The water’s getting deeper for TCU in 2026.
The Horned Frogs are 2-2, recently losing their Big 12 opener at UCF and having fallen to North Carolina in Week 0 as well.
Sonny Dykes’ team is among the most penalized in the country, with his own future in Fort Worth appearing to be in question. Frustrations for TCU have even reached the point of a players-only meeting occurring ahead of Saturday’s matchup with No. 10 BYU.
Cougars on the air
No. 10 BYU (3-0,1-0) at TCU (2-2, 0-1)
Saturday, 5 p.m. MDTAt Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TexasTV: ESPNRadio: 102.7 FM / 1160 AM
“I think that those guys took initiative, you know, they felt the same things,” Dykes told reporters Tuesday of the players’ meeting. “They felt like we haven’t performed as well as we need to. We obviously did not need to point that out to them, our guys are highly invested.
“As I’ve said from the beginning, I like this team. I like the fact that they really like each other, they care about each other, they’re accountable to each other. So I was pleased that those guys wanted to get together, talk about some things and try to do everything within our power to play better.”
Dykes is 38-19 at TCU, leading the Horned Frogs to the national championship game in 2022 and posting 9-4 records in each of the past two seasons. However, TCU hasn’t factored into the Big 12 title race since the magic of 2022, and many now view the program as moving in the wrong direction. The concerning start to the 2026 season certainly hasn’t helped dispel such belief.
“I would say not as much as we need to,” Dykes said, responding to being asked if he feels his team is playing with confidence. “That to me has been a little bit of an issue.
“… It goes back to coaching. If you’re not playing well, it’s always coaching, and we always have to look at ourselves first. It always begins with us, and the players are a product of how we’ve coached them. We just have to improve in those specific areas.”
It’s a tough time for the Horned Frogs to be low on confidence, as the No. 10-ranked, College Football Playoff-caliber Cougars come to town Saturday fresh off their bye week and looking for their first win in Fort Worth since 2006.
TCU and BYU were fierce rivals in the Mountain West Conference, but that past animosity hasn’t quite boiled so hot since reuniting in the Big 12. The Horned Frogs smacked the Cougars 44-11 in 2023, while BYU returned the favor with a 44-13 victory last year in Provo.
Dykes, who calls Kalani Sitake a “close friend,” shared his respect for how Sitake has elevated BYU’s program since joining the Big 12, saying that he feels the 2026 Cougars are “probably his best team.”
“It goes back to coaching. If you’re not playing well, it’s always coaching, and we always have to look at ourselves first. It always begins with us, and the players are a product of how we’ve coached them. We just have to improve in those specific areas.”
— TCU coach Sonny Dykes on his team’s uneven start to the 2026 season
“It was a little rocky at first (for BYU in the Big 12), you know what I mean? It took a little bit of time for (Sitake) to get it going, and the thing that’s impressive is they’ve gotten better,” Dykes said.
“I think that he had a vision for what the program needed to be. I think the fact that he had been around and he had seen what the program looked like when it was really well-run, organized and kind of executing at its peak, I think he knows the formula for BYU, understands the place, and has really consistently just gotten better.”
Continued Dykes, “I think they’re playing to their strengths. They’ve always had big offensive linemen. They’ve always been able to go recruit physical guys and they’ve always played a physical brand of football. I think that’s their mentality, that’s the way that they’re built, limiting mistakes and running the football.”
Against TCU in 2025, BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier enjoyed arguably the finest outing of his decorated freshman campaign, completing 70% of his passes for 296 yards and a touchdown while adding 56 yards and another score on the ground.
Bachmeier has proven to be even better as a sophomore, especially in the passing game, giving the Horned Frogs their biggest defensive challenge to date.
“I think that he’s really dialed in with what they’re doing and how they’re doing it,” Dykes said of Bachmeier. “I mean, they just don’t make mistakes. This is a team that very seldom turns the ball over, very seldom has penalties, stays ahead of the chains, runs the football consistently.
“And then the quarterback, he can run the football,” he continued. “He’s a big, strong runner. He’s also a really good thrower, and they’ve got more speed at wide receiver now than they’ve had in the past, they’re getting the ball down the field, taking shots down the field.
“He’s been really accurate on their shot passes, and that’s created a lot of big plays. So he’s a guy right now that’s just dialed in, playing at a really high level, executing about as well as you can and playing with a ton of confidence.”
Losing to BYU would put TCU at 2-3 and in danger of missing a bowl game, while upsetting the Cougars would breathe new life into the Horned Frogs’ season — and cool off Dykes’ hot seat.
“We’re disappointed, we’re hurt, but we realize if we sit around and pout about it, that’s not going to make it better,” Dykes said. “… We obviously are evaluating every aspect of our program, trying to figure out why we’re not playing as well as we need to play to win games.
“We talked about this when the season started, a big point of emphasis for us is the number of one-score games that we’re going to play in and the formula to win those games, and that’s win the turnover battle and limit penalties and mistakes.
“Unfortunately for us in those two (losses), we haven’t done those things. So we’ve got to figure it out as a staff and investigate every reason why that’s been the case.”
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake and TCU Horned Frogs head coach Sonny Dykes talk at midfield before the game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News