The truth about TCU likely lies between the 12-win season that culminated in a Fiesta Bowl win and a trip to the College Football Playoff championship game in 2022 and the five-win disappointment of 2023. The Horned Frogs hired a new defensive coordinator and turn the page to the Josh Hoover era on offense as they embark into a new-look Big 12 where nearly every team in the conference can compete for a conference title given the right scenarios. 

TCU HORNED FROGS 

2023 record: 5-7 
2024 record prediction: 8-4  

BIGGEST GAME – at SMU on Sept. 21  

A new era of the Iron Skillet rivalry is set to begin right as the 100-year plus Metroplex battle is set to end. That’s because the Ponies are now a Power Four team with hopes of competing for an AAC championship a year removed from winning their first conference title since the 1980s. The Frogs know about the Power conference boost as they went through a similar transformation earlier in the 21st Century. TCU and SMU are competing for the same recruits and transfers so winning this game becomes a legitimate tool off the field. TCU must seal its place as the top dog in DFW to keep SMU from gaining more ground. Dykes knows how valuable beating TCU is as the head man of SMU because he did it twice. 

TRAP GAME – vs. UCF on Sept. 14 

The Frogs host UCF a week before that crosstown trip to the Hilltop to face SMU. Add in the run-first style of the Knights and it is a tricky early-season conference game for TCU. Dykes’ squad opens the season with a trip to Stanford and a home game against Long Island. UCF presents the first major challenge, especially with former Arkansas signal caller KJ Jefferson now leading the Knights’ offense. TCU offensive coordinator Kendal Briles was at Arkansas with Jefferson in 2021 and 2022. The Knights are my dark horse pick to crash the Big 12 championship in 2024 and TCU will be their first chance to prove that they belong. 

POTENTIAL UPSET – at Utah on Oct. 19  

The new-look Big 12 doesn’t offer many opportunities for TCU to pull a true upset because the Horned Frogs should be amongst the most talented teams in the conference every year because of the fertile recruiting grounds in Texas. Utah enters the Big 12 as a co-favorite alongside Kansas State. TCU heads to Utah on Oct. 19. The good news for the Frogs is that the week before is an idle week, which gives them two weeks to prepare for the former Pac-12 contenders. 

FULL SCHEDULE 

Aug. 30                 at Stanford        
Sept. 7                  Long Island       
Sept. 14               UCF       
Sept. 21               at SMU                  
Sept. 28               at Kansas           
Oct. 5                     Houston              
Oct. 19                 at Utah                 
Oct. 26                 Texas Tech         
Nov. 2                    at Baylor              
Nov. 9                    Oklahoma State             
Nov. 23                 Arizona                 
Nov. 30                 at Cincinnati