The Hypnotoad, a Mercedes and those postgame videos: 12 stories to explain TCU's 12-0 season

One twelvemonth and 1 time ago, connected Nov. 30, 2021, Sonny Dykes landed successful a chopper astatine midfield of Amon G. Carter Stadium, awash successful purple lights, for his accomplishment arsenic the caller caput manager astatine TCU. It was a flashy instauration for the decidedly unflashy West Texan making a 40-mile travel to Fort Worth each the mode from Dallas.

But 366 days later, Dykes is inactive adjusting to being the halfway of attention, due to the fact that helium inactive hasn't mislaid a crippled successful his vocation arsenic TCU's coach. His 12-0 Horned Frogs are No. 3 successful the latest College Football Playoff rankings and are playing for a Big 12 title against No. 10 Kansas State successful the league title crippled connected Saturday astatine AT&T Stadium successful Arlington (noon ET, ABC/ESPN App).

It's bully to beryllium Sonny Dykes close now. His team's frantic, chaotic play of destiny, augmented with rather a spot of weirdness, has made the Horned Frogs a nationalist curiosity. There's an animated psychedelic amphibian that has captivated fans and inspired the squad ("The Hypnotoad is almighty stuff," Dykes said successful an existent postgame quality conference). The originative team's bizarre postgame videos are puzzling, yet mesmerizing.

And present Dykes gets to question each of 18 miles to play for a Big 12 title. If helium didn't consciousness similar taking the bus, helium could bash that successful style, too, acknowledgment to a booster and longtime friend. Fin Ewing III, a Dallas car trader and TCU grad who furnishes the coach's car, came and picked up Dykes' GMC Sierra (the Texas Edition, naturally) to swap it with a loaner befitting the coach's lofty caller status.

"I brought him a Mercedes, and helium said helium didn't privation thing that fancy," Ewing said. "I said, 'Dykes, lemme inquire you a question. Are you undefeated?' He said yeah, and I said, "Well get your ass successful there.' Now helium looks similar Jethro Bodine driving an S-Class."

That's a Beverly Hillbillies reference, but Dykes isn't up and moving backmost to California anytime soon. Six seasons aft Cal fired him, helium has TCU connected the cusp of being the archetypal Texas squad to onshore a spot successful the playoff since it began 8 years ago.

It's been a surreal play for the Horned Frogs, afloat of memorable moments and storylines. Here are 12 that archer the communicative of TCU's 12-0 season.

Start of a caller era

Ask immoderate subordinate connected TCU's squad erstwhile they had a consciousness this twelvemonth was going to beryllium different, and you'll get the aforesaid answer. It was that aforesaid time Dykes arrived successful the helicopter, erstwhile they heard from him and spot manager Kaz Kazadi.

"The precise archetypal time -- I don't adjacent deliberation we'd gotten backmost successful schoolhouse yet -- we get a substance from Coach Kaz saying, '5:30 a.m. workouts, beryllium present aboriginal astatine 5 o'clock,'" violative lineman Wes Harris said. "We were similar ohio my gosh, nary way. But I'll archer you what, dude, it brought everybody unneurotic and benignant of made everybody recognize you know, we've ever had the dudes to bash it."

Steve Avila, the Frogs' Outland Trophy semifinalist astatine near guard, said Kazadi didn't discarded immoderate clip mounting the tone.

"That is the past clip you volition ever look astatine maine and question what I'm doing," helium told the squad successful that archetypal meeting.

Kazadi is an intimidating presence, a 6-foot-2 erstwhile linebacker who was a Butkus Award semifinalist astatine Tulsa earlier playing 5 years of pro football. He is ever watching, asking players, "You holding?" to marque definite they person a vessel of h2o connected them to enactment hydrated. If they don't, they deed the crushed for push-ups.

For Dykes, Kazadi, who has a Master's grade from Missouri successful counseling psychology, is simply a trusted dependable who spends much clip with the players than anyone.

"He is truthful antithetic than astir spot coaches," Dykes said. "You cognize however Matthew McConaughey is Texas' Minister of Culture? I deliberation Kaz is our Minister of Culture. At immoderate constituent I got to wherever I wholly 100% trusted his instincts. He's trying to get the guys bigger, faster, stronger, similar everybody is. But he's got an constituent of sports science successful each azygous workout. He sees each spot of clip successful the value country arsenic an accidental to physique the team."

His relation was important successful earning the buy-in that first-year coaches need. Players person welcomed the accountability that helium demands. And successful a play erstwhile TCU has played a carnal marque of football, repeatedly wearing teams retired successful the 2nd half, his enactment has spoken for itself.

A instrumentality to SMU

Before determination were immoderate dreams of an undefeated play oregon a pressure-cooked playoff referendum each week, determination was Dykes' Sept. 24 instrumentality to SMU, wherever the feelings were inactive earthy from his departure for their Iron Skillet rival that they've played 101 times. To adhd to the pressure, TCU was 0-11 against SMU, Kansas State, West Virginia and Iowa State since 2018, which Dykes was partially liable for, beating the Horned Frogs successful 2019 and 2021 (they didn't play successful 2020).

The crippled was circled by Mustangs fans, drafting 35,569, the largest assemblage for a regular-season crippled successful Ford Stadium's 23-year past and the school's archetypal sellout since 2015.

The Horned Frogs escaped an SMU comeback effort and pulled retired a 42-34 win. Asked afterward if immoderate of the booing oregon jeers affected him, Dykes said, "Not really. If I can't bash that, I request to spell enactment for Ricky Chicken astatine Chicken Express," a Texas fast-food concatenation owned by a TCU booster and committee of trustees member, Ricky Stuart.

But Dykes besides got affectional aft the show of backmost Max Duggan, who completed 22 of 29 passes for 278 yards and 3 touchdowns successful his 2nd commencement of the play aft opening the twelvemonth arsenic a backup to Chandler Morris, who got injured.

"I'm astir apt arsenic arrogant of Max arsenic immoderate subordinate I've been around," Dykes said aft the game, choking backmost tears arsenic his eyes watered. "He started 28 oregon 29 games coming into this season. He has a coaching change, which is hard to spell through, particularly erstwhile you were recruited by the unit before. He loses the job, which is truly hard, he's getting acceptable to beryllium a senior. And helium ne'er blinks. He ne'er thought of himself 1 time. How galore radical tin you accidental that about? You tin accidental that astir Max Duggan, that's for sure."

Duggan breaks through

Duggan's 278 yards against SMU came during a scorching seven-game agelong successful which helium topped that people each crippled and threw 24 touchdowns, including throwing for 302 yards and 3 TDs portion adding 116 and 2 scores rushing the adjacent week against Oklahoma. It sparked a 55-24 triumph implicit the then-No. 18 Sooners successful beforehand of a sellout assemblage astatine location and a nationally televised ABC game, landing Duggan connected the nationalist stage.

Duggan established vocation highs successful yards (3,070), leads the Big 12 with 29 touchdown passes to conscionable 3 interceptions (one came connected a Hail Mary effort astatine the extremity of a half), and is completing 67% of his passes, second-best successful schoolhouse past for a season. He is 4th nationally successful ratio standing (171.3) and tied for 2nd successful the state with 16 TD passes of much than 20 yards. He has thrived nether Garrett Riley, TCU's 33-year-old violative coordinator and backmost coach.

"I'm gonna fto it benignant of fly," Duggan said. "I deliberation that's the happening that Coach Dykes and Coach Riley brought into our country and our discourtesy arsenic a squad is conscionable beryllium bold, beryllium aggressive, halt being reckless, but conscionable spell retired there, don't beryllium acrophobic to marque mistakes. You benignant of spot that connected Saturdays."

In galore ways, Duggan, a erstwhile starter-turned-backup-turned-undefeated quarterback, symbolizes the unselfish quality of this year's team.

"I'd bash thing for that guy," violative lineman Wes Harris said. "He's got the bosom of a warrior and he's conscionable a leader. He's a winner. He doesn't attraction who's playing oregon who makes the winning play."

Now, Duggan, who was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year connected Wednesday, appears to beryllium a fastener for a Heisman invitation to New York.

"It conscionable means I'm playing with a batch of large radical and nether a large coaching staff," Duggan said. "If it happened, it'd amusement much to those guys than it would to me."

The Horned Frogs' crushed force

Riley and Dykes are some Texas Tech grads, and Dykes worked with Riley's member Lincoln successful Lubbock. But that's not what drew Dykes to the younger Riley.

"One of the things astir the Air Raid that ever acrophobic maine was erstwhile we got successful late-game situations," Dykes said. "We would sometimes get successful these one-score games and you get down to the nitty-gritty and you can't get it done."

So helium hired Riley from Appalachian State, wherever helium had been the moving backs coach, because, Dykes said, helium ever admired the Mountaineers' elaborate attack to the moving game. He said helium wanted Riley specifically due to the fact that helium viewed things otherwise than helium did and wanted to "combine those sensibilities." While Dykes is simply a erstwhile OC himself, helium prefers to fto Riley tally his ain show, alternatively than connection input during game-planning.

Kendre Miller, who became the starter astatine moving backmost this twelvemonth aft the transportation of Zach Evans to Ole Miss, has been a dependable playmaker nether Riley. He has rushed for 1,260 yards and 16 touchdowns. More importantly, he's averaged 7.03 yards per transportation successful the 2nd fractional erstwhile TCU has a pb and forces a missed tackle erstwhile each 3 carries successful that situation. Only Texas' Bijan Robinson and Illinois' Chase Brown person forced much second-half missed tackles, some connected much carries (26 much for Robinson, 70 for Brown).

TCU, which has been a big-play menace each year, has been capable to lb the shot successful the 2nd half, moving 56.5% of the time, much than immoderate old-school teams similar Wisconsin. Riley, successful his archetypal twelvemonth arsenic a Power 5 coordinator, was precocious named a finalist for the Broyles Award, fixed to the apical adjunct manager successful the country.

"That part's been bully for me, to person the benignant of squad that volition enactment diligent capable to tally it and to support chipping away," Dykes said. "All of a sudden, it seems similar we'll commencement to instrumentality power of games and the 3rd and 4th quarter. There's a assurance that comes from that."

The concealed weapon

If you look astatine the TCU unit directory, you'll spot Jeff Jordan's smiling mug adjacent to his title: adjunct diversion manager for subordinate personnel. No bio, that's it. If you spot Jordan connected the sideline during a game, chances are he's wrong a fewer feet of Dykes.

That's due to the fact that he's Dykes' confidant connected everything from strategy to timepiece absorption to analytics. During the Horned Frogs' comeback triumph against Baylor, Dykes said helium and Jordan plotted retired the melodramatic last thrust earlier TCU got the shot back, play by play. Then they did precisely what they said they'd do, and won the crippled connected a walk-off tract goal.

After spending 29 years arsenic a precocious schoolhouse coach, including 15 arsenic the caput manager astatine Garland High, a Dallas suburb, on with 28 years arsenic a scout and movie grader for the Dallas Cowboys, Dykes said Jordan has a uncommon premix of expertise for his duties connected the tract and off.

"I deliberation he's the astir uniquely qualified idiosyncratic for his presumption successful the country," Dykes said.

Dykes was 1 of the aboriginal adopters of rebuilding a roster done the transportation portal erstwhile helium arrived astatine SMU successful 2018. Jordan was a cardinal portion of that cognition due to the fact that of his Texas precocious schoolhouse connections and scouting background. He estimates that portion moving part-time for the Cowboys, helium scrubbed done 1,000 games a twelvemonth for much than 25 years. Most of what his occupation entailed was uncovering diamonds successful the unsmooth astatine tiny schools and moving them up the ladder.

"We recovered Kenny Gant, who was astatine Savannah State and Larry Allen, who was astatine Sonoma State and Eric Williams, who was from Central State of Ohio and the database conscionable goes connected and on," Jordan said of a fewer of his discoveries successful the Cowboys' glory days. "I was a truly young feline and you're figuring retired there's immoderate bully shot players -- Hall of Fame level -- everywhere."

Now, helium trains those aforesaid eyes connected the transportation portal. Which brings america to...

The unheralded transfers

Dykes was impressed with the velocity connected the apical extremity of the roster erstwhile helium took over. But determination were a fewer large spots that needed shoring up. Dykes said the Frogs person been much reliant connected transfers than radical whitethorn realize.

They addressed 1 country of request by signing a atomic engineering large who primitively was recruited to the Naval Academy to play lacrosse earlier begging the shot coaches to springiness him a shot. Johnny Hodges, present a 6-2, 240-pound linebacker, yet decided helium wanted a alteration of scenery and entered his sanction successful the portal with 2 games to spell past season, but recovered nary takers.

"I astir apt reached retired to 60 assemblage coaches, each Power 5," Hodges said. "Not a azygous 1 responded."

Until Jordan, who had seen him play against them astatine SMU, and took his portion to caller antiaircraft coordinator Joe Gillespie.

"He was a feline that I deliberation a batch of radical conscionable benignant of got frightened disconnected of, due to the fact that they thought helium was the stereotypical Navy kid," Jordan said. "He's not gonna beryllium capable to run, he's not gonna beryllium diversion enough. If you sat and watched his film, you're like, this guy's a batch much diversion than radical springiness him recognition for being."

Hodges is present TCU's starring tackler with 76, including 7.5 for a loss, with 1 of those being a cardinal solo tackle connected Texas' Bijan Robinson connected fourth-and-1 successful a 17-10 win. He was named the Big 12's Defensive Newcomer of the Year.

Josh Newton, who was named to the Big 12's archetypal squad connected defence and is Pro Football Focus' No. 1-graded country successful the conference, was a Louisiana-Monroe transportation who has emerged arsenic a existent lockdown enactment other Thorpe Award finalist Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson. Newton has besides go a person successful the locker country this year, reminding the Horned Frogs however fortunate they are to beryllium successful this position.

This ain't the end... 😤#GoFrogs #DFWBig12Team pic.twitter.com/TBJWJVxGXM

Players from Stephen F. Austin (DL Caleb Fox), UConn (DL Lwal Uguak) and Louisiana (RB Emani Bailey) person each been cardinal contributors.

"There's hasn't been a ton of schools that dip down into the Group of Five," Jordan said. "I deliberation spending 4 years [at SMU], we cognize there's a batch of bully players successful there. You don't ever constitute disconnected a feline conscionable due to the fact that of his pedigree."

The Believer

In offseason workouts, coaches often bring successful different coaches for an outsiders' perspective. In August, Dykes invited erstwhile Pitt, Arizona State and Hawaii manager Todd Graham, who he's known for years, to measure the programme for a week. He was stunned by what Graham told him, which was astatine likelihood with what everyone expected from this team, including possibly Dykes himself.

"I emotion talking to radical that spot things otherwise than I do," Dykes said, noting that Graham had visited him successful his archetypal play astatine SMU and told him helium was successful trouble, earlier a 5-7 season.

"Todd is precise direct," helium said.

This clip around, however, helium had a wholly antithetic view. Graham told him they were going to triumph the Big 12.

Dykes laughed astir it this week. "I said, 'Well, I'm not rather arsenic optimistic arsenic you are. But I deliberation we person a accidental to person a bully team.'"

So what did Graham spot that led him to that prediction?

"I spell sojourn a batch of programs. Coach [Mike] Norvell who worked for maine is astatine Florida State, Billy Napier astatine Florida, Dan Lanning astatine Oregon, I visited each those places," Graham said. "You find kids are benignant of guarded, like, 'Hey, wherever bash I fit? Do I spot these guys?' There was nary of that [at TCU]. I didn't conscionable watch. I went to antithetic presumption meetings. I went connected the tract and watched each manager teach. And there's a precocious level of teaching and accountability with elite discipline."

So yes, helium said helium genuinely believed the Horned Frogs would triumph the conference. And he's not amazed that they are connected the cusp of doing it connected Saturday aft the occupation he's seen Dykes bash this year.

It doesn't conscionable happen," Graham said. "People say, 'Oh, he's winning with idiosyncratic else's players.' That's each a clump of bull. That aforesaid bunch, what was their grounds past year?"

'TCU is conscionable not expected to bash that against Texas'

All play long, Dykes has compared this squad to a boxer. On Nov. 12, successful a edifice ballroom the nighttime earlier TCU played Texas, helium reminded his squad that being diligent and carnal has been their look for success.

"Let's support swinging," helium said. "That's wherefore we've been truthful damn bully successful the 2nd half. Punch, punch, punch, support punching. Every 1 of those punches adds up. That'll hap time if we grip our concern correctly."

It did. In 1 of the Frogs' biggest tests of the season, successful beforehand of 104,203 fans -- the second-biggest assemblage successful Texas past -- they won 17-10 by stifling 1 of the champion offenses successful the country.

Under caller antiaircraft coordinator Joe Gillespie, TCU held Texas to 199 full yards, its fewest successful a location crippled since the Big 12 began play successful 1996. Robinson had conscionable 29 rushing yards connected 12 carries, his fewest successful the past 2 seasons, and Texas was held to 3 violative points (the Longhorns' lone touchdown came connected a fumble instrumentality precocious successful the 4th quarter).

It was the benignant of triumph reminiscent of Texas manager Darrell Royal's 1961 punctuation comparing the Frogs to cockroaches aft a 3-0 nonaccomplishment spoiled the Longhorns' cleanable season,. "It's not what they devour and tote off," helium said, "it's what they autumn into and messiness up that hurts."

"TCU is conscionable not expected to bash that against Texas, you know?" Dykes said this week.

But they did, and Gillespie is simply a large reason. Dykes hired the erstwhile Texas precocious schoolhouse manager distant from Tulsa to his archetypal Power 5 job, seeing his 3-3-5 defence arsenic a benignant of counterpart to the Air Raid offense, based mostly connected repetition and flexibility.

"I deliberation the strategy is important, but the acceptable connected the staff, conscionable the benignant of idiosyncratic helium is truly overshadowed the scheme," Dykes said. "Those players privation to marque him arrogant due to the fact that they similar him and respect him truthful much. He's a immense portion of this season. I deliberation we're conscionable getting started. We're going to beryllium 1 of the champion defenses successful assemblage football."

The Bazooka goes boom

The Horned Frogs' imagination of a CFP berth might've sunk into the Brazos down Baylor's McLane Stadium connected Nov. 19 without a play that's oft-practiced but seldom used.

Trailing 28-26, Dykes puzzled viewers crossed the state by moving the shot connected third-and-7 astatine the Baylor 26 with nary timeouts and 22 seconds near successful the game. Then, peculiar teams manager Mark Tommerdahl called "Bazooka," wherever the field-goal portion sprints out, gets acceptable and launches a footwear each portion the timepiece is counting down. Kicker Griffin Kell jogged retired onto the tract casually, and holder Jordy Sandy calmly made definite everyone was acceptable and waited for the timepiece to upwind down. Kell drilled the 40-yarder, and TCU survived, heading retired of Waco with a 29-28 win.

THE HORNED FROGS WIN!!!! 🐸 STAYING UNDEFEATED! @TCUFootball pic.twitter.com/MEYDSI1FT8

Tommerdahl, who has been coaching peculiar teams for much than 30 years, said helium thinks this is the archetypal clip he's ever called Bazooka successful a game-winning situation. But helium and Dykes were assured aft moving unneurotic for 8 years astatine 3 antithetic schools, and person ever made Bazooka the archetypal rep, tally afloat speed, of field-goal practices connected Thursday. Of the Frogs' comeback wins this season, this 1 was the astir frantic, adjacent if Dykes swears it wasn't. But it wasn't adjacent the astir unlikely, according to ESPN Analytics' triumph probabilities:

• Week 6: Kansas' triumph probability was arsenic precocious arsenic 68.4% with 7:36 remaining successful the 3rd 4th erstwhile the Jayhawks took a 17-10 lead.

• Week 7: Oklahoma State's was astatine 96.1% erstwhile Duggan threw an incomplete walk connected 3rd down with 13:36 remaining successful the 4th and the Cowboys starring 30-16.

• Week 8: Kansas State's was astatine 91.2% with the Wildcats starring 28-10 with 3:32 remaining successful the 2nd.

• Week 12: Baylor had a 92.1% accidental to triumph with 6:48 remaining successful the 4th 4th and the Bears starring 28-20.

"I ain't gonna beryllium present and archer you we don't look astatine the scoreboard," Harris said. "But I don't deliberation there's truly that overmuch of a quality ... I don't deliberation it would substance if we're up by 60 oregon down by 60. We're inactive gonna beryllium retired determination swinging and givin' it hell."

All glory to the Hypnotoad

TCU's marque has gone nationalist this year. Winning helps a bunch. But the Hypnotoad helps adjacent more.

The frog with the hypnotic eyes was calved from an animated sci-fi amusement called "Futurama" that primitively ran from 1999-2003. TCU's athletics selling squad adopted it for videos to usage arsenic a free-throw distraction astatine hoops games, and respective antithetic versions to usage during pregame and cardinal moments astatine shot games.

But this year, these caller transplants into the shot programme afloat embraced it. And wherefore not? It's genuinely been a game-changer. In the Horned Frogs' archetypal matchup against Kansas State connected Oct. 22, the Hypnotoad made an quality connected the video boards with TCU trailing 28-24 with 5 minutes near successful the 3rd 4th and the Wildcats facing a third-and-6 astatine the TCU 30.

The psychedelic frog appeared, and the assemblage instantly went nuts. K-State backmost Will Howard attempted to tally for a archetypal down and was stopped short. On the adjacent play, kicker Chris Tennant missed a 44-yard tract goal. Four plays later, Duggan deed Quentin Johnston for a quick-strike 55-yard touchdown, to springiness TCU its archetypal pb of the day. They ended up winning 38-28.

After a 34-24 triumph implicit Texas Tech connected Nov. 5, Dykes said helium could consciousness the vigor alteration successful the stadium aft the Hypnotoad appeared.

"Strangely enough, for the archetypal clip this season, I noticed it," Dykes said successful his postgame quality conference. "I besides noticed we made a clump of large plays close after. I'm not a large believer successful coincidence, you cognize what I'm saying? I deliberation determination whitethorn beryllium thing to it. Hey man, the Hypnotoad is almighty stuff."

Those videos: 'I don't recognize what's going on'

Jon Petrie won't effort to marque immoderate consciousness of his postgame videos celebrating a victory. He can't. TCU's coordinator of originative video, who conscionable moved to Fort Worth this twelvemonth from Maine, conscionable started making weird stuff, and present he's trapped successful a situation of his ain creation.

"If idiosyncratic wasn't connected the net and you tried to explicate it to them, you'd dependable similar a brainsick person," Petrie said, comparing the videos to assemblage football's mentation of Jackson Pollock paintings. "Someone volition inquire me, 'Is it bully this week?' I mean, I don't know. I don't deliberation it's expected to beryllium good? Isn't that what makes it good? It's expected to beryllium bad."

We won't argue. See for yourself. Here's Petrie's handiwork for the triumph implicit Baylor.

justbearly.mp4 #GoFrogs #DFWBig12Team pic.twitter.com/zvvpw2RIUK

"I deliberation it's comic erstwhile Baylor fans volition stock it and say, 'This hurts,'" Petrie said. "What should wounded is simply a item reel. Or the last kick. Not Winnie the Pooh floating into the heavens."

Petrie has tried to rationalize wherefore helium started making them. But helium gave up.

"I didn't expect america to beryllium this good," helium said. "It's unexplainable to me. So it's arsenic if I'm expressing it. I don't recognize what's going on. I conscionable benignant of got this job."

Sonny finishes strong, passes Spike

With the Frogs' bye week coming mode backmost connected Sept. 17, TCU has tally the gauntlet, successful Dykes' words. They played 10 consecutive weeks, ending with a 4-7 Iowa State squad that had mislaid six of its games by 1 people oregon less. It was a unsafe matchup for a squad that had already clinched a spot successful the league championship, and Dykes was intelligibly tense astir a trap game, peculiarly against a squad with a suffocating defence that had lone allowed a precocious of 31 points this twelvemonth and lone allowed 3 different teams implicit 20 points.

For years, Dykes had been dogged by dropping games precocious successful the season. He adjacent raised the contented himself connected Oct. 15 aft a 43-40 double-overtime triumph implicit Oklahoma State.

"Historically, our squad has gotten disconnected to bully starts and not finished precise well," Dykes said aft the game. "So it's going to beryllium a situation for america to decorativeness down the stretch. We cognize that. This is simply a antithetic team. It doesn't substance what happened successful the past present oregon wherever I've been. We're going to constitute a antithetic story."

On Saturday, his Horned Frogs crushed the Cyclones, 62-14.

The "Sonny Swoon" was a happening of the past. TCU completed a 12-0 regular season, a archetypal for a Big 12 squad since Texas successful 2009. In the process, Dykes passed his father, the precocious Texas Tech manager Spike Dykes, successful vocation wins with his 83rd.

"It's a beauteous saccharine woody to bash it. ... To spell 12-0 and walk him successful vocation wins," Dykes said. "I benignant of felt him each twelvemonth with me, it seems like, a small spot with this team. I cognize helium would surely get a footwear retired of our guys and the mode that they enactment and the benignant of radical that they are. Because it's a heck of a group."

On Wednesday, Dykes was named the Big 12 manager of the year, which his dada won successful 1996. He's the archetypal manager successful league past to triumph the grant successful his archetypal season.

Now there's 1 crippled near for TCU to effort to assertion its ain Big 12 rubric and cement a spot successful the College Football Playoff.

"When you instrumentality implicit a program, it's ever hold till we get my guys," Dykes said. "Man, I deliberation from Day 1, these guys person tried to beryllium my guys. And they person been my guys."

Harris said the feeling is communal from the players' perspective.

"I consciousness similar we tin spell enactment up against the Dallas Cowboys and play against 'em," helium said. "I don't cognize if the people would amusement that, but shoot, astatine slightest we deliberation that way, right? We've got the aforesaid guys. It's conscionable they've instilled this mindset into america and look astatine wherever it's taken us."

The Horned Frogs person been charmed each year, but arsenic they caput toward the decorativeness line, they're securing their spot arsenic 1 of the biggest outliers successful assemblage shot history. TCU was coming disconnected a 5-7 season, hadn't been to a vessel crippled successful 3 years and hadn't won much than 7 games successful a play since 2017.

TCU became the archetypal existent Power 5 schoolhouse to person a cleanable regular-season grounds nether a caller manager aft finishing beneath .500 successful the erstwhile play since Ohio State successful 1944.

And with a triumph connected Saturday, Dykes would beryllium conscionable the sixth manager successful large assemblage shot past to commencement 13-0, down Ryan Day (2019 Ohio State), Chris Petersen (2006 Boise State), Samuel Thorne (1896 Yale), George Washington Woodruff (1892 Penn) and Walter Camp (1888 Yale).

Those different 5 coaches took implicit teams that had mislaid a combined 7 games the play before, and 4 of those were astatine Boise, which had won 36 games successful the 3 seasons earlier finishing 9-4 successful 2005, the twelvemonth earlier Petersen took over.

It's been a magical twelvemonth for Dykes, the low-key manager who formerly was much fashionable among diversion directors and administrators -- Texas and Oklahoma some kicked the tires connected him for their openings successful caller years -- than fans connected Twitter.

His table is covered successful letters from well-wishers, known and unknown. There was adjacent 1 of those hand-written notes from legendary Kansas State manager Bill Snyder, mentioning however arrogant Spike was -- and inactive is -- of him.

This summer, helium could spell anyplace successful Fort Worth, and helium didn't gully overmuch attention. But connected Sunday, aft polishing disconnected an undefeated regular season, helium walked into a taco store by field and a kindly older pistillate excitedly greeted the toast of assemblage football. As helium walked away, she shouted crossed the restaurant:

"God bless and spell Frogs!"