2023 TCU Horned Frogs Season Review
My, what a difference a year makes. One year ago, at this time, first-year head coach Sonny Dykes and the TCU Horned Frogs were preparing for the College Football Playoff en route to their appearance in the national championship game. But most of the key assets recruited by former coach Gary Patterson departed after the final loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. Without that same lineup, TCU stumbled out of the gate with a Week 1 home loss to the Colorado Buffaloes and never recovered. TCU will not go bowling in 2023, and Dykes will be hitting the recruiting trail and transfer portal hard to try and get the program back on track. The honeymoon for Dykes has ended, and he is on the clock.
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2023 TCU Horned Frogs Season Recap
Last game, the TCU Horned Frogs lost 69-45 against the Oklahoma Sooners as 10-point road dogs. The game went over the total of 63. TCU has a record of 5-7 straight up, 5-7 against the spread, and 4-8 over/under the total. TCU ranks 13th for total offense, 7th for passing, 69th for rushing and 43rd for scoring. Defensively, they rank 103rd overall, 115th against the pass, 77th against the rush, and 83rd for points allowed. Also, TCU ranks 28th for fewest turnovers lost and 105th for takeaways.
Dillon Gabriel passed for 400 yards and three touchdowns to help Oklahoma defeat TCU. TCU made it tough in the second half before the Sooners pulled away. The Horned Frogs needed a win to become bowl-eligible and fell short a year after playing for the national championship.
Drake Stoops caught 12 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown for the Sooners. Stoops and Gabriel were honored on Senior Day before the game, and both got loud ovations as they came off the field in the final minutes.
Gavin Sawchuk ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns for the Sooners, who won their final regular-season Big 12 game. They will join the Southeastern Conference next season.
Josh Hoover passed for 344 yards and four touchdowns, and Emani Bailey ran for 150 yards, caught a touchdown pass, and ran for a score for TCU.
Gabriel, who left the previous game with an upper-body injury, started and completed a 50-yard pass to Nic Anderson on his first throw. Two plays later, he ran up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown.
Later in the quarter, Gabriel found Jayden Gibson deep down the field. He caught the ball and held up a finger while crossing the goal line as a TCU defender pulled helplessly on the back of his jersey. The touchdown gave the Sooners a 14-6 lead.
Oklahoma continued to pour it on during a first half in which Gabriel moved up from 10th to seventh in FBS history in yards passing. He passed Luke Falk, former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, and Kellen Moore. He passed for 278 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score before the break to help the Sooners take a 42-16 lead.
One year later, TCU has gone from the penthouse to the outhouse.
2023 TCU Horned Frogs Football Schedule
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
SCORE |
RECORD |
| Sep 2 |
vs. Colorado |
L 42-45 |
0-1 |
| Sep 9 |
vs. Nicholls State |
W 41-6 |
1-1 |
| Sep 16 |
at Houston |
W 36-13 |
2-1 |
| Sep 23 |
vs. SMU |
W 34-17 |
3-1 |
| Sep 30 |
vs. West Virginia |
L 21-24 |
3-2 |
| Oct 7 |
at Iowa State |
L 14-27 |
3-3 |
| Oct 14 |
vs. BYU |
W 44-11 |
4-3 |
| Oct 21 |
at Kansas State |
L 3-41 |
4-4 |
| Nov 2 |
at Texas Tech |
L 28-35 |
4-5 |
| Nov 11 |
vs. Texas |
L 26-29 |
4-6 |
| Nov 18 |
vs. Baylor |
W 42-17 |
5-6 |
| Nov 24 |
at Oklahoma |
L 45-69 |
5-7 |
When the Southwest Conference folded after the 1995 season, the TCU Horned Frogs football program was written off for dead. From 1960 through 1997, TCU qualified for just three minor bowl berths. Attendance was puny, and losing was the tradition. But when Dennis Franchione arrived in 1998, everything changed. In three seasons, Franchione led the Horned Frogs to three bowls and a 10-win season.
When Franchione departed, it was feared that he would take all of that success with him. Franchione’s top assistant, Gary Patterson, took over. Following a 6-6 rookie season, Patterson became the greatest coach in TCU history. TCU was so successful under Patterson that it graduated within eight years from Conference USA to the Mountain West to the Big 12 Conference. Patterson finished 181-79 with six conference championships.
Sonny Dykes took the program that Franchione and Patterson built to the next level in 2022 with a spot in the national championship game.
2023 College Football Schedule
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