One year and one day ago, Sonny Dykes landed in a helicopter at the center of Amon G. Carter Stadium, where he would become the new head coach at Texas Christian University. It was a nice introduction for a West Texan who was going to Fort Worth from Dallas.
Dykes is still adjusting to being the center of attention because he still hasn't lost a game in his career as the head coach of the Frogs. 3 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings and are playing for a Big 12 championship against No.
Right now, it's good to be Sonny. The craziness of his team's season has made them a national curiosity. There is an animated amphibian that has inspired fans and inspired the team. The creative team's post game videos are very strange.
He's going to travel all the way to play in the Big 12 title game. He could do that in style if he didn't want to take the bus. The coach's car was swapped for a loaner with the help of a Dallas car dealer who is also a graduate of the school.
He said he didn't want anything that fancy. I asked Dykes a question. Do you have a perfect record? I told him to get his ass in there. He looks like a person who drives an S-Class.
That is a Beverly Hillbillies reference, but Dykes is not moving back to California anytime soon. Six seasons after he was fired from Cal, he is in a position to make the playoffs for the first time.
There have been a lot of memorable moments for the Frogs. The tale of the 12-0 season is told here.
Ask any player on the team if they had a sense this year was going to be different and they will tell you the same thing. They heard from him and the strength coach when they arrived in the helicopter.
Wes Harris said that on the first day of school, they got a text from the coach telling them to be here early. We were not sure if it was possible. It brought everyone together and made them realize that we've always had the guys do it.
Steve Avila said that Kazadi didn't waste any time setting the tone.
He told the team in the first meeting that they would never see him again.
Before playing five years of pro football, Kazadi was a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, which is given to the nation's top middle blocker. He asks players if they have a bottle of water on them to make sure they are hydrated. Push-ups are done if they don't.
Kazadi is a trusted voice who spends more time with the players than anyone else.
He's different than most strength coaches. Matthew is Texas' minister of culture. I think he is the minister of culture. I fully trusted his instincts at one point. He wants the guys to be like everyone else. He has an element of sports psychology in his workouts. He sees time in the weight room as a chance to build the team.
The buy-in that first year coaches need is dependent on his role. The players welcomed the accountability that he demanded. His work has spoken for itself this season as he has seen his team wear teams out in the second half of games.
Before there were any dreams of a perfect season or a pressure-cooked playoff referendum every week, there was a return to SMU for Dykes. The Frogs were 0-11 against SMU, Kansas State, West Virginia and Iowa State since the beginning of the year, which was partly due to the fact that they didn't play in 2020
The school's first sellout in three years and the largest crowd for a regular-season game in Ford Stadium's 23 years of existence made the game a sellout.
SMU had a chance to tie the game, but the Frogs escaped with a victory. When asked if any of the booing or jeers affected him, he said, "Not really." I need to go work for Ricky Chicken at Chicken Express if I can't do that.
After the performance of quarterback Max Duggan, who completed 22 of 29 passes for 281 yards and three touchdown in his second start of the season after starting the year as a backup, he got emotional.
"I'm probably as proud of Max as any player I've been around," he said, wiping away tears. He started almost 30 games this season. It's difficult to go through a coaching change when you've been with the staff before. He lost the job and is getting ready to be a senior. He always looks straight ahead. He didn't think of himself often. Can you tell me how many people you're talking about? It is possible to say that about Max Duggan.
During a seven-game stretch in which he threw 24 touchdown passes, including three against SMU, and ran for 116 and two against Oklahoma, he topped that mark each time. It led to a 55-24 victory. In front of a sellout crowd at home and a nationally televised ABC game, the Sooners landed on the national stage.
He established career highs in yards (3,070), leads the Big 12 with 29 touchdown passes to just three interceptions (one came on aHail Mary attempt at the end of a half), and is completing 70% of his passes, second-best in school history. He has an efficiency rating of 171.3 and has 16 touchdown passes of more than 20 yards. He has thrived under Riley, who is 33 years old.
"I'm going to allow it to fly," he said. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, be bold, be aggressive, stop being reckless, but just go out there and play football. On Saturdays, you can see that.
The unselfish nature of this year's team is exemplified by the former starter-turned-backup-turned-undefeated quarterback.
Wes Harris said he would do anything for the man. He is a leader and has the heart of a warrior. The man is a winner. He doesn't care who plays or who plays well.
Now that he's been named the Big 12's offensive player of the year, it seems like he'll be invited to New York to compete for the trophy.
The fact that I'm playing with a lot of great people and under a great coaching staff is just what it is. It would show more to those men than it would to me.
They both graduated from Texas Tech and worked with Riley's brother. That wasn't what drew the younger Riley to him.
When we got in late-game situations, it was one of the things that worried me the most. You can't get it done in a one-score game.
He hired Riley from Appalachian State because he always liked their approach to the running game. He said he wanted Riley to be specific because he was different from him. When it comes to game-planning, Dykes prefers to let Riley run his own show, rather than giving input.
The starter at running back this year, Kendre Miller, has been a reliable player under Riley. He has run for 1, 260 yards and 16 touchdown. He's averaged over seven yards per carry in the second half when the Frogs have a lead and force missed tackles. Bijan Robinson of Texas and Chase Brown of Illinois have forced more missed tackles in the second half.
The Frogs have been able to pound the ball in the second half more than any other team in the country. Riley is a finalist for the top assistant coach in the country.
The kind of team that will stay patient has been good for me. We'll start to take control of the games in the third and fourth quarters. Confidence comes from that.
The assistant athletic director for player personnel is pictured next to his title in the staff directory. That's all. Chances are, if you see Jordan on the sideline, you're close to Dykes.
He's a trusted advisor on everything from strategy to clock management. Dykes said he and Jordan plotted out the dramatic final drive before the Frogs got the ball. They won the game on a walk-off field goal.
Jordan spent 29 years as a high school coach, including 15 as the head coach at Garland High, a Dallas suburb, as well as 28 years as a scout and film grader for the Dallas Cowboys.
He thinks he's the most qualified person for his position.
SMU was one of the first schools to rebuild their roster through the transfer portal. Jordan was involved in that operation because of his Texas high school connections. He worked part-time for the Cowboys and scrubbed through 1,000 games a year for more than two decades. He found diamonds at small schools and ran them up the ladder.
Some of the people Jordan found in the Cowboys' glory days were Kenny Gant, Larry Allen, Eric Williams, and many more. You're figuring out there's some good football players, Hall of Fame level, everywhere.
He's training those same eyes on the transfer portal. Which leads to...
When he took over, he was impressed with the speed on the roster. There were some areas that neededshoring up. The Frogs have been more dependent on transfers.
One area of need was addressed by the signing of a nuclear engineering major who was originally recruited to the Naval Academy to play lacrosse and then begged the football coaches to give him a chance. After deciding he wanted a change of scenery, Johnny Hodges entered his name in the portal with two games to go last season, but didn't find a home.
I reached out to every Power 5 coach. None of them responded.
Jordan saw him play against them at SMU and took his tape to Joe.
A lot of people got scared off of him because they thought he was a Navy kid. He is not going to be athletic enough. If you watched his film, you will see that he is more athletic than people think.
One of the key tackles of the game was a solo tackle on Bijan Robinson on fourth-and-1 in the 17-10 win. The Big 12 named him the defensive newcomer of the year.
JoshNewton was named to the Big 12's first team on defense and is the No. 1-graded corner in the conference. Newton has become a leader in the locker room and reminded the Frogs how lucky they are.
This ain't the end... 😤#GoFrogs #DFWBig12Team pic.twitter.com/TBJWJVxGXM
— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) November 25, 2022
Key contributors include players from Stephen F. Austin, Connecticut, and Louisiana.
There hasn't been a lot of schools that have joined the Group of Five. There are a lot of good players in SMU. You don't write off a guy just because he's famous.
Other coaches are brought in for an outsiders' perspective in the off season. In August, Todd Graham was invited to evaluate the program by Dykes. He was shocked by what Graham said, which was at odds with what everyone expected from this team.
Graham had visited him in his first season at SMU and told him he was in trouble before the season ended.
He said thatTodd is very direct.
He had a completely different perspective this time. They were going to win the Big 12.
He chuckled about it this week. I told you that I was not as optimistic as you are. I believe we have a chance to have a great team.
What did Graham see that lead to that prediction?
I go to many programs. Graham said that Mike Norvell who worked for him at Florida State was one of the people he visited. Kids are guarded when it comes to where they fit. I don't know if I trust these guys. There was no such thing at Texas Christian University. I was more than just watching. I went to several meetings. Each coach taught on the field. There's a high level of accountability.
He thought the Frogs would win the conference. He is not surprised that they are on the verge of doing it on Saturday after the job they have done this year.
Graham said that it does not just happen. He's winning with someone else's players, people say. There is a lot of bull. What was the record of that same group last year?
This team has been compared to a boxer. He told his team that being patient and physical was the key to success.
He told them to keep swinging. In the second half, we were so good because of that. Don't stop punching. The punches add up. If we handle our business right, that will happen tomorrow.
The thing did. In one of the Frogs' biggest tests of the season, in front of 104,203 fans, they won 17-10) by shutting down one of the best offenses in the nation.
The Longhorns' 199 total yards were their lowest in a home game in the Big 12 since 1996. Robinson had 29 rushing yards on 12 carries, his lowest total in the past two seasons, and Texas was held to three offensive points.
Darrell Royal compared the Frogs to roaches after a loss to the Longhorns in 1961. He said that it wasn't what they eat and tote off that hurt.
TCU is not supposed to do that against Texas. This week, the man said.
They did, and that's because of Gillespie. The former Texas high school coach was hired by Dykes to be his first Power 5 job and he saw his 3-3-5 defense as a kind of counterpart to the Air Raid offense.
The scheme is important but the fit on the staff is more important. The players want him to be proud because they like him. He is a big part of the season. I believe we're just beginning. The defense will be one of the best in college football.
Without a play that's oft-practiced but rarely used, the Frogs might not have made it to the playoffs.
Dykes ran the ball on third-and-7 at the Bears' 26 with no timeouts and 22 seconds left in the game. "Bazooka" is where the field- goal unit sprints out, gets set and launches a kick all while the clock is counting down," said Tommerdahl. The kicker and the holder waited for the clock to wind down while Kell ran onto the field. Kell hit the 40-yarder, and the Frogs escaped with a 29-28 victory.
THE HORNED FROGS WIN!!!! 🐸 STAYING UNDEFEATED! @TCUFootball pic.twitter.com/MEYDSI1FT8
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 19, 2022
He thinks this is the first time he has ever called Bazooka in a game winning situation. After working together for eight years at three different schools, he and Dykes were confident that they had always made Bazooka the first rep. The Frogs' comeback win was the most frantic of the bunch. It wasn't even the most likely.
When the Jayhawks took a 17-10 lead in the third quarter, their win probability was as high as 68.4%.
In the 7th week of the season, Oklahoma State was at 96.1% when Duggan threw an incomplete pass on third down and the Cowboys were leading 30-16.
Kansas State's was at 91.2% at the end of the 8th week.
The Bears led 28-20 at the end of the fourth quarter and had a 92.1% chance of winning.
"I'm not going to tell you we don't look at the score," Harris said. I don't believe there's much of a difference. If we're up by 60 or down by 60, it won't matter. We are still going to be out there swinging.
The brand of Texas Christian University has gone national. Winning makes a lot of things better. Even more is helped by the Hypnotoad.
"Futurama" was a show that ran from 1999-2003. It was used as a free-throw distraction at basketball and football games by the athletics marketing team.
New transplants into the football program embraced it. Why don't you? It has been a big change. The Frogs trailed Kansas State 28-24 with five minutes left in the third quarter and faced a third-and-9 at the Frogs' 30.
The crowd exploded when the frog appeared. Will Howard tried to run for a first down but was stopped. The kicker missed a field goal. The first lead of the day was given to the Horned Frogs after four plays. The team won 38-28.
The energy in the stadium changed after the win over Texas Tech, according to the coach.
For the first time this season, he noticed it. We made a lot of big plays after that. I don't believe in coincidence, you know what I mean. There might be something to it. The Hypnotoad is a powerful thing.
Jon will not attempt to make sense of his videos. He's not able to. After moving to Fort Worth this year from Maine, he started making weird stuff and now is trapped in his own creation.
"If someone wasn't on the internet and you tried to explain it to them, you would sound like a crazy person," he said. Someone will ask me if it's good. I'm not sure. I don't believe it will be good. That's what makes it good. It is supposed to be terrible.
We're not going to argue. You can see for yourself. There's a piece of artwork for the victory over the Bears.
justbearly.mp4 #GoFrogs #DFWBig12Team pic.twitter.com/zvvpw2RIUK
— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) November 19, 2022
"I think it's hilarious when fans of the same school say this hurts," he said. There is a highlight reel. The last kick. Winnie the Pooh isn't in the sky.
He tried to explain why he was making them. He gave up, but he did it anyway.
He didn't think we would be this good. I don't know what to think. It is as if I'm saying something. I'm not sure what's happening. I have a job.
The Frogs will have a bye week in September. A 4-7 Iowa State team had lost six of its games by one score or less. It was a dangerous match up for a team that had already secured a spot in the conference championship and a team that had only allowed a high of 31 points this year.
For a long time, the team had dropped games late in the season. The issue was raised by him after the Oklahoma State game.
The team has gotten off to good starts in the past. It is going to be a challenge for us to finish the race. We're aware of that. This isn't the same team. I don't care what happened in the past or where I have been. We are going to change the story.
The Frogs defeated the Cyclones 62-14.
It was a thing of the past. It was the first time in five years that a Big 12 team did not lose a game. Spike Dykes passed his father in career wins with his 83rd.
It's a good deal to do it. To go 12-0 and win a lot of games. I felt a little bit of him with this team. I'm pretty sure he would get a kick out of our guys and their way of working. It's a great group.
His father won the Big 12 coach of the year in 1996. He is the first coach to win the award in his first year.
There is one game left for the Frogs to try to win the Big 12 title and get into the playoffs.
It is always wait until we get my guys when you take over a program. These guys have been trying to be my guys for a long time. They've been my friends.
The players feel the same way, according to Harris.
He thinks we can play against the Dallas Cowboys. I don't know if the score will show that, but we think that way. The guys are the same. They've put this mindset into us and taken us somewhere.
The Frogs are one of the biggest outliers in college football history as they head towards the finish line. The Frogs hadn't won more than seven games in a year and hadn't been to a bowl game in three years.
The last Power 5 school to have a perfect regular season record was Ohio State in 1944.
It would be the sixth time in major college football history that a coach has gone 13-0 in a single season.
Four of the five other coaches who took over teams that had lost a combined seven games the season before were at the same time that the Broncos had won 36 games in three years.
It's been a great year for the low-key coach who used to be more popular among athletic directors and administrators than fans on social media.
His desk is covered with letters from people he doesn't know. One of the hand-written notes from Bill Snyder mentioned how proud Spike was of him.
He was able to go anywhere in Fort Worth this summer. He walked into a taco shop by the campus on Sunday and a woman excitedly greeted the toast of college football. She yelled as he left the restaurant.
"Go Frogs!" said the Almighty.
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