TCU coach Sonny Dykes looking for more from Horned Frogs after back-to-back 9-win seasons

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — 2025 record: 9-4

TCU coach Sonny Dykes isn’t satisfied with back-to-back nine-win seasons.

“I think we’ve been pretty good,” Dykes said. ”Being great really is about reaching your potential as a team, and I don’t think we’ve done that in the last three years.”

The Horned Frogs, who made the national championship game in Dykes’ first season, are going into his fifth with a new quarterback and two huge departures from the middle of the defense after both starting linebackers in their 4-2-5 scheme were NFL draft picks.

While trying to get to their first Big 12 championship game since 2022, the Frogs need Harvard transfer QB Jaden Craig and the offense to be efficient and effective. Craig comes in with new offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis, whose UConn squad last year had only two turnovers while averaging 445 total yards and 35 points a game. TCU had multiple turnovers in all four of its losses last year.

Josh Hoover threw for 9,627 yards, 71 TDs and 33 interceptions the past three seasons at TCU before transferring to reigning national champion Indiana to succeed Heisman Trophy-winning QB and NFL No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza.

The Frogs open the season Aug. 29 against North Carolina in Ireland. They beat the Tar Heels in coach Bill Belichick’s debut last season.

Craig, a 24-game starter at Harvard who set school passing records last season, has some talented returning skill players around him.

Running back Jeremy Payne ran for 476 yards in the final five games last season, and scored the game-winning TD in the Alamo Bowl for TCU on a 35-yard catch-and-run in overtime against Southern Cal when breaking multiple tackles. Returning receiver Jordan Dwyer (54 caches, 730 yards and seven TDs) will have an even bigger role after the departure of 1,190-yard receiver Eric McAlister.

In front of Craig will be potentially one of the Big 12’s top offensive lines, led by left tackle and third-year starter Ben Taylor-Whitfield (6-foot-6, 320 pounds) and a couple of other returners. The Frogs also added big transfers, including 6-4, 330-pount guard Noah McKinney (from Oklahoma State) and center/guard Jaheim Buchanon, a 25-game starter at FIU the past two seasons.

While the Frogs return third-year starting safety Jamel Johnson (96 tackles and Big 12-high five interceptions) and most of their defensive line, there are plenty of changes on defense.

Max Carroll, a fourth-year junior with one career start, is now the leader in the linebacker room. Michael Short, who could start with Carroll, played only four games at Virginia Tech last season.

In the secondary, Vernon Glover Jr. is coming back from a knee injury, while the Frogs also brought in several defensive backs through the portal.

Craig (transfer from Harvard), CB Teon Parks (transfer from Colorado), WR Jeremy Scott (transfer from FIU), TE Kari Ashley (transfer from Navarro Junior College).

Safety Bud Clark (drafted by Seattle), LB Kaleb Elarms-Orr (drafted by Buffalo), QB Josh Hoover (transferred to Indiana), WR Eric McAlister, LB Namdi Obiazor (drafted by New England).

vs. No. 14 BYU (Oct. 3), vs. No. 21 Utah (Nov. 21), at No. 12 Texas Tech (Nov. 26).

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FILE - TCU head coach Sonny Dykes walks the sideline during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Houston, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith, file)

FILE - TCU running back Jeremy Payne (26) celebrates with teammates after he ran for a touchdown against Southern California during overtime in the Alamo Bowl NCAA college football game in San Antonio, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, file)

2025 record: 4-8

West Virginia underwent wholesale lineup changes under second-year coach Rich Rodriguez as the Mountaineers chase an elusive Big 12 championship.

Injuries took a heavy toll in the first year of Rodriguez’s second stint with the team. The Mountaineers were among the lowest-scoring teams in the Big 12 despite being among the nation’s fastest-tempo offenses.

During the offseason West Virginia lost nearly three-fourths of its roster, including more than 50 who entered the transfer portal. The portal also brought in some potential standouts, especially on offense.

“We looked more for production as opposed to potential, guys that have been very productive, whether it’s at a Group of Five school or what have you, that started and played in college games and wanted to try to play at the highest level,” Rodriguez said.

West Virginia has yet to win a Big 12 championship since entering the league in 2012. Its last 10-win season was a decade ago and there's little reason to doubt that trend will end. The Mountaineers haven’t been ranked in the AP Top 25 since 2018, the longest drought among Big 12 schools and one of the longest in the Power Four.

Rodriguez hopes to get a big improvement out of a lackluster spread-option offense with the addition of quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. and running back Cam Cook, the nation's top rusher last season with 1,659 yards at Jacksonville State. Cook was selected to The Associated Press all-America third team.

Opening holes for them should be an offensive line that added a half dozen transfers along with Kevin Brown, a 6-foot-6 freshman who is expected to start at left tackle. Rodriguez admits that last year's unit lacked size.

Rodriguez has reunited with veteran offensive line coach Rick Trickett. The pair worked together at West Virginia from 2001 to 2006 before Trickett spent the next decade at Florida State.

West Virginia lost its top seven receivers from a year ago when the Mountaineers caught just 10 TD passes and only one player had more than 400 receiving yards. Jaden Bray is being counted on to be the centerpiece of this year's unit, but he'll have to stay healthy. Bray sustained season-ending foot injuries in each of the last two years in which he played a total of seven games.

Rodriguez also has spoken highly of 6-foot-5 Prince Strachan, who was limited by an ankle injury last season and played in just one game at Southern California.

West Virginia had five blowout losses, including a 49-0 setback to Texas Tech to end the season. The defense allowed a Big 12-worst 28 TD passes and 265 passing yards per game, eighth-worst in the nation. The defense returns just one of its top 10 tacklers and no one who started more than one game for the Mountaineers last season.

QB Michael Hawkins Jr. (transfer from Oklahoma), RB Cam Cook (transfer from Jacksonville State), WR DJ Epps (transfer from Troy), DB Andrew Powdrell (transfer from UNLV), DE Harper Holloman (transfer from Western Kentucky).

RB Jahiem White (transferred to North Texas), QB Nicco Marchiol (transferred to Northwestern), DB Fred Perry (graduated), LB Reid Carrico (graduated), RB Diore Hubbard (transferred to Wyoming).

Vs. Arizona (Oct. 10), at Texas Tech (Nov. 7), at Utah (Nov. 27).

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FILE - Jacksonville State running back Cam Cook (4) beats the grab attempt by Sam Houston defensive back Jaidan Scott, right, during an NCAA football game, Oct. 9, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke, File)

FILE - West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez shouts to his players during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona State, Nov. 15, 2025, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)