TCU

[Ramrouser]

Hello PonyFans: TCU heads to Chapel Hill on Monday night to face the Tar Heels. You guys scored almost 70 points on them last season. Is their defense that bad or were you so good? Also, worried a bit about their QB and offense. Any insight on the Horned Frogs you could provide would be appreciated.

I'm greatly impressed by what you accomplished last year and good luck to you this season. It looks like you've found your footing in a Big 4 Conference. Daughter lives in Oak Lawn near your campus so I'm looking forward to a road game whenever it is finally scheduled.

Cheers!

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

To be honest, I haven't really followed TCU's offseason. So I'm not sure what they will bring to the table this year. As far as last year's game, I'd say it was a little bit of both. SMU had the superior team, and TCU's defense was not great. Also, their offensive line was a mess at that point in the season last year and they couldn't pick up a first down on 3rd or 4th and short to save their lives. I was at that game and it was a whole lot of fun to whip their asses at Ford Stadium for the first time in almost 20 years.

While I don't know too much about TCU coming into this season, I do know they are returning their QB Josh Hoover, who IMO is very good. Having said that, his two biggest targets last year were Jack Bech and Savion Williams. Both were outstanding. . .and both have now moved on to the NFL. Not sure what the Frogs have coming up behind them at WR. Due to their suspect O-line, the Frogs really struggled to run the ball consistently (at least against us). They will need to improve that big-time to challenge for the Big-12 this season.

We play TCU annually for the Iron Skillet trophy, and the series has been going for over 100 meetings. But the Frogs decided to pull the plug on the Iron Skillet so this year's game at Amon Carter will be the last meeting for the time being. Even though its non-conference, I really hope we beat them and keep the Iron Skillet for however long those losers refuse to play us.

When it comes to the ACC, UNC is perhaps the biggest mystery for me. I really have no idea what to expect from you guys this year under Belichick. So I will be interested to see how the game against TCU goes for you. I wish you all the best!!

[JasonB]

Hello PonyFans: TCU heads to Chapel Hill on Monday night to face the Tar Heels. You guys scored almost 70 points on them last season. Is their defense that bad or were you so good? Also, worried a bit about their QB and offense. Any insight on the Horned Frogs you could provide would be appreciated.

I'm greatly impressed by what you accomplished last year and good luck to you this season. It looks like you've found your footing in a Big 4 Conference. Daughter lives in Oak Lawn near your campus so I'm looking forward to a road game whenever it is finally scheduled.

Cheers!

TCU last season significantly underperformed the quality of their roster. Yes, record wise they finished 9-4 which looks pretty solid. But if you actually double click, their best win of the season was against an "ok" Texas Tech team.

They played a really, really soft schedule, which helped boost the record. If you look at the teams with a winning record in the Big 12 last season, from top to bottom, they didn't play Arizona State, BYU, Iowa State, Colorado, lost to Baylor, Beat Tech, didn't play K State. The majority of the schedule was against the bottom half the league, and still managed to lose against terrible UCF and Houston teams.

The longer Sonny has been there, the more his tendencies have borne out. offensively, they are reliant on the passing game and explosive plays from WR. The running game wasn't good last season, especially early. When they are effective in the passing game and can hit on explosives, they score points. But the lack of a consistent running threat hurts them, especially in the red zone. The offensive line wasn't great last season, and if you can dominate them up front you can force a lot of inconsistency. The QB is really good, though. Perfect QB for Sonny because he likes to take shots down the field. Not a runner, but does a great job evading the rush.

Defensively, they weren't very good last season. Especially bad against the run, but had a good secondary. They do a really good job of limiting explosives, but the front 6 play has really gone down under Sonny, which tends to be another trend of his teams. When you look at their performance against teams that finished over .500 in conference, we scored 66, Tech scored 34, Baylor 37. So good and decent teams scored points on them. Even Stanford put up 27.

I'm not sure how well they have reloaded in the offseason. You will find out . But I suspect that if you bring your running game and shut down big plays in the secondary, you should walk away with a win. I picked us to lose @TCU in my season predictions, but after diving into the numbers, I think I might regret that pick.

[EastStang]

TCU according to the pundits has very good talent. But in the coaching match up of Belichek v Dykes. Belichek is the winner of that one. Dykes was our coach for a few years and while he took the program up, he made a lot of silly coaching moves in game. Most notable was the game against UH. We scored the apparent winning touchdown with under a minute. Rather than kick a squib kick, he kicked off to the leading kickoff return man in the country. The guy ran it back for a TD with seconds remaining. So, if its close, you guys have a shot.

[Roach]

The difference, as EastStang says, is coaching. Dykes is up to his old tricks: he'll ride a very good QB to some good numbers, and will fade as games get bigger. Belichick is arguably the greatest coach who ever lived. Hopefully that gets UNC a big win Saturday, but once BB gets his players to Chapel Hill, TCU will want no part of continuing that game.

[Topper]

All I know is that Hoover could probably start for just about any team in the ACC with the exceptions of SMU, Miami, Clemson and Georgia Tech. They had some bad defensive play last season and their O Line was suspect. But they have solid recruiting classes just about every year. There is some talent on that team and I don't like the fact that we are playing them in Fort Worth after embarrassing them so badly last year.

[Hoofbeat83]

Win!

[Ramrouser]

Thanks everyone for your insightful comments. Yes, this year's UNC team is a complete mystery even to UNC fans. We've added around 70 players to our roster (most after spring practice) so it's a brand new team. Combine that fact with BB's famously secret practices and closed lips press conferences. We have virtually no intel on the team.

Good luck to your season and I'll be following it from my home in Atlanta.

[Dukie]

I'm looking forward to this game. Will Sonny continue his tradition of team performance sliding as a year or three go by? What defensive formation and offensive sets will Jordon pick for the Holes? (And will her new need to prosecute her US PTO application to trademark "Gold Digger" distract her from her coaching duties?)

Got my popcorn!

[EastStang]

Oh, and TCU's QB may be a furry.

[Ramrouser]

There is a debate among the fans whether Jordon will be allowed on the sidelines and what outfit she'll be wearing. If so, the cameras will likely follow her they way they follow Taylor at Chief's games. Personally, I don't see how Bill keeps her out of the spotlight for the game since she enjoys it so much and a national audience will be watching.

[EastStang]

Isn't Jordan in the family way? Not sure how tight she'll want those outfits.

[ShantyBoy]

Screw the toads. I hope NC curb stomps them.

[malonish]

Oh, and TCU's QB may be a furry.

So? Should they focus on putting out more mascots? This doesn't matter much for football lmao.

Edit: photo confirmed as a hoax

[malonish]

Anyway, you might want to watch the entire game here if you want to witness how last year went.


https://youtu.be/C2p0cMmw7Pk?si=4fUSrro35DAbn59t