The Frogs lost 45-42 to Coach Prime in his Power Five debut, but it was a sweet tease of the future Big 12.

TCU went back and forth against Deion Sanders and Colorado. Neither team took a large lead and the Frogs had to fight for every yard they got. TCU didn’t have a lead over the Buffs until the end of the third quarter, which they quickly gave up just two minutes later.

But they lost to pretty much two players. Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders went 37/48 with four touchdowns and a total of 510 passing yards, a new school record for Colorado.

The Buffs running back Dylan Edwards was the complementary piece. He had 135 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. With his legs, he added one more touchdown and 24 yards rushing.

TCU head coach Sonny Dykes also mentioned Travis Hunter and credited him for his hard work. He played corner back and wide receiver for the Buffs and made one of the two interceptions in the end zone.

“Travis Hunter was phenomenal,” said Dykes. “He made play after play after play, defensively and offensively.”

The Frogs did hold down the Colorado running game, only allowing 55 rushing yards in total, but in regards to the defense as a whole, Dykes was blunt.

It was “a really bad defensive performance.”

TCU missed a plethora of tackles, which Dykes said led to the loss more than any surprises from Coach Prime’s squad. He also credited the Buffs for their performance on the field.

“They showed up and seemed like they wanted to play better than we did,” said Dykes. “If we play like that, we’re not going to win many football games.”

In a three-point loss, it’s easy to look at TCU’s all-conference kicker Griffin Kell missing a field goal early in the game, but it was hardly the sole reason the Frogs didn’t score enough.

Quarterback Chandler Morris had two intercepted passes in the red zone, both at the goal line, and a few others that might should have been picked off.

The Frogs still managed to total over 40 points on 541 yards of offense.

Running back Emani Bailey was a big part of that offense, setting the Frogs up for success. He didn’t reach the end zone, but still racked up 164 yards rushing, including one that got the Frogs out from their own 2-yard line. That run ended up being 74 yards.

“He did a great job,” said TCU quarterback Chandler Morris after the game. “Emani [Bailey] is very reliable and he’s always gonna do his job.”

Bailey left the game early due to a cramp.

A running back that got familiar with the end zone was Alabama transfer Trey Sanders, who made an appearance three times, including once that put the Frogs up by four with seven minutes left in the game.

The impressive performances by the Frogs were overshadowed by some bad defense. One explosive play was Major Everhart’s 86-yard kick return, which allowed running back Trey Sanders to reach the end zone for the third time.

“The guys we count on to win football games didn’t perform at the level we expect them to,” said Dykes.

But Morris said today isn’t the end of the season.

“This moment is not gonna define us as a football team, it’s going to refine us,” he said.

Overall, Dykes admitted his team didn’t seem up to the challenge. He said they came out flat. Cornerback Josh Newton agreed.

“Being excited to play is that important,” said Newton. “We have 11 other ball games to win.”

The Frogs also struggled with penalties. They had 10 penalties, which totaled 78 yards compared to the Buffs, who had 6, totaling 35 yards.

Up next

The Frogs stay at home to take on Nicholls State at 7 p.m. next Saturday, Sept. 9.