After securing a decisive victory over Nicholls State, the Frogs head south to give Big 12-newcomer Houston their first taste of conference play.
Thus far, Houston has looked pedestrian to say the least. It barely squeaked out a victory against UTSA in week one and dropped a double-overtime game last weekend against J.T. Daniels and the Rice Owls after being down as much as 28-0.
With both of their opponents being from a Group of Five conference, the Cougars have not looked prepared to play a Power Five opponent.
But what happened to Houston? How can a team that went 8-5 last season with a bowl victory be struggling early?
The NFL Draft.
Houston had four key players drafted.
Safety Gerrvarius Owens and defensive end Derek Parish both were selected in seventh round of the NFL Draft. Additionally, star quarterback Clayton Tune was selected in the fifth round by the Cardinals and star wide receiver Nathaniel “Tank” Dell was selected in the third round by the Texans.
This has created quite the void in the offense for the Cougars as now they look to Texas Tech transfer Donovan Smith to lead the way this season.
For the Frogs, this week is all about getting into a rhythm, as the team still believes they have a long way to go even after the large victory against Nicholls State.
“I wanted to see us get in sync offensively and we really failed to do that,” said head coach Sonny Dykes in his postgame interview. He added that Nicholls State kept the team off balance.
TCU went 4/12 on converting third downs and, even with a solid 26/30, two-touchdown night, quarterback Chandler Morris shared the same sentiment as Dykes.
“I thought we did some good things, but we gotta do better finishing drives and eliminating turnovers,” he said.
The receiving room looked a bit different last week as the leading receivers were Warren Thompson and Jordyn Bailey. Coach Dykes noted that Savion Williams and JP Richardson were dealing with nagging injuries.
On the defensive side of the ball, the second team defense shined when given their opportunity in the fourth quarter, forcing two turnovers that led TCU to run away with the game.
Cornerback Mark Perry spoke to the growth of the defense.
“We went back to work and worked on the things it takes to be a good defense,” he said.
Between both second team units shining, look for them to get more opportunities this weekend.
The Frogs open as 7.5-point favorites and will look to be 2-1 coming into the battle for the Iron Skillet at home next Saturday against cross-town rival SMU.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at TDECU Stadium in Houston and broadcasting on FOX.
