Sold-Out Crowd Awaits Frogs for Non-Conference Finale

TCU set to face Arkansas State at 7 p.m. at The Carter

9/17/2026

To close out non-conference play, TCU (1-1) will face Arkansas State (1-1) on Saturday night (7 p.m.) in front of a sold-out crowd at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

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GAME DAY DETAILS

TCU (1-1) vs. Arkansas State (1-1)
Saturday, September 19 - 7 p.m.
Amon G. Carter Stadium - Fort Worth, Texas

Tracking the Game:
Television » ESPNU (Ted Emrich and Fozzy Whittaker)
Radio Tuning » KZPS 92.5 FM and Sirius XM 238 / 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 – 2 p.m.
Frog Alley Opens – 4 p.m.
Frog Walk – 4:30 p.m.
Gates Open – 5:30 p.m.
Carter March – 6:10 p.m.
Pregame Show – 6:40 p.m.
Kickoff vs. Arkansas State – 7:02 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

TCU closes the non-conference slate with a matchup against Sun Belt foe Arkansas State in Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday night.
All-time, TCU is 4-0 against teams from the Sun Belt at the time of the game, including a 2-0 mark against the Red Wolves.
In the two programs' previous meetings, the Horned Frogs claimed both behind great games for College Football Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson. In 1999, the star posted 269 yards on the ground, and he followed that up with 140 yards in 2000.
Arkansas State's offensive coordinator is Garrett Altman, who played for TCU from 2013-17 as an offensive lineman.
In addition, the Red Wolves' running backs coach is Kenny Hill, a standout quarterback for TCU in 2016-17, leading the Horned Frogs to the Big 12 Championship Game in 2017.

Jaden Craig's 391 passing yards in the home opener are the most by any Big 12 quarterback this season.

TCU Defense swarming to a tackle against Grambling 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. As the Crimson's signal caller, Craig became the most accomplished quarterback in program history, finishing his career as the all-time leader in passing yards (6,074) and touchdown passes (52) along with setting single-season records for passing completions (208), touchdown passes (25) and passing yards (2,869) in 2025.
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 bring 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).