Press Conference Recap: TCU vs. Iowa State

TCU head football coach Sonny Dykes said the offense needs to come together as a unit if they want to win football games. Dykes said post game that the offensive performance he saw Saturday was the “worst” he had seen in his coaching career.

Quarterback Chandler Morris struggled to sit in the pocket and get the ball downfield to his receivers. Morris threw for 298 yards for two touchdowns; JP Richardson with a 59-yard catch and Dylan Wright caught a 36-yard pass.

Dykes said it seemed like the offense wasn’t in unison. Each time the offensive line had good protection, Morris would scramble out of the pocket and when he didn’t have good protection up front, he would sit in the pocket too long.

“When the quarterback gets a little antsy in the pocket and he isn’t getting great protection then he gets good protection and scrambles out of the pocket,” said Dykes. “Offensive football is when eleven people work in unison together and we do not have that yet.”

Dykes says if they get to that point this will be a productive offense. Dykes says he still has confidence that the Frogs can come together to make it happen.

“This could be a really great offense and I have confidence in our guys and their ability to be great football players,” said Dykes. “We just have to be able to put it together and that is what we are missing.”

Morris was able to scramble out of the pocket and into the endzone with a 14-7 lead, but the Frogs were only able to score in the first half. Kicker Griffin Kell also went 0-for-3 on field goal attempts. Bottom line: it was ugly football at Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday.

Dykes said what helped last year’s team make it to the National Championship was finding a way to win down the stretch. Dykes said this team hasn’t been able to find a way to come up with a win and need to overcome the little mistakes.

“We are only a couple of plays away from being 5-0 and in the top ten and then we would be sitting here talking about how great we are,” said Dykes. “But we are not. Last year we weren’t a dominant football team and we are in the same situation. We just need to find ways to win down the stretch and we haven’t been able to figure it out.”

Dykes said this year they don’t have that go-to guy in the wide receiver room. They have depth at the position, but they need to have two healthy guys to put out there. It has been a challenge of its own.

Dykes also said they as a staff have to do their part and make sure their players are paying attention to the little details. He said you don’t blame a player when they don’t focus on detail, you look at the coaches.

“We have to coach the details better and that is the way it has to always work,” said Dykes. “Good coaches, their players play well. Players who play average their coaches teach average, and bad coaches their players play bad. That is the way we must approach this problem.”

Dykes said they are a product of their coaching philosophy and if they do not like the results they are getting they need to look in the mirror. Dykes said he wants to do a better job keeping the calm within the team.

“I have to do a better job of keeping our team calm and being confident and that begins with me,” said Dykes. If I have a sense of panic or get upset, it reflects on the team. I must do a better job of being a calming presence, focused and confident because that filters down from me. I went home Saturday night, looked in the mirror, assessed myself and saw what I could do better as a coach.”

TCU is still finding their identity. Dykes said he has the players to make plays. Offensive coordinator Kendal Briles doesn’t have to call for a touchdown because his players are able to do it naturally. The Frogs were able to figure it out and get into the endzone, now they need to transition that into crunch moments.

“Kendal is really bright, I love what we are doing on offense,” said Dykes. “I wish we were more settled but now it is time. We are halfway through the season. It is time to get settled and execute. We need to be able to execute in crunch time. Even though we got shutout in the second half last week, we had an opportunity to win, we just need to find a way to get it done.”

The Horned Frogs will need to find their identity and ways to win on the road against the Iowa State Cyclones. The Frogs are currently 3-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Frogs will kickoff their third conference matchup against the Cyclones on Saturday Oct. 7, kickoff is at 7pm.