TCU Football: Tori's Thoughts - Survive the Chaos, Embrace the Season
College football is finally back.
No. 17 TCU starts the season against Colorado at 11 a.m. in Amon G. Carter Stadium. Big Noon Kickoff will be in Fort Worth along with Colorado’s headline-grabbing, first-year head coach Deion Sanders, or “Coach Prime.” As game day quickly approaches, here are a few things on my mind entering the 2023 season.
Offseason Turned into Episode of “Survivor" ... Is it Game Day Yet?
Every offseason is busy, but this one felt particularly chaotic.
The Big 12 welcomed four new universities on July 1 - UCF, BYU, Houston, and Cincinnati. Each school brings athletic programs that have had success in football and various Olympic sports and road trips to new areas of the country. Former West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen, who left West Virginia after the 2018 season, also returns as the Houston head coach. Holgorsen will face his old employer on Oct. 12.
Texas and Oklahoma’s SEC exit is drawing near, leaving a major target on their backs. Every other Big 12 team would love to beat the Longhorns and Sooners as they head out the door.
Things took quite a turn in late July, when Colorado announced it would join the Big 12 in 2024. This move felt inevitable after months of rumors and speculations that some Pac 12 teams might jump ship to the Big 12. Days later, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah followed suit. Washington and Oregon jumped to the Big Ten.
All this because USC and UCLA announced last summer that they are leaving for the Big Ten in 2024 (well, that and a new Pac-12 media deal presented in August that no school wanted to sign off on). The Pac-12 is all but gone.
At least TCU and the rest of the Big 12 can relax knowing the conference has a bright future ahead. Even better, soon there will be actual games to analyze.
Whew!
The “Coach Prime” Era Begins
Yes, Big Noon Kickoff returns to Fort Worth after visiting last November for the Texas Tech game, but the Colorado sideline will probably get most of the attention.
Coach Sanders, who has been nicknamed “Prime Time” since high school, and is in the NFL Hall of Fame as a cornerback, has been a polarizing figure this offseason. The new Buffaloes coach completely overhauled the roster. Just a handful of players return from Colorado’s 2022 squad while Sanders brought in an unprecedented number of athletes (some reports say more than 60) from Power 5 and Group of 5 teams through the transfer portal. His flashy approach has snagged several top recruits, including quarterback Shedeur Sanders (Sanders’ son) and cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter, a former No. 1 overall recruit.
Both Jackson State transfers followed Sanders to Boulder. Jackson State won the Southwestern Athletic Conference the past two seasons under Sanders while posting a 23-3 record.
Time will tell if Colorado’s house-clearing will provide the depth and talent needed to compete at the Power 5 level. Injuries can completely alter a season’s trajectory without depth. But this is Week 1. Injuries have not piled up, and everyone is amped up about a new season.
In theory, anything could happen.
Opening the “Coach Prime” era with a win over a top-20 team would just add more fuel to the Sanders’ hype train. Considering Colorado has won just nine games over the past three seasons (including a 1-11 finish in 2022), any positive attention is a welcome boost.
Chandler Morris Regains the Starting Role
For the second straight season, Chandler Morris will get TCU’s starting quarterback nod.
The offense has new faces at every position and lost nearly 60% of its production from last season. Oh, there is a new offensive coordinator, too. Miscues will happen at every position as everyone learns how to play off each other.
This includes Morris. Morris has limited experience over the past two seasons (103 pass attempts), and his stats currently tell an inconsistent story.
Morris showed what made him a top 20 dual-threat quarterback coming out of high school against Baylor in 2021. A record-setting performance in his first collegiate start set future expectations pretty high. That game was followed up by a blowout loss at Oklahoma State and a season-ending injury.
Morris looked uncomfortable as the starter in the 2022 season opener and posted an average stat line – 13-of-20 passes completed for 111 yards and 18 rushing yards on four carries – against one of the country’s worst defenses before leaving the game with an injury in the third quarter. Max Duggan took over, led the Horned Frogs to the national championship game, was the team’s undisputed emotional leader, and finished as a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Expecting Morris to pick up right where Duggan left off is unfair. Replicating the Baylor performance every game is unrealistic too.
Morris will face a learning curve as the starter. Maintaining consistent play week to week will not only help the offense find a rhythm, but it will make Morris a better quarterback. Then, those awe-inspiring moments might become a little more common.
Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the Killer Frogs message board community today!Follow KillerFrogs on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest TCU news!
Follow KillerFrogs on Facebook and Instagram as well. Download the KillerFrogs app on Google Play or in the Apple App Store.
Visit Buffs Beat, Colorado's FanNation site, to see what they are saying about the upcoming game with TCU.
