TCU Has Plenty To Fix During Bye Week After 2-3 Start

FORT WORTH - TCU’s bye week arrives at a useful time.

The Horned Frogs are 2-3 overall and 0-2 in Big 12 play after a 17-10 loss to No. 9 BYU, and the biggest issue is becoming difficult to ignore: the offense isn’t producing enough points against quality competition. 

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That should make offensive consistency the first priority for Sonny Dykes and his staff.

TCU has scored just 23 combined points in its first two Big 12 games, losing 21-13 at UCF and 17-10 to BYU.

Against the Cougars, quarterback Jaden Craig threw for 187 yards, Jeremy Payne rushed for 77 and Kari Ashley had 108 receiving yards, but the Horned Frogs still managed only one touchdown. 

The bye should be used to find more explosive plays, especially in the red zone and on early downs. TCU moved the ball at times against BYU, but too many drives stalled before producing points.

Another obvious goal is getting the running game more consistent. Payne was productive against BYU, but TCU had only 33 rushing yards at UCF the previous week. That kind of week-to-week fluctuation makes it difficult to keep pressure off Craig. 

Defensively, the Horned Frogs have something real to build on.

TCU held BYU to just 216 total yards and 62 passing yards, keeping the Frogs within one score almost the entire night. That effort should reinforce the idea that the defense is capable of carrying its share if the offense can give it more support. 

The final goal should be mental: reset before the schedule becomes unforgiving.

TCU returns Oct. 17 at Baylor, then faces West Virginia, Kansas, Arizona, Kansas State, Utah and Texas Tech to close the regular season. 

At 2-3, the Horned Frogs haven’t lost their season.

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But they’ve lost most of their margin for error.

The bye week should be about turning a team that has shown flashes of competence into one that can finally finish drives, protect the football and start winning close Big 12 games.