TCU football trending in the right direction after the comeback win over Texas Tech

TCU remains a very flawed football team, but the Horned Frogs showed once again in the comeback win over Texas Tech that the team is starting to turn the corner with its mental toughness.

There were many important characteristics from the 2022 team that made the run to the national championship game. One of those was mental fortitude. That team never backed down from a challenge, whether it was a three-possession deficit or being matched up against Texas or Michigan.

That trait has been missing the last season and a half. Could it be coming back? It’s one thing to do it once against a Utah team without its starting quarterback, that could’ve been written off as a fluke.

But to do it Saturday, 35-24 over a Texas Tech team that has one of the best offenses in the Big 12? That’s no fluke. That’s the start of a trend and for the first time in over a year it’s finally starting to feel like the Horned Frogs are trending in the right direction.

Sometimes teams must hit rock bottom for a lesson to really hit home. The early season losses to UCF and SMU stung, but it was the upset loss to Houston that really forced everyone in the program to re-evaluate things. The Horned Frogs had two weeks to let that loss soak in as the program sat at a pivotal crossroads in year three of the Sonny Dykes era.

Would TCU mentally punt on another season or would the Horned Frogs come together and rally behind one another? TCU chose the latter and now a season that felt over two weeks ago suddenly has a new sense of life.

We’ll talk about the schematic things TCU has done in a second, but most of this turn around started with a change of mindset in the locker room that is now translating to the field.

“I think we’re playing hard,” Dykes said after the win over Texas Tech. “It’s still not great football, but we’re playing hard. They’re starting to gain some confidence from grinding out some tough wins.”

It may sound simple, but just playing with more effort has put TCU in much better positions to win these last two games against quality football teams.

After being blown out by the Mustangs and shocked by the Cougars, Dykes lamented that it was clear that those two teams were the more excited team to play. We all watched those games and know what Dykes said at the time wasn’t just coach speak, it was the truth.

But in the last two games the Horned Frogs have shown an intensity that’s been lacking. The Horned Frogs started the game fast jumping out to a 14-3 lead only to watch a trio of turnovers from Josh Hoover flip the game as the Red Raiders went on a 28-0 in the second and third quarter.

That run would’ve broken the will of most teams, but TCU endured, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The numbers won’t show it, but the TCU defense played about as well as one could expect considering the massive mistakes and talent on offense for the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech had three opportunities in the fourth quarter to seal the game and even got into field goal range trailing 35-34. But the defense made the play of the game when Hakeem Ajijolaiya rocked quarterback Will Hammond to force a fumble.

That was the definition of an effort play and it’s just a reminder that when you’re flying to the football good things can happen. And TCU definitely flew to the football despite Texas Tech trying to wear the defense down behind Tahj Brooks.

Brooks got his 100 yards like he has every game this season, but TCU held him to his lowest yards per carry average of the season and also limited the big runs that doomed TCU in Lubbock last season where Brooks forced over a dozen missed tackles. It’s safe to assume that number will be much smaller this season.

“The guy is just a really good football player and he gets his yards, he got them today, but we got him on the ground,” Dykes said. “We didn’t give up any big plays to him and we made them drive the ball and we got off the field sometimes. We held them to a couple field goals and that was the difference in the game.”

The offense deserves some credit too, even if it was Hoover’s miscues that led to the deficit. When the game was hanging in the balance it was Hoover that led three straight touchdown drives including the game-winning 84-yard touchdown to Eric McAlister late in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback is a trust and confidence position and with all the mistakes Hoover has made over the last four games it would’ve been easy for either of those feelings to be compromised. But Dykes and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles never wavered and trusted Hoover to be the one to lead the comeback.

Hoover rewarded them with maybe the best quarter of his career as he reminded the fanbase why he remains the quarterback of the future for the program. Beyond Hoover’s resilience, the offensive staff has finally shown creativity with the run game as Savion Williams has emerged as the best running option on the team.

As a result TCU’s run game has opened up a bit with the team averaging four yards per carry over the last two games. It’s not great, but it’s progress and shows that both the coaches and players are willing to do whatever it takes to rectify the issues on the field, even if Williams’ time as a running back isn’t sustainable.

The Horned Frogs’ flaws haven’t disappeared just because of the two wins. TCU still lacks a running back it fully trusts. doesn’t have the depth it would prefer on the defensive line and turns the ball over too much.

But you don’t need to be perfect to win and the Horned Frogs are finally understanding that. After showing it can grit out tough wins, now the next question for TCU is when will the team play its first complete game of the season?

“We’re going to have to play better,” Dykes said. “If we’re going to make any noise we have to play better... I’m excited and anxious for us to play a good football game on offense and defense together. We haven’t done that yet, but I’m excited about what this team can be if we can get to that point where it can happen.”