Can TCU Find a Cure for Cyclone Syndrome?

The Horned Frogs are once again faced with trying to figure out a team that's had their number for almost a decade.

Iowa State Cyclones' quarterback Rocco Becht (3) passes the ball against TCU during the first half in the Jack Trice Legacy Game at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, in Ames, Iowa. | NIrmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

TCU broke its case of Appalachian Affliction a couple of weeks ago against West Virginia. That’s all well and good — it’s always great when a long-time illness goes away — but the pain might not be over. You see, the Horned Frogs have also been diagnosed with Cyclone Syndrome. The symptoms? They can’t take down Iowa State.

Just like with Appalachian Affliction, Cyclone Syndrome is unexplainable. It doesn’t make much sense, but it exists regardless. How the Frogs, with superior talent and resources, continuously fail to upend the chippy folks from Ames is beyond comprehension.

Since 2017, the Frogs are 2-5 against Iowa State. The good news is that they’re 2-1 in Fort Worth. The bad news is that the other four losses have been so abysmal that any of the silver linings don’t make up for it. The moral of the story is that if TCU were to come out on top on Saturday, then — just like against West Virginia — it’d be breaking a spell that’s been afflicting it for almost a decade.

Recent History Hasn’t Been Kind to the Horned Frogs Against Iowa State

Oct 28, 2017; Ames, IA, USA; DUPLICATE***TCU Horned Frogs quarterback Kenny Hill (7) thows a pass against the Iowa State Cyclones in the second quarter at Jack Trice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

The first symptoms popped up in 2017 when the No. 4 Horned Frogs marched into Ames and promptly saw their undefeated dreams come to an end as the Cyclones completely shut down Kenny Hill and the rest of the offense en route to a 14-7 win. TCU’s lone touchdown came on a 94-yard kickoff return by KaVontae Turpin. It was an outright disaster, and it stopped all the momentum the team had in its tracks.

After a close 17-14 triumph in Fort Worth the following year, TCU then lost three games in a row, all of which were downright crushing. The first was a 49-24 blowout in 2019 that signaled the season probably wasn’t going to be all that successful (the Frogs finished 5-7 and missed a bowl).

The next loss came in 2020, a year that was confusing and weird for everyone, and that chaos showed up on the field. Future San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw a backward interception (or was it a fumble?) that still defies logic, Breece Hall ran for 154 yards and three touchdowns, and Matthew Downing started at quarterback for TCU before being replaced by Max Duggan midway through the game. What’s even stranger is that only about 11,000 fans were in the stands to witness it. Just bizarre.

Oh noooo 😬 pic.twitter.com/t2eRZKq5G6

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 26, 2020

The Frogs then got their doors blown off in 2021 with a 48-14 loss in Ames in the final game of the season. Knowing the context of that game — TCU had let go of Gary Patterson earlier in the month, and the team had nothing to play for — makes that defeat a bit more excusable. Still, getting blown out by Iowa State was never something that was in the cards when TCU entered the Big 12 in 2012.

That’s what makes all this so confounding. Prior to 2017, TCU owned Iowa State. In fact, in the eight matchups between the two teams before Cyclone Syndrome’s onset, the Horned Frogs were 7-1 against the Cyclones. Now, however, that seems so far away.

Is There Any Hope to Break Cyclone Syndrome?

TCU and Iowa State didn’t play last year, but they did in 2022 and 2023. Everybody’s aware of the team’s successes in 2022, and that played itself out in a 62-14 win for the Frogs. In 2023, though, disappointment followed yet again with a 27-14 loss that still stings a little bit to this day. Three different players on TCU threw an interception – Chandler Morris (2), Josh Hoover (1), and J.P. Richardson (1) – and Iowa State ran for what felt like a thousand yards. It was just not a pretty sight.

So, as the team comes out of its bye and gets ready to play on Saturday, there’s some hope that the bad times against Iowa State will come to an end. Cyclone Syndrome is not easily eradicated, but should TCU come up with a cure, it should be in good shape moving forward. Of course, if the disease continues to spread and there’s just no way out, then it might be time to go to the doctor and get some help.