Sonny Dykes and his Horned Frogs were 8-11 overall and 4-8 in Big 12 play between the Fiesta Bowl win over Michigan on New Year’s Eve 2022 and the 11-point home loss to underdog Houston on Oct. 4 of last season. The defeat was the second home loss to an inferior conference opponent in three weeks.
The Cinderella run to the national championship game felt like a mirage. One of those blackout success stories like Frank the Tank in a debate competition against James Carville in “Old School”. Georgia turned the Horned Frogs back into a pumpkin and TCU slipped back to Earth with a 5-7 record in 2023, becoming the first program since Texas in 2010 to miss a bowl game a year removed from playing in a national championship game.