It is that magical time of year when nearly every team outside of Lincoln still sits undefeated and locker rooms are filled with unbridled optimism, overflowing enthusiasm and limitless potential. Excitement in Fort Worth centers around a massive cultural and philosophical overhaul in the program. At the same time, a quiet confidence has been building inside the University of Colorado Champions Center that belies outside perceptions of the program’s progress.
On the heels of a disappointing 5-7 2021 campaign, longtime Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson lost favor within the athletic department. All coaches have a shelf life, and despite a twenty-year run that saw TCU reach heights not seen since the days of Davey O’Brien and the program’s two national championships, a 21-22 record over the past four seasons highlighted that Patterson had reached his expiration date.
The Frogs will visit Boulder under the direction of first-year head coach Sonny Dykes who promises to energize both the offense and the atmosphere around the program. Dykes returns to Fort Worth following a successful four-year stint at SMU where his Air Raid offense helped the Mustangs post a 47-17 record. Offensive Coordinator Garrett Riley, younger brother of USC head man Lincoln Riley, followed his head coach across town and will help Dykes install the up-tempo, pass-heavy offense.
2021 starting quarterback Max Duggan returns after passing for 2,048 yards, 16 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, but former Oklahoma transfer Chandler Morris is presumed by many close to the program to be the favorite to take the reins of Dykes’ offense. Morris was electric in last season’s upset victory of Baylor and brings an extra dynamic to the offense. The coach has indicated that both quarterbacks will see the field against CU, along with explosive redshirt freshman Sam Jackson.
Whichever quarterback is on the field, he will have a bevy of options to distribute the ball to, as TCU’s receiving corps is expected to be amongst the best in the conference. Led by pre-season All American Quentin Johnson who set a Big-12 record with 20.4 yards per reception last season, the unit is deep with six returning contributors and several promising newcomers. Savion Williams, Taye Barber and Geor’Quarius Spivey round out the starting pass catching quartet.
What remains to be seen is whether the offensive line that struggled in pass protection last season will provide any of the possible quarterbacks ample time to exploit the talent in the wide receiver room. Both Duggan and Morris were frequently running for their lives in 2021 and each missed significant time due to injury. Stalwart senior Steve Avila will slide over to guard this season and SMU transfer Alan Ali will slot in at center. A healthy Wes Harris should help bolster the interior of the line, but both returning tackles struggled mightily in the passing game last season and will need to significantly improve their pass protection for the pass-focused offense to get untracked.
What the line did do well in 2021 was open up lanes in the running game to the tune of nearly 200 yards per game. Despite the transfer loss to Ole Miss of last season’s leading rusher Zach Evans, Kendre Miller and Emari Demarcado lead a four-deep group of backs for the Horned Frogs. The duo combined for more than 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Miller ranked near the top of the NCAA with 7.4 yards per carry and has big play ability that complements the bruising Demarcado. Louisiana transfer Emani Bailey and redshirt freshman Trent Battle round out the rotation.
While the offense is unlikely to fire on all cylinders out of the gate and the offensive line needs to prove itself, especially on the edges, Dykes did manage to construct the 18th ranked offense in the nation last season at SMU and has far more talent to work with at Texas Christian. Even when operating efficiently, the Air Raid puts pressure on its own defense. If it takes a while for all the moving parts to come together, it could get very ugly for a TCU defense that is re-tooling after a disastrous 2021 season.
Much of Patterson’s success in Fort Worth was derived from the Frogs’ vaunted 4-2-5 defense, but the wheels came off last season. TCU allowed 462 yards and 35 points per game in 2021. They couldn’t stop the run, sack the quarterback, get third-down stops or generate turnovers. Dykes will never be confused with a defensive mastermind and that side of the ball has been a bugaboo for him at each of his three previous stops.
Joe Gillespie has the tall task of rebuilding the Horned Frogs defense, following a three-year stint as the defensive coordinator at Tulsa. The good news is that he returns a lot from last year’s team. That may also be the bad news. The first order of business for Gillespie is to retool the front seven. The defense is moving to a three-man front that relies on bigger bodies to eat up space and demand double teams.
The front returns Dylan Horton who led the team in sacks (4) last season from his edge spot. Former defensive tackle Terrell Cooper will slide out to man the other end and 325 pound true freshman Damonic Williams has been tabbed as the starting nose tackle. Williams is a true man-child who won’t turn 18 until after his first collegiate action this weekend.
The linebacking group is experienced and largely adequate. Although their roles and responsibilities have changed with the new scheme, last season’s two leading tacklers in Dee Winters (74) and Jamel Hodge (60) return. They are joined by Navy transfer Johnny Hodges who finished with 50 tackles for the Midshipmen last season.
The strength of the defense appears to be the secondary led by senior cornerback Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson and senior safety Millard Bradford. Sophomore Bud Clark is expected to slot in at free safety and the trio is joined by a pair of transfers in cornerback Josh Newton (ULM) and safety Mark Perry (Colorado).
With largely the same front six as last year, the Frogs are counting on schematic changes to free up linebackers in the run game and bring rushers from different angles to pressure the quarterback. With new assignments, techniques and terminology, it may take a few games to iron things out before this year’s defense will be able to show that it is materially better than last year’s.
Offensively, Colorado faces many of the same questions that confront TCU this season; a new offensive coordinator (Mike Sanford) of their own, an unsettled quarterback competition and the departure of last season’s leading rusher. Play calling and quarterback play should be better than a year ago under Sanford, regardless of whether it is Brendon Lewis or J.T. Shrout under center, but much of the weight will fall on a reshuffled offensive line and their new position coach (Kyle DeVan).
The Buffs anonymous offense features few household names. The running game will feature 2019 starter Alex Fontenot, who returned last season from injury and started three games, and Deion Smith who adds an element of explosiveness. Phil McGeoghan’s receiving corps is expected to feature Baylor transfer R.J. Snead alongside Daniel Arias, last season’s breakout receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig and Maurice Bell who showed promise before a pre-season injury cost him the 2021 campaign. Senior captain Brady Russell will be the featured tight end and should have an expanded role in Sanford’s offense.
Defensively, Colorado returns seven significant contributors from last year’s squad that played better than its stats but fell victim to the offensive struggles. Chris Wilson’s front seven should be the strength of the team. Up front, seniors Terrance Lang and Guy Thomas will man the edges while juniors Na’im Rodman and Jalen Sami add 630 pounds of beef on the interior. It is nearly impossible to replace Nate Landman, but West Virginia transfer Josh Chandler-Semedo is about as good as you could ask for. Flanked by former Oklahoma transfer Robert Barnes and redshirt freshman Marvin Ham II, the linebackers should feast on opportunities created by the front four.
CU’s secondary will be completely retooled this season, following the off-season transfers of starters Christian Gonzalez, Mekhi Blackmon and Mark Perry. Senior safety Isaiah Lewis returns, along with a quartet of sophomores who all saw extensive action last season as freshmen. Trevor Woods is listed as the other safety alongside Lewis, Nikko Reed and Kaylin Moore will start at the corners and Tyrin Taylor will be the starting nickel back. It is a young, but talented group that will need the front four to put increased pressure on the quarterback as they grow into their roles.
While both teams are retooling, Karl Dorrell has a two season lead in establishing his foundational culture. It hasn’t all been pretty, but the pieces are starting to come together. TCU was 1-4 on the road in 2021, 0-4 to finish the season. The Horned Frogs have only one win outside of Texas in the last two years. Colorado finished 3-0 at home last season and Boulder is never an easy place to play, especially with a Friday night, under the lights atmosphere. It won’t take much for Colorado’s offense to be significantly better than 2021 and the Horned Frogs’ defensive woes will take some time to straighten out. TCU will put up some offensive numbers, but Sonny Dykes’ attack won’t yet be in full effect. CU will take advantage of the Air Raid’s propensity for quick three-and-outs, the offense will run the ball effectively and the defense will play well enough to hold off TCU late. It’s tough to win on the road, especially when you haven’t done it in a while.
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