Horned Frogs Return Home to Face No. 9 BYU in Primetime

TCU hosts first top-10 opponent since 2023 at 6 p.m. Saturday

10/1/2026

In its Big 12 home opener, TCU (2-2, 0-1) will face ninth-ranked BYU (3-0, 1-0) on Saturday night (6 p.m.) at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

Included in the halftime show Saturday is the return of the fan-favorite drone show, so make sure to stay in your seats.

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GAME DAY DETAILS

TCU (2-2, 0-1) vs. No. 9 BYU (3-0, 1-0)
Saturday, October 3 - 6 p.m.
Amon G. Carter Stadium - Fort Worth, Texas

Tracking the Game:
Television » ESPN (Tom Hart, Roddy Jones, Quint Kessenich)
Radio Tuning » KZPS 92.5 FM and Sirius XM 237 / Spanish KAMV-FM 107.1-2 and KLNO-FM 94.1-2
Radio Streaming » The Varsity Network App
Live Stats » StatBroadcast

GAME DAY TIMELINE

Parking Lots Open – 1 p.m.
Frog Alley Opens – 3 p.m.
Frog Walk – 3:30 p.m.
Gates Open – 4:30 p.m.
Carter March – 5:10 p.m.
Pregame Show – 5:40 p.m.
Kickoff vs. BYU – 6:05 p.m.

GAME DAY LINKS

Game Day Central » Read
Weekly Press Conference » Watch
2026 Media Guide » Read
Weekly Game Notes » Read

Fireworks going off at Amon G. Carter Stadium

WHAT'S NEW AT THE CARTER

TCU has announced multiple new features and experiences coming to historic Amon G. Carter Stadium for the 2026 season.

The lighting system in The Carter has been completely overhauled with brand new, full-spectrum LED lights. A similar installation was done in Schollmaier Arena last year and quickly became a fan favorite.

Many preparations have been made to ensure that this offers an elite experience inside the stadium, and fans are encouraged to stay in their seats as we start a new fourth quarter tradition against Grambling State.

Thanks to our extended partnership with Learfield, we have overhauled the structure with another brand new, state-of-the-art LED board to match the clarity and quality of the board in the north endzone. The structure will remain, but the screen will now stretch edge-to-edge rather than be framed within it, and the old scoreboard will be fully integrated.

A full list of new features at historic Amon G. Carter Stadium can be found here.

NOTING THE GAME

Returning home for the first time in conference play, TCU is set to host No. 9 BYU on Saturday night at The Carter.
TCU is looking to avoid starting 0-2 in Big 12 play for the first time since 2013.
The matchup will mark the first time a top-10 team has visited Fort Worth since 2023, when seventh-ranked Texas defeated TCU, 29-26. The Frogs last beat a top-10 team in 2022 against No. 2 Michigan, and the last home victory was against No. 8 Oklahoma State that same season.
TCU is 3-1 against ranked opponents at home under head coach Sonny Dykes and 8-5 overall. The Frogs have also won two straight against ranked teams, closing the season last year with victories over No. 24 Houston and No. 16 USC.
All-time, the Horned Frogs lead the series with the Cougars 7-6.

TCU has won four of its last six home games against top-10 teams dating back to 2014.

Gallery: Football vs. Arkansas State

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Football vs. Arkansas State

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Ace Theus returns a punt vs. Arkansas State

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Football vs. Arkansas State

Vernon Glover, Jr. breaks up a pass vs. Arkansas State

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Max Carroll makes a tackle vs. Arkansas State

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Football vs. Arkansas State

Paul Oyewale rushes the quarterback vs. Arkansas State

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Football vs. Arkansas State

Kari Ashley turns upfield vs. Arkansas State

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Football vs. Arkansas State

Jaden Craig runs upfield vs. Arkansas State

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Football vs. Arkansas State

Jamel Johnson and Max Carroll celebrate vs. Arkansas State

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Football vs. Arkansas State

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Jamel Johnson makes a call vs. Arkansas State

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Football vs. Arkansas State

Jeremy Scott hauls in a catch vs. Arkansas State.

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Football vs. Arkansas State

NOTING THE HORNED FROGS

TCU is in its fifth season under the direction of head coach Sonny Dykes in 2026. The 2022 National Coach of the Year led TCU to 36 wins in his first four seasons, the most by a TCU head coach since Francis Schmidt won 37 from 1929-32.
Dykes has also led programs at SMU (2018-21), Cal (2013-16), and Louisiana Tech (2010-12). In all four stops, Dykes has guided the program to the postseason, making him one of four active head coaches to take four different schools to a bowl game, joining Butch Jones, Lane Kiffin, and Rich Rodriguez.
Dykes is also one of eight active head coaches to have appeared in the CFP National Championship game, along with Kirby Smart, Dabo Swinney, Ryan Day, Marcus Freeman, Kalen DeBoer, Mario Cristobal, and Curt Cignetti. Dykes and Cignetti are the only two coaches in CFP history to take over a losing program and direct them to the CFP in their first season.
For the first time in three seasons, TCU has a new starting quarterback directing the offense as Harvard transfer Jaden Craig takes the reins. With the Crimson, he became the most accomplished quarterback in program history and left Cambridge with multiple school records. Through four games, Craig has posted numbers that are not only near the top of the conference, but the country. He is currently tied for the lead in the Big 12 in 300-yard passing performances (3), and ranks second in passing yards (1,213), passing average per game (303.25) and passing plays of 20+ yards (19). His passing average sits fifth nationally, while the yards total is sixth.
The Horned Frogs also have a new offensive play caller in Gordon Sammis. For the past two seasons, Sammis ran the offense at UConn, helping the Huskies post consecutive nine-win seasons for the first time in program history while producing one of the nation's most efficient and explosive offenses. During that span, UConn achieved the program's first-ever 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard receiver and 1,000-yard rusher in the same season.
Conversely, the defense returns a host of familiar names. Along with defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, now in year three, Jamel Johnson enjoyed a breakout campaign as a junior, totaling 96 tackles (second on the team) while posting five interceptions. The interception figure for Johnson ranked first the Big 12 and seventh in the country, while his near triple-digit tackle number was the ninth most in the conference. Up front, Markis Deal, Ansel Din-Mbuh and Paul Oyewale brings a combined 89 games played and 43 starts into the year.

WATCH LIST FROGS

Home to 10 national awards since 2009, the Horned Frogs are no strangers to taking home hardware including the Ted Hendricks Award (Jerry Hughes, 2009), the Rimington Trophy (Jake Kirkpatrick, 2010), the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award (Trevone Boykin, 2014; Max Duggan, 2022), the Jim Thorpe Award (Tre'von Moehrig, 2020; Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, 2022), the Davey O'Brien and Unitas Golden Army Award (Max Duggan, 2022), and of course, the Heisman Trophy (Davey O'Brien, 1938).

Prior to the 2026 season, eight Frogs earned preseason recognition (listed below).