TCU Faces Arizona State in First Meeting Since 1975
TEMPE, Ariz.- No. 24 TCU travels to Mountain America Stadium on Friday night to face Arizona State in a matchup between programs meeting for the first time since 1975. The game marks TCU’s first regular season contest in Arizona as a 2003 victory over then-No. 19 Arizona (13-10), and the first time the Horned Frogs have played in Tempe.
Head coach Sonny Dykes aims to continue his postseason streak, having led all four programs he’s managed – Louisiana Tech (2010-12), SMU (2017-22), California (2013-16), and now TCU – to bowl games.He is one of only six active head coaches to achieve this feat, joining Hugh Freeze, butch Jones, Brian Kelly, Lane Kiffin, and Rich Rodriguez.
Leading the TCU offence is redshirt junior quarterback Josh Hoover, who set a single-season program record with 3,949 passing yards and 27 touchdowns on 313-of-471 passing in his redshirt sophomore campaign. Hoover has thrown 53 touchdown passes in 22 career starts. He will be targeting a new group of receivers following the departures of Jack Bech, Savion Williams, and JP Richardson to the NFL, who combined for 76 starts and 5,464 receiving yards.
TCU focused on improving its rushing attack during the offseason after averaging just 113.9 yards per game on the ground last season – the program’s lowest average since 1997 (110.2). Throughout his head coaching career,Dykes’ teams have averaged 158.5 rushing yards per game, with his 2012 Louisiana Tech squad averaging 227.2 yards per game.
On defense, TCU is anchored by safety Bud Clark, who led all safeties in college football last season with a 90.1 coverage grade. Clark recorded a career-high 68 tackles in 2023 and returned for another season, boasting 12 career interceptions – one shy of entering TCU’s top-10 record book.
TCU returned to the national polls this week, and Arizona State is close behind, receiving votes in both major polls. The Horned Frogs have played a Friday night game every season as 2015 (excluding 2020), posting a 7-5 record in those contests, including a 3-3 mark on the road.
