From Friends to Foes in the 2025 Alamo Bowl

How two coaches’ long and winding road leads back to one another

Nov 18, 2023; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs head coach Sonny Dykes during the game between the TCU Horned Frogs and the Baylor Bears at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

After coaching on the same sideline nearly 19 years ago, Sonny Dykes and Lincoln Riley will face each other head-on in the 2025 Alamo Bowl.

Their relationship goes back to Lubbock, where the pair coached side by side for four seasons from 2003 to 2006.

After spending six years with five different programs, Dykes was hired as the wide receivers coach in 2000 for Mike Leach’s Red Raiders. Three years later, the two would meet when Riley joined as a walk-on quarterback in the spring of 2003. But with a crowded quarterback room, Riley began his coaching career as a student assistant. He would go on to work with the offense for the next three seasons before becoming an offensive graduate assistant in 2006.

At that time, Dykes was the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. But with Dykes leaving the program for Arizona State in 2007, Riley took over as the inside wide receivers coach in 2008 and 2009. He was the offensive playcaller for the Red Raiders in the 2009 Alamo Bowl, when Texas Tech topped Michigan State 41-31.

Now in 2025, Dykes and Riley will meet again. It has been an up-and-down season for the Horned Frogs, who, despite going 8-4 overall, struggled in Big 12 conference play with just a 5-4 record. The team’s road woes and lack of ball security proved detrimental, but they can change the feeling around the program on December 30.

It will be the first time the Horned Frogs have played in the Alamo Bowl since beating Stanford 39-37 in 2017. TCU will continue to hold onto its magic from its miraculous comeback against Oregon in 2026, led by the great Bram Kohlhausen.

This time around, the Frogs will face a tough No. 16 USC Trojans (9-3, 7-2 Big 10) team that has been prolific in Riley’s fourth year as head coach. That said, the Trojans will be missing some key pieces on both sides of the football due to injury and the upcoming NFL Draft. The list includes NFL hopefuls Makai Lemon, Ja’Kobi Lane, and Lake McRee–the Trojans’ three leading receivers.

What’s Next for the Horned Frogs?

Sonny Dykes and the TCU Horned Frogs (8-4, 5-4 Big 12) will continue their preparations for the 2025 Alamo Bowl. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. CT from The Alamodome in San Antonio, TX. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.