TopFrog
Lifelong Frog
TCU football coach Sonny Dykes delivers candid message about state of program
By Steven Johnson
TCU coach Sonny Dykes opened his weekly press conference ahead of Saturday’s matchup at No. 25 Houston seeking a do-over.
After the Horned Frogs were blown out 44-13 by BYU, the Star-Telegram asked Dykes what he would say to a fan base that is worried the program is headed in the wrong direction with TCU being 20-15 since 2023.
Dykes initially responded with: “I can also sit here and say we’re whatever we are in the last 13 games [9-4]. Or I could sit here and say we are what we are. ... People can say what they want to say.”
The final sentence sent TCU fans into a frustrated frenzy on social media. Dykes used his opening statement Tuesday to speak to the fan base and give a more detailed answer to those wondering if TCU is headed in the wrong direction.
“I answered that question without much thought,” he said. “I was pretty upset about our performance and the way we competed. I’ve had an opportunity to think about that now. Our expectation is always to win every game we play. ... When we came here we started 12-0, and that raised everybody’s expectations. ... There’s been some monumental changes that have occurred in college football, and the game has changed a lot. It’s a lot different. We’re navigating some uncharted territory, but it doesn’t change our expectations, and our expectations are to win every game.”
It was clear that Dykes wanted to reassure those around Fort Worth that he cares deeply about the Horned Frogs falling short of their preseason expectations.
And to be fair to Dykes, postgame press conferences can often be emotional, especially when you’re on the wrong side of a blowout like TCU was.
Dykes had a lot more to say, as he continued for roughly three minutes.
“We always want to [win every game], and when we don’t, we’ll do whatever it takes to get better,” Dykes said. “To give ourselves the best chance to do that, whether that’s scheme, whether that’s personnel, whether that’s strength and conditioning, nutrition, recovery, all of the things, the people we have in the building, everything. It’s always being evaluated, and our focus is to get back where we can have that type of football team again.
“We’re in a league right now that is highly competitive. It’s a lot different version of the Big 12. I coached in the Big 12 in the 2000s at Texas Tech before TCU was in the league. The league has evolved in terms of everybody is fully committed to football and everybody knows how important it is to their program. There have been some teams that have made substantial monetary commitments, and I think we’re one of them that understands how important it is for this university to play football and win at a very high level.”
As he reached the conclusion of his statement, Dykes acknowledged that the program has fallen short of the standard it set, but still believes the program is in a good spot overall.
“We’ve fallen short a couple times this year, and that’s never OK. It’s never OK for us not to play to our potential as a program” Dykes said. “We’ve done it before, we did it in 2022, we’ve proven we can do it. Now our job is to go out and do it again. You look at the parity across the game right now, it’s unprecedented, it’s unique. But it’s our job to find our place in college football and find a way for us to football games and compete for championships.
“That’s my expectation. I think that’s the expectation of my boss [athletic director Mike Buddie] and his boss, for us to play at a really high level and to put a product on the field that everybody can feel good about and be proud of. I can assure you that is our goal every day, to field a team that’s going to win every game. ... We don’t ever stop that from being our goal. That’s my answer to that question when it’s not at 1 a.m. and not after getting my tail kicked.
“If you fall short of the expectations, you have to find out what you can do better. I can assure you right now that’s happening in our program.”
By Steven Johnson
TCU coach Sonny Dykes opened his weekly press conference ahead of Saturday’s matchup at No. 25 Houston seeking a do-over.
After the Horned Frogs were blown out 44-13 by BYU, the Star-Telegram asked Dykes what he would say to a fan base that is worried the program is headed in the wrong direction with TCU being 20-15 since 2023.
Dykes initially responded with: “I can also sit here and say we’re whatever we are in the last 13 games [9-4]. Or I could sit here and say we are what we are. ... People can say what they want to say.”
The final sentence sent TCU fans into a frustrated frenzy on social media. Dykes used his opening statement Tuesday to speak to the fan base and give a more detailed answer to those wondering if TCU is headed in the wrong direction.
“I answered that question without much thought,” he said. “I was pretty upset about our performance and the way we competed. I’ve had an opportunity to think about that now. Our expectation is always to win every game we play. ... When we came here we started 12-0, and that raised everybody’s expectations. ... There’s been some monumental changes that have occurred in college football, and the game has changed a lot. It’s a lot different. We’re navigating some uncharted territory, but it doesn’t change our expectations, and our expectations are to win every game.”
It was clear that Dykes wanted to reassure those around Fort Worth that he cares deeply about the Horned Frogs falling short of their preseason expectations.
And to be fair to Dykes, postgame press conferences can often be emotional, especially when you’re on the wrong side of a blowout like TCU was.
Dykes had a lot more to say, as he continued for roughly three minutes.
“We always want to [win every game], and when we don’t, we’ll do whatever it takes to get better,” Dykes said. “To give ourselves the best chance to do that, whether that’s scheme, whether that’s personnel, whether that’s strength and conditioning, nutrition, recovery, all of the things, the people we have in the building, everything. It’s always being evaluated, and our focus is to get back where we can have that type of football team again.
“We’re in a league right now that is highly competitive. It’s a lot different version of the Big 12. I coached in the Big 12 in the 2000s at Texas Tech before TCU was in the league. The league has evolved in terms of everybody is fully committed to football and everybody knows how important it is to their program. There have been some teams that have made substantial monetary commitments, and I think we’re one of them that understands how important it is for this university to play football and win at a very high level.”
As he reached the conclusion of his statement, Dykes acknowledged that the program has fallen short of the standard it set, but still believes the program is in a good spot overall.
“We’ve fallen short a couple times this year, and that’s never OK. It’s never OK for us not to play to our potential as a program” Dykes said. “We’ve done it before, we did it in 2022, we’ve proven we can do it. Now our job is to go out and do it again. You look at the parity across the game right now, it’s unprecedented, it’s unique. But it’s our job to find our place in college football and find a way for us to football games and compete for championships.
“That’s my expectation. I think that’s the expectation of my boss [athletic director Mike Buddie] and his boss, for us to play at a really high level and to put a product on the field that everybody can feel good about and be proud of. I can assure you that is our goal every day, to field a team that’s going to win every game. ... We don’t ever stop that from being our goal. That’s my answer to that question when it’s not at 1 a.m. and not after getting my tail kicked.
“If you fall short of the expectations, you have to find out what you can do better. I can assure you right now that’s happening in our program.”
