Now more than two years removed from a remarkable and unexpected run to the national title game, it’s clear that wasn’t the norm for TCU football.

It’s also clear, however, that head coach Sonny Dykes has the Horned Frogs back on a winning path.

This summer, BuffZone is previewing each of Colorado’s opponents for the 2025 season and in this installment we look at TCU, which will host the Buffs in Fort Worth, Texas, on Oct. 4.

TCU may not be a national title contender like it was in 2022, when it went 13-2 and lost in the championship game. But, the program isn’t sputtering like it was in 2021, prompting administration to move on from longtime coach Gary Patterson.

The Patterson era (2001-21) was sensational for TCU and was a big reason the program was in position to leave the Mountain West Conference for the Big 12 in 2012. In the last four years under Patterson, however, TCU went 23-24.

Dykes is 27-13 through three years, and the 2025 version of the Horned Frogs could be a contender for the Big 12 title.

“I love this team. I love where we are right now as a team and as a program,” Dykes said to TCU media a week ago. “We like our team, I love the work ethic of the team, I love the makeup of the team. It’s a deep team, but we haven’t done anything.

“I think we’re a lot further along than we’ve ever been, just with the way the guys have trained and the buy-in and what we’re doing now with our players and how we’re doing it. I think we’re constantly trying to build a better mousetrap, and I feel like we’re getting there.”

The magical 2022 season was followed by a 5-7 campaign in 2023, a year that saw three losses by three points (including the opener against CU). The Horned Frogs got back on track last year, though, in going 9-4.Several key players from last year are gone, but quarterback Josh Hoover returns. He was reportedly offered more than $1 million by Tennessee but chose to stay at TCU, where he threw for nearly 4,000 yards last year as a sophomore.

“I love Fort Worth, I love TCU,” he told local media recently. “I see TCU as a top program, and that’s why I came here. I came here to win a Big 12 championship.”

To do that, he needs some people around him to step up.

TCU’s top three receivers graduated, but there’s still talent, led by Eric McAlister (39 catches for 762 yards), and transfers Jordan Dwyer and Joseph Manjack IV. The run game has to improve, though. The Horned Frogs were 112th nationally with just 113.9 yards per game on the ground.

On the offensive line, three starters are back, including Coltin Deery, who played left guard in 2024 and is now at center. The Horned Frogs also get Cade Bennett back. A two-time All-Mountain West performer at San Diego State, he came to TCU a year ago and missed the 2024 season with an injury.

Defensively, a handful of starters are back, including safeties Bud Clark and Jamel Johnson, linebacker Namdi Obiazor and defensive linemen Devean and Markis Deal.

Last year, the TCU defense was solid and played well down the stretch, allowing just 14.3 points per game in the last four games. The run defense was a weakness, though.

Going into 2025, TCU has a tough schedule that includes nonconference games against North Carolina and SMU. To rack up wins and make a run at the top of the Big 12, the trenches will be a key.

“I think everybody knows (the defensive front) was a weakness of ours last year, the inability to stop the run,” Dykes said. “Same thing up front as an offense. You’ve got to be able to run the football better. Those are areas we all know have to improve.”