Big 12 Title Race Heating Up as TCU Resumes Play

TCU returns to action at home against Iowa State this Saturday following a much-needed bye week.

The bye week allowed the Horned Frogs to get healthy, recover from the long trip to West Virginia, and, in many ways, just hit the reset button.

“I feel like we still have not played our best football,” TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said at his weekly press conference. “And so, we were banged up [after WVU] and we probably would have had six starters out, maybe, offensively had we had to play the next week … I think our guys are fresh. I think we're going to have a chance to be fully healthy and play with everybody, which is good.”

TCU (6-2 overall, 3-2 Big 12) needs a healthy roster over the final four weeks of the season as it is still technically in the hunt for a spot in the Big 12 championship game. The Horned Frogs are one of four teams with two Big 12 losses, and BYU (8-0), Texas Tech (8-1), and Cincinnati (7-2) currently sit in the top three spots of the conference standings. Texas Tech and Cincinnati each have one conference loss.

“Unfortunately for us, we did not leave ourselves any wiggle room, and I think our guys understand that and the bar is raised really high,” Dykes said.

Even if TCU misses out on the Big 12 title game, the next four games could define this season. The road ahead will be tricky, though, since the remaining opponents have a combined 27-8 record.

Road trips to BYU and Houston (7-2) loom alongside the season finale at home against Cincinnati (7-2). Iowa State is the other team on the list, coming in with a 5-4 record.

“You like to have the same mindset for every game, but what we've been saying since November started is ‘They remember November,’” tight end Chase Curtis said. “And you really have to, I mean, you have to turn it up in November because everybody else is.”

Iowa State (5-4, 2-4) is searching for answers after starting the season 5-0 and then dropping four straight. The Cyclone’s last win came on Sept. 27 against Arizona, and its preseason Big 12 title hopes have essentially disappeared. During this four-game conference skid, three of the losses have come by eight points or less.

Injuries have contributed to the Cyclones' recent downturn. Last week, the team’s top pass catcher, tight end Ben Brahmer, left the game on a stretcher after taking a hard hit to the head. He has since been released from the hospital.

On defense, All-Big 12 defensive backs Jeremiah Cooper and Jontez Williams suffered season-ending injuries earlier this year, and backup Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman is out too.

Nov 1, 2025; Ames, Iowa, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils tight end Chamon Metayer (7) is tackled by Iowa State Cyclones defensive back Marcus Neal (31) during the first half at Jack Trice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

“When you lose two of the better players in the league, I mean, it's tough to replace those guys,” Dykes said. “The guys that have come in, I think, have done a really good job, but there's obviously a drop off, just from an experience standpoint.”

The Cyclones rank in the top half of the conference in scoring (22 points) and total yards allowed (366 yards), but struggle getting off the field on third down. Opponents convert 38% of third down attempts, a number that ranks just ahead of TCU, (40%) Baylor (40%), and Oklahoma State (48%).

“They're a bunch of physical dudes and they fly around,” Curtis said. “They'll drop eight [in coverage]. They're going to make passing the ball at some points hard. But, we gotta run the ball, we gotta be physical, and everything else will take care of itself.”

Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht has been up and down throughout conference play, completing 58.7% of his passes for 1,442 yards, six touchdowns, and six interceptions. Iowa State’s rushing attack is solid, averaging 4.4 yards per carry and 164 yards per game. Running back Carsen Hansen averages 76.6 rushing yards per game.

Despite the recent struggles, Dykes expects Iowa State to play with the same physicality and toughness that have defined head coach Matt Campbell’s teams since his arrival in Ames nine years ago.

“They're not going to beat themselves. They're going to be physical,” Dykes said. “They're always going to have something new for you that you have to adjust and adapt to. And, at the end of the day, and, I believe this, it's all about getting a team to play at its potential. And I think that, consistently, Iowa State plays for their potential.”

TCU and Iowa State will kick off at 2:30 p.m. from Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday. The game will be televised on FOX.

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