TCU HORNED FROGS NOTES:
ABOUT THE GAME
No. 3 TCU will make its first College Football Playoff appearance when it faces No. 2 Michigan in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
The Horned Frogs and Wolverines will be meeting for the first time on the gridiron. TCU’s last game against a Big Ten opponent was a 34-13 win at Purdue in 2019.
TCU is the first school from the state of Texas to make the College Football Playoff and just the second team (Michigan, 2021) to be in the CFP after starting the season unranked.
TCU has won 12 games for the fifth time in its history and first since 2014. This season, like 2014, saw the Horned Frogs picked to finish seventh in the Big 12.
TCU’s five wins over ranked opponents is tied with Tennessee for the national lead.
TCU is 2-0 against Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. The Horned Frogs won 38-36 and 31-14 against Stanford in the 2007 and 2008 seasons, respectively, when Harbaugh was head coach of the Cardinal.
The Horned Frogs will play in their first bowl game since the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl, a 10-7 overtime win against Cal at Chase Field in Phoenix. TCU was selected to the 2020 Texas Bowl versus Arkansas, but the game was canceled.
TCU will be playing in its second Fiesta Bowl and game at State Farm Stadium, having dropped a 17-10 decision to Boise State in 2010.
TCU will play outside the state of Texas for just the fourth time this season and first since Oct. 29 at West Virginia. The Horned Frogs’ last five games, covering all four contests in November and the Dec. 3 Big 12 Championship, were in Texas.
TCU will be playing in its 35th bowl game and has a record of 17-16-1.
TALKING HORNED FROGS
TCU was the first Big 12 team to be 12-0 since Texas in 2009. The Horned Frogs were also the first Big 12 member to go 9-0 in conference play since Oklahoma in 2016.
Five of TCU’s wins were against teams it lost to by at least two scores last season, including four by at least three scores.
TCU is the first team since 1975 to win seven straight games by 10 points or less.
Sonny Dykes became the first head football coach in TCU and Big 12 history to start 12-0 in his first season. He’s just the fourth head coach nationally since 1996 to accomplish the feat.
The Horned Frogs are just the third team since 1960 (Stanford, 2012; Iowa, 1960) to win four consecutive games over ranked opponents in a calendar month.
TCU’s four consecutive games with a win over a ranked opponent ties for first nationally since 1996.
TCU already has seven more wins than it had all of last season. Only Tulane (+9) has a bigger improvement.
MEET THE NEW BOSS
Sonny Dykes is in his first season as head coach of the Horned Frogs and second overall at TCU.
Dykes has won six National Coach of the Year awards this season in addition to being the unanimous Big 12 Coach of the Year.
Dykes was an offensive analyst on the 2017 TCU team that posted an 11-3 record, played in the Big 12 Championship Game and finished the season with a No. 9 national ranking, its last top-10 appearance.
Dykes was head coach at SMU the previous four seasons (2018-21). He led the Mustangs to three consecutive winning records for the first time since the mid-80s and their first back-to-back victories over TCU since 1992-93.
Dykes also served as head football coach at Cal (2013-16) and Louisiana Tech (2010-12).
He is the son of legendary Texas Tech Head Football Coach Spike Dykes (1986-99).
Sonny Dykes lettered two seasons in baseball at Texas Tech.
GIVING BACK
Jordy Sandy is donating $20 to Fort Worth’s Hope Center for Autism for every punt inside the 20-yard line. Sandy has a 9-year-old cousin with autism back home in Australia. He has totaled $300 with 15 punts inside the 20 this season.
TCU SUPPORT
Since it began Big 12 play in 2012, TCU has had over $400 million in donor-funded athletics facilities upgrades. The most recent project was the $113 million Legends Club & Suites which opened in Fall 2020 on the east side of Amon G. Carter Stadium.
THE COMEBACK
TCU’s 47-41 triple-overtime victory over Oregon in the 2016 Valero Alamo Bowl was one of the more memorable games in college football history.
TCU trailed 31-0 at the half and recorded the largest comeback in school history. The previous best under head coach Gary Patterson had been 18 points (at BYU, 2005; at Kansas State, 2015).
The 31-point comeback tied the largest for any bowl game in history. Texas Tech rallied from 31 points down against Minnesota to win 44-41 in overtime in the 2006 Insight Bowl.
The 31 points tied for the second-largest comeback all-time in an FBS game. Michigan State rallied from 35 points down to beat Northwestern 41-38 in 2006.
Since Texas Tech’s 31-point comeback in the 2006 Insight Bowl, teams had been 0-1,463 when trailing by at least 31 points at any point in the game.
Quarterback Bram Kohlhausen and linebacker Travin Howard were named the Offensive and Defensive Most Valuable Players.
For the second straight year, TCU set a school record for points in a bowl game. The previous mark was set in the 42-3 2014 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl win over Ole Miss.
The 94 plays by TCU broke its bowl record of 87 set in the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl.
TCU set a school bowl record with 545 yards of total offense. The previous record of 494 came in the 2003 Fort Worth Bowl.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
IN CHARGE
Offensive Coordinator Garrett Riley served the previous two seasons under Sonny Dykes at SMU.
The younger brother of USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley, Garrett Riley guided one of the nation’s most prolific offenses with the Mustangs.
Prior to his time at SMU, Riley spent the 2019 season as running backs coach at Appalachian State. He also spent three seasons (2016-18) at Kansas. From 2013-15, Riley was at East Carolina. He was the outside receivers coach in 2015, when consensus All-American and Biletnikoff Award finalist Zay Jones caught 98 passes.
EXPLOSIVENESS
TCU tops the nation with 19 plays of 50-plus yards and is tied for second with 10 plays of at least 60 yards, trailing only Tennessee (11).
TCU is tied with Tennessee atop the FBS with 13 offensive touchdowns of at least 50 yards. However, thanks to a pair of Derius Davis punt returns and a Josh Newton Pick 6, the Horned Frogs are in sole possession of first with 16 total touchdowns of 50-plus yards.
TCU and Tennessee are the only FBS teams averaging at least 270 yards per game passing, 200 rushing and have at least 30 passing and 30 rushing touchdowns.
SETTING THE PACE
Below is a look at TCU’s rankings in the Big 12 and nationally in several major offensive categories:
OFFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT
TCU has the nation’s sixth-most improved offense in points per game this season: Team 2021 2022 Difference TCU 28.7 40.3 +11.6
The Horned Frogs are 21st among Power 5 programs and 34th nationally for improvement in total offense per game:
TCU scored 62 points and had 377 yards against an Iowa State team that was eighth nationally in scoring defense (16.5 points per game) and sixth in total defense (277.3 yards per game) entering the game.
Iowa State had not allowed more than 31 points this season with only two teams scoring above 24. TCU had 24 points in the first quarter.
TCU’s 62 points were its most in a game since a 63-0 win over Jackson State in the 2017 opener.
The 48-point victory was TCU’s largest in a Big 12 game since beating Iowa State 55-3 in 2014.
TCU scored at least 34 points in its opening nine games for the first time in program history. It is on pace for 564 points this season, which would rank second all-time at TCU (604, 2014).
TCU’s 479 yards in the first half against Oklahoma were the most nationally in a half versus an FBS opponent this year. TCU finished with a season-high 668 yards for the game.
The Horned Frogs had four touchdowns of at least 62 yards against Oklahoma:
TCU is the only program nationally with four touchdowns of that length against an FBS opponent this season.
AGE IS JUST A NUMBER
Despite being listed as a redshirt freshman, Chandler Morris is older than senior Max Duggan.
Morris was born Dec. 26, 2000, with Duggan’s birthday being March 12, 2001.
With the 2020 season providing a free year of eligibility due to COVID and only playing four games last season to preserve a redshirt, Morris has three years of eligibility remaining after this season.
AMONG THE NATION’S BEST
Below are Max Duggan’s national rankings on passes thrown of at least 20 yards:
Duggan is first in the Big 12 and eighth in the nation in passing efficiency with a 165.5 rating.
In TCU’s four straight October wins over ranked opponents, he had 15 total TDs and one interception.
Duggan is tied with Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud for second among Power 5 quarterbacks with 16 touchdown passes of at least 20 yards. Washington’s
Michael Penix Jr. leads with 17.
Duggan has accounted for three or more touchdowns in eight of his 12 starts this season.
Duggan’s 36 touchdowns responsible for (30 passing, 6 rushing) is third in a season at TCU, behind only Trevone Boykin (42, 2014; 40, 2015).
The 371 yards passing was a TCU bowl record, breaking the previous mark of 275 in the 2005 Houston Bowl, while the 47 pass attempts broke the record set in 2009 at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
TURNAROUNDS
SportSource Analytics ranks TCU’s defense No. 1 in the nation for the largest percentage improvement in points per possession allowed this season compared to last year.
TCU ranks second among Power 5 programs and sixth in the FBS for most improved in points per game allowed this season:
TCU is fifth in the Power 5 and 10th in the FBS for largest improvement in yards per game allowed from last season:
CONSISTENCY
Six players on defense have started all 13 games with nine starting at least 12 contests. TCU started the same 11 on defense in its opening five games.
IT’S A HODGE THING
Three of TCU’s 11 defensive starters are linebackers Jamoi Hodge and Johnny Hodges as well as cornerback Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson.
THE VETERAN
Sixth-year defensive lineman Terrell Cooper tops all TCU defensive players and ranks second on the team with 39 career starts.
SECOND HALF STINGINESS
TCU has allowed just eight offensive touchdowns in the second half of its last eight games:
TCU forced a 3-and-out on Baylor’s final two series to set the stage for its comeback.
Texas Tech totaled 96 of its second-half yards in the final minutes with TCU comfortably ahead. The Red Raiders were 3-of-16 on third-down conversions.
West Virginia was held to 54 yards on 20 snaps in the fourth quarter.
The first Kansas State game saw TCU hold an opponent scoreless in the second half for the first time since a 10-7 win against Cal in the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl. The Wildcats were also held to four first downs and 87 yards of offense over the final two quarters.
Oklahoma State had 32 yards in the fourth quarter.
The following is a comparison of first- and second-half yards allowed by TCU the last eight games:
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
DAVIS FOR 6
Derius Davis is the nation’s leader among active players with five career punt returns for touchdowns.
With his 82-yard punt return for a touchdown against Texas Tech, Davis became TCU’s all-time leader:
Davis tied Turpin’s record in the season opener at Colorado when his 60-yard punt return for a touchdown provided TCU’s first points of 2022.
The five punt returns for touchdowns by Davis are on just 43 career attempts.
Davis leads the Big 12 and is fourth nationally this season with his average of 13.9 yards on 17 punt returns. He has a 20.1 average on kickoff returns, including a long of 57 yards at SMU.
Combined with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against West Virginia last season, Davis has six career special teams scores. He is tied with Turpin for the top spot in TCU history:
Davis’ 100-yard return of the opening kickoff versus West Virginia in 2021 was TCU’s first kickoff return for a touchdown since Turpin went 99 yards against Oklahoma in 2018.
It was the first time TCU returned the game’s opening kickoff for a touchdown since at least 1996.
The 100-yard kickoff return by Davis tied for second-longest in TCU history (105 yards, Charles Casper versus Texas, 1933). It was the Horned Frogs’ longest since B.J. Catalon went 100 yards against LSU in 2013.
A PUNT RETURN TRADITION
The following are the six Horned Frogs with punt returns for touchdowns since 2012:
Name Season
Deante’ Gray, vs. Grambling State 2012
Cameron Echols-Luper, at Kansas 2014
KaVontae Turpin, vs. Kansas 2015
KaVontae Turpin, vs. South Dakota State 2016
KaVontae Turpin, vs. Kansas 2017
Desmon White, vs. Stanford 2017
Derius Davis, vs. Southern 2018
KaVontae Turpin, at SMU 2018
Jalen Reagor, vs. Kansas 2019
Jalen Reagor, vs. West Virginia 2019
Derius Davis, at Baylor 2020
Derius Davis, at Kansas 2020
Derius Davis, at Colorado 2022
Derius Davis, vs. Texas Tech 2022
The returns by White, Davis and Turpin (2017-18) make TCU the only FBS school in the nation since 1996 with a punt return for a touchdown by three different players in three consecutive games.
BACK DEEP
Shadrach Banks, a 250-pound linebacker and former wide receiver in high school, has returned three kickoffs for 81 yards this season. He had a long of 37 at Kansas.
FROM DOWN UNDER
Jordy Sandy, from Traralgon, Australia, is in his fourth season as TCU’s punter. He is 29 years old.
Before arriving at TCU, he worked with scaffolding and paper mill companies in Australia.
Sandy has a 39.6 average this season with 15 of his 52 punts landing inside the 20, including seven inside the 10. He has just three touchbacks.
TCU has allowed only five punt returns for 29 yards this season.
Sandy increased his season average each year heading into 2022:
Year Att. Avg. I20 I10 TB LG 50+
2019 61 38.4 25 12 5 55 9
2020 57 41.0 24 10 3 55 8
2021 43 43.3 13 6 3 64 8
Sandy’s 43.3 average in 2021 ranked fifth for a season in TCU history and was the program’s best since Ethan Perry’s 44.5 mark in 2012:
Name Average
Chris Becker, 1986 46.1
Ethan Perry, 2012 44.5
James Gargus, 1981 44.2
Chris Becker, 1987 44.0
Jordy Sandy, 2021 43.3
Sam Baugh, 1935 43.0*
*Led the nation
Sandy had a career long 64-yard punt versus Cal last season, the longest by a Horned Frog since Perry’s 67-yard boot against Minnesota in 2014. He added a 62-yard punt versus Texas that was downed at the 1-yard line.
Sandy was rated by 247Sports as the No. 5 punter in the Class of 2019. He was ranked No. 1 in Australia.
SPLITTING UPRIGHTS
Griffin Kell had a 40-yard field goal as time expired to give TCU a 29-28 win at Baylor.
It was TCU’s first game-winning field goal on the final play of regulation since 2014, when Jaden Oberkrom nailed a 37-yard kick to beat West Virginia 31-30 in Morgantown.
Kell, from nearby Arlington, was trained by Oberkrom, a 2015 All-American and the Big 12’s career leader in field goals made with 79 (2012-15).
Kell had a career long 54-yard field goal, fifth-longest in TCU history, against Iowa State.
Kell is 16-of-18 on field goals this season with 15 of those makes in the last nine games. One of his two misses was blocked while the other, a 55-yard attempt in the Big 12 Championship Game, was just wide.
Kell is 45-of-57 on field goals in his career, including a 25-yard field goal with 6 seconds to play to give TCU a 31-28 win over Kansas last season. He made three field goals (30, 46, 24 yards) in the 30-28 win over Baylor in 2021.
Kell’s 45 career field goals rank sixth in TCU history:
Name Career Field Goals
- Ross Evans, 2008-11 56
- Chris Manfredini, 2005-07 47
- Griffin Kell, 2019-present 45
Kell’s streak of 12 consecutive made field goals, dating back to last season, was snapped on his first attempt at Texas. The 12 straight makes tied for fifth-longest in TCU history
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES NOTES:
GAME NOTES NOT AVAILABLE
