Sonny Dykes Speaks Candidly On TCU's Keys To Success In Win Over USC

The No. 16 USC Trojans lost to the TCU Horned Frogs in the Alamo Bowl, 30-27, as TCU walked away with an overtime win on a 35-yard touchdown reception by Horned Frogs running back Jeremy Payne. After the game, TCU coach Sonny Dykes discussed the win over USC, noting the Horned Frogs' success in the red zone.

“You look back on this game, I don't know how many competitive PBUs Bud had, but a bunch, you know what I mean? Where the ball was in the air and a guy had a chance to make a play, and Bud Clark just fought harder and he didn't made a play. That was the deal defensively, was three times, holding them to field goals, and that's obviously difference in the game.”

USC Trojans TCU Horned Frogs Alamo Bowl College Football Sonny Dykes Lincoln Riley Jayden Maiava Tanook Hines King Miller — Dec 30, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; TCU Horned Frogs head coach Sonny Dykes watches from the sidelines against the Southern California Trojans in the second half during the Alamo Bowl at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“And then when we got down there in the red zone, we scored touchdowns. Thought we had the catch with me and Jack, which would have made it a little bit easier, but wouldn't have been as fun for Jeremy to be able to finish the way he did. So I'm glad it worked out the way it did.”

Everything Sonny Dykes Said After Beating USC

“First of all, I just want to tell these guys thank you. I told them this, I think today, before we left the hotel. I mean, it's really been the honor and privilege of my life to get to coach these guys. This is my fourth year at TCU. And there's been some guys that have been here from the very beginning. And those guys are just incredibly special. They hung around when there was a coaching change.”

“In year number one, it goes so good, and year number two doesn't go so great. And there's just been some ups and downs. And those guys have never wavered. They're just, theur character, who they are, just all of it is just, I couldn't be more proud.”

“And the guy sitting up here, I mean, Bud and Caleb and Jeremy and Ken, I mean, they're just such good people, and I'm so blessed to get to go to work every day and be around these guys. They truly mean the world to me. So, proud of what they did tonight. It took, it took a special effort to find a way.”

“That's kind of what we talked about last night, after Bram Kohlhausen came and talked to us a little bit. That was kind of his message, is, you got to find a way. And these guys found a way today. And it wasn't always pretty. Third quarter was about as ugly as offensive football as I've been a part of,but we found a way, you know, defense kept hanging in there, and it kept playing hard, and got the stops that we needed to give us a chance to win.”

“And then guys made plays down the stretch. I mean, Ken did a great job checking the ball down there on third down, and we were trying to get in field goal range and probably anticipating kicking a 45-50 yard field goal. And Jeremy (Payne) just took it over and made a play. So, I'm so proud of these guys. Great win for TCU, and I think something that will always remember.”

Sonny Dykes On Andy Avalos Preparing Defense Against USC

“The great thing about Andy is he didn't make it about him. You know what I mean? I mean, I know it meant more to him. He never talked to me about it. I'm guessing he didn't talk to the defensive players about it. That's just who he is. He's just a guy that pours his heart and soul into into the players, and, it takes a lot of pride in their performance. And just really, he did a tremendous job getting them ready.”

“USC’s a very talented football team and very well coached. I mean, they did a great job with their schemes and what they did and, they were down some players, and they still went out and did a great job. And again, that's credit to coach Riley and his staff and and their players.”

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How Mitch Kirch Did Calling Plays

“Yeah, really good. I mean, we started slow. Ken talked about it, and we just, we didn't convert to third and shorts in the first half and that hurt us and kind of slowed us down. But once we got into a rhythm, we really started moving the ball, and scored the two back to back touchdowns on those drives, and really had a ton of momentum going into halftime, came out the third quarter, I expected us to kind of pick up where we left off, and we just struggled.”

“And to Mitch his credit, we're down 10 and if you're a young play caller, and I had to learn this when I began calling plays 20 years ago. You've to treat the game as if it's a 0-0 game. You got to call it that way, because, you start dropping back and taking shots, and things can snowball, and especially against a talented defensive front like that. And he did a great job. I mean, he kept his composure. He didn't panic.”

“There was tremendous communication among all the coaches, and I thought everybody did a good job of being patient. We talked to the players. Hey, look, it's just a one play at a time thing, and we'll get back in this game and and again, you can say that, but those guys have to believe it, and the only way that they can believe it is they have to believe in themselves and their preparation and all the things that they've done to put themselves in that position.”

“And we had 13 bowl practices, I believe, and never one time did anybody dog it. And when we had some adversity, you know, you're starting quarterback says he's not playing a game, that's adversity.”

“And everybody stepped right up. Everybody said, Okay, we got, we got their guy in the building that can do this in Ken and you have to believe it. And the only way that you can go out and do what he did today is you have to prepare yourself every single day for two years, and you have to be incredibly unselfish in order to do that, and he did it, and he got to live a dream tonight. He'll remember it the rest of his life. I'll remember the rest of mine. And it's just fun to be a part of it.”

Sonny Dykes On Gil Jackson And True Freshmen Stepping Up

“Yeah, Gil is awesome. He showed that kind of perseverance. Look at Gil, and you look at Terry, and they got forced into some action tonight. We had some guys that were down, and they've been preparing all year and looking for their opportunity. We just talked about it. We just talked about it in the locker room. That's what very successful people do. They show up every day, they go to work, and they don't get an opportunity. They do it again the next day, they don't get an opportunity. They know at some point that opportunity is coming and they're ready.

And Gil was ready. Terry was ready, obviously, Ken was ready. Jeremy's proven that over and over again as a young player, and Bud was the same way. I mean Bud, and you go back and look at the national championship here, I mean, he a young player out there playing in these big football games, and gain confidence from that, and it helped him become the kind of player that he is now.”

“And excited to watch these guys after they leave TCU, and what's next for them and their journey in the NFL, because they're going to be very successful people. And I can't wait to watch.”

Sonny Dykes Calls Big 12 Most Competitive Conference

“Man, I could sit here and talk for hours about changes that I think need to be made, and the playoff and all the stuff, but it's a difficult task. I mean, there's a lot of things that you have to juggle, and lot of things that have to align themselves to make it work.

“I believe the Big 12 is the most competitive conference in football. I really do believe that, from top to bottom, anybody can win any given Saturday, and it makes it a very difficult conference to win. It was hard for us when we went 12-0 first year, there were only nine teams in the league, or 10 teams in the league at that time. We played everybody, and so you kind of had a real champion. Now with the addition of the teams, it's just, the league's gotten stronger.”

“Texas Tech obviously had a tremendous year. That's a really, really solid football team. I felt the same way about BYU. Felt like BYU probably should have been included in the playoff. They were 12 win team. Lost two games to Texas Tech, and that's it.”

“But it's like anything else. I think when you have an opportunity like we did in ‘22 you have to go win. We beat Michigan. Michigan lost one game in two years. That was to us. And so we had to go do that for the league. Texas Tech needs to go win some games for the league. And as that happens, and as teams win games, I think the league gets more respect, because, like I said, Man game in, game out, there's no league tougher from top to bottom.”

“Now, maybe not as many teams at the top as there is in the SEC or maybe the Big Ten, but the bottom teams and the Big 12 are crazy competitive. And so anyway, it's a hell of a league and, you know, hard to win it.”

Everything Sonny Dykes Said After Beating USC

Sonny Dykes On Andy Avalos Preparing Defense Against USC

How Mitch Kirch Did Calling Plays

Sonny Dykes On Gil Jackson And True Freshmen Stepping Up

Sonny Dykes Calls Big 12 Most Competitive Conference

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