Barring major injuries 9-3 to me is almost a worst case scenario.
I think we go 6-0 to start including a win at Ames. To follow up 3-3 against Texas, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Tech, OU and WV would be a major let down.
OSU, Baylor, Tech and WV should be wins even without all the changes.
Texas is a win unless things just go south and OU is OU.
Even with a loss at Ames I think we get to 10-2, but 11-1 is not unrealistic and who knows what the teams will look like when TCU and OU finally matchup near the end.
This Big 12 preview agrees with you.
https://sports.yahoo.com/big-12-preview-124800008.html
TCU 9-3 (6-3 in conference)
TCU Horned Frogs
2018 record: 7 - 6
Best NFL Draft prospect: Junior WR
Jalen Reagor. We're not done with the wideouts yet, and Reagor's explosive ability with the ball in his hands will make him one of the top at the position assuming he doesn't come back for his senior season.
The case for: TCU was a huge disappointment in 2018, and no, I'm not just talking about the Cheez-It Bowl. In fact, let's never talk about the Cheez-It Bowl again. That was the most inept offensive football game I've ever watched, and if it wasn't for the fact it became hilarious, I'd be traumatized for ever. Okay, enough about the Cheez-It Bowl.
As bad as the Horned Frogs' offense was for a large portion of the year, much of that was due to injuries, and assuming their attrition is kept to a low roar in 2019, they should be better. One of those players, of course, is Reagor, who underwent an operation in the offseason but is expected to be fully healthy for the fall. Here's a look at what he can do with the football:
And Reagor should have some help, too. We really like the tailback tandem of
Darius Anderson and
Sewo Olonilua, and we also like the fact that they're going to be running behind
Lucas Niang, who just might challenge Reagor as the top pro prospect on the team. The other wideouts are all inexperienced, but
Taye Barber caught 33 passes as a freshman, and should be a very solid -- maybe better -- second option behind Reagor.
The Horned Frogs lost a pair of defensive lineman to the NFL in
L.J. Collier and
Ben Banogu, but the front four should be fine in 2019, in large part -- literally and figuratively -- due to the defensive tackles.
Ross Blacklock is back after missing 2018 and should be among the best interior defenders in the conference, and
Corey Bethley was a very strong performer last year with five sacks. Losing Banogu and Collier hurts because of course it does, but TCU has a history of replacing these kind of talents, and South Carolina transfer
Shameik Blackshear and a host of other names should make this more strength than weakness.
Perhaps the biggest reason to be optimistic about TCU is that it's impossible to be as unlucky with injuries as the Horned Frogs were in 2019. The amount of talented players at all positions on both sides of the football that missed time for TCU last year was ridiculous. They can't possibly deal with that kind of injury volatility again, can they? Also, don't bet against
Gary Patterson. Just don't, ok?
The case against: Well, the obvious case against is the quarterback position.
Shawn Robinson was one of the more hyped "new" quarterbacks coming into the 2018 season, and the fact he now plays for Missouri tells you everything you need to know about how that worked out. There are a boatload of options to be the starter for the Horned Frogs, and we're only being slightly hyperbolic. You've heard that phrase that if you have two quarterbacks you have no quarterbacks? There were five guys legitimately competing for this job at one point, but now it's down to
Alex Deltonand
Max Duggan. Or so Patterson says. We dunno, and it's hard to get too excited about this team with the signal-caller position so unsettled.
Patterson and company usually have a pretty solid defense, but there are definitely some question marks here, as well. The defensive line should be fine, but the linebacker group lost four players in the rotation, including
Ty Summers, one of the better linebackers in the conference. The secondary should be okay -- particularly at corner with potential NFL player
Jeff Gladney -- but the loss of those pass-rushers will put a lot of pressure on the back four if players like Blackshear can't stand out. And, of course, if the quarterback play is an issue, it'll put even more pressure on this defensive group. Could be up to it, but, no guarantees
Vegas over/under win total: Vegas over/under win total: 7.5
Prediction: OVER
