the secondary registered 16 picks. Hodges-Tomlinson won the Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the nation. 

The regular season included a blowout win over Oklahoma that put the Horned Frogs on the national radar. They mounted comeback wins over Oklahoma State and Kansas State to weather any mid-season hiccups. TCU went into Austin and smothered the Longhorns and then beat rival Baylor on a last-second field goal in Waco a week later. The exclamation point on the season took place in Arizona when the Horned Frogs knocked off Michigan, 51-45, in a classic Fiesta Bowl. 

THE BAD 

Beating a quality team twice in one season is never easy, and TCU learned that lesson in the rematch with Kansas State. Despite a 12-0 start and a previous win over the Wildcats, TCU won’t get to claim a Big 12 title despite such a fairy tale season. Kansas State knocked the Horned Frogs off, 31-28, in overtime on Dec. 3. Two failed rushing attempts by Miller on the goal line during the overtime period allowed Kansas State to kick the game-winning field goal on its first possession. Duggan only committed 50 percent of his passes and threw an interception.  

THE UGLY 

The clock struck midnight on TCU in the College Football Playoff championship game against Georgia on Jan. 9 when the Bulldogs won 65-7. TCU failed to score in the final three quarters of the game. The Horned Frogs managed to cut the deficit to 10-7 with 4:45 left in the first quarter but were outscored 55-0 the rest of the way. The loss took some shine off the national perception of TCU and the Big 12. TCU allowed 32 first downs and 589 total yards. Georgia scored touchdowns on nine of its 11 full drives. The TCU offense averaged 1.3 yards per carry. 

TEAM GRADES

Quarterback: A+
Running back: A
Wide receiver/tight end: A
Offensive line: A
Defensive line: A
Linebacker: A
Cornerback: A+
Safety: A

BIGGEST OFFSEASON QUESTION

How does TCU replace so many impact players? 

Most of the individual names mentioned above won’t be on campus when TCU opens the 2023 season at home against Colorado and Deion Sanders. Duggan, Johnston, Hodges-Tomlinson, and a host of other Horned Frogs are headed to the NFL. Dykes & Co. inherited a strong roster with playmakers, two capable quarterbacks, and an experienced offensive line. That’s not usually the case for first-year head coaches. 

The roster will turnover more this offseason and it is up to Dykes and his staff to replace those players with young faces already on campus or through the transfer portal, which is a specialty of Dykes. TCU must also replace offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. 

Baylor took a dive from 12-win team in 2021 to six-win team in 2022 with similar attrition. TCU should lessen that learning curve by attacking the transfer portal harder than the Bears did last year but handling newly found expectations is another major question mark for TCU. It is much easier to prove the doubters wrong than it is to stay on the mountaintop. 

WAY TOO EARLY 2023 OUTLOOK 

The good news for TCU is that quarterback Chandler Morris, who started the opener before an injury sidelined him, already knows the playbook and has the trust of the current coaching staff, even with a new coordinator on the way. Natural regression should be expected, however, due to the number of starters exiting the program for the NFL Draft or eligibility. 

The Horned Frogs must replace a Heisman finalist at quarterback, an All-Big 12 running back, and possibly the first wide receiver taken in the draft. Oh, and more than half of its starters along the offensive line. The defense is in a similar situation. Winning eight or nine games and finishing the season in Big 12 contention and ranked nationally would be a success. Be wary of the sophomore slump.