TCU's Defense Providing Bright Spot in 2-3 Start For Horned Frogs

TCU dropped its second game in a row and third in five games after falling short of a monumental upset over No. 10 BYU in a 17-10 defeat Saturday in Fort Worth.

The 2-3 record for the Horned Frogs is a 

Despite the losses outnumbering the wins, TCU has yet to be outright dominated by any opponent this year.

In their three losses, the Horned Frogs have been outscored by only 20 points with a total scoring margin of 53-33 across those defeats.

Those close results week after week are due in large part to an exceptionally strong and relatively unsung, at least outside of Fort Worth, performance from its defense.

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Throughout all five contests this season, no team has put up more than 21 points against the Horned Frogs and only one has broken 20, which was UCF two weeks ago in Orlando.

Even the top-ten Cougars floundered when faced with the defensive scheme posed by defensive coordinator Andy Avalos and TCU.

Before making the stop in Fort Worth, BYU was scoring an average of 44 points per game and had not scored less than 28 points at any point in its previous outings.

This strong showing has netted TCU an average of 13.4 points allowed, which ranks tied for 12th in the nation and second in the Big 12, behind only Utah, which is third overall.

To put that metric into perspective, No. 2 and unbeaten Georgia has posted an identical average as the Horned Frogs to begin the year.

In fact, TCU is the only team ranked within the top 15 of points allowed to have dropped multiple games up to this point.

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

While there is much to work on for head coach Sonny Dykes in the team's second bye week, it appears the defense can be put on the back-burner in favor of blatant issues that have cost them games.

It is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, as evidenced by the three losses through six weeks, but the defense has emerged as a possible cornerstone to build a new identity on as the gauntlet of Big 12 play resumes next weekend.

After tightening up in the bye week, TCU heads out for a rivalry showdown with Baylor in Waco on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. CT.

The Bears just hung 55 points on Arizona State in Tempe and have begun to ignite on offense. If TCU is able to snap its skid and grab bragging rights over one of its most bitter foes, the defense should be the biggest reason the Horned Frogs are able to do so.