TCU students chant to fire Sonny Dykes in BYU loss

The offense was the problem all night, starting with the quarterback who was supposed to fix TCU's turnover issue.

Chris Vannini

@ChrisVannini

TCU QB Jaden Craig has thrown 4 INTs in less than five games, this one BYU returns deep into TCU territory. All the preseason hype about Craig was how he doesn't turn the ball over like Josh Hoover did. It's an issue.

That was the whole pitch on Jaden Craig. The Harvard transfer was billed as the guy who takes care of the football, and the Frogs had leaned on that after Josh Hoover's turnovers. Then he threw 2 interceptions in last week's 21-13 loss to UCF, and the pick against BYU makes 4 in under 5 games. Sonny Dykes had already said Craig needs to be "a little bit more consistent." Saturday he didn't call plays like he believed it.

TCU came up short on a 48-yarder down 3 with 8 minutes left, and a drive earlier it ran a handoff on 3rd-and-7 in BYU territory, lost a yard and punted. When a staff won't let its quarterback throw downfield in a 1-score game, the fans notice. BYU then put it away with a 10-play, 72-yard drive capped by a Bachmeier touchdown that ate nearly 6 minutes of clock. By the end, the student section had seen enough.

Chris Vannini

@ChrisVannini

Quite a few paper bags and “Fire Sonny” chants from the TCU student section as the Frogs fall to 2-3 in a 17-10 loss to BYU. All three one-score losses, but TCU scored 33 points total in those losses.

The math behind the bags is ugly. TCU opened the season by losing 15-10 to Bill Belichick's North Carolina in Dublin, lost 21-13 to UCF in the Big 12 opener, and now 17-10 to BYU. That's 3 losses by 5, 8 and 7 points, and 33 total points scored. Close losses can feel like bad luck. Scoring 11 a game in them is the offense, and the offense is on the coach. The "Fire Sonny" posts started after the North Carolina loss in Week 0. Now the chants have made it into the stands.

Chris Vannini

@ChrisVannini

Report from the field at TCU, where students are wearing paper bags and chanting to fire Sonny Dykes. TCU faithful are getting very frustrated. BYU (4-0 not 5-0 as I said here) might be the Big 12 favorite soon?

This is the same Dykes who took TCU to the national title game in 2022, which tells you how fast it's turned in Fort Worth. At 2-3, TCU's bowl hopes are in real danger, and previews before the game already framed a BYU loss as the thing that puts Dykes on the hot seat. Meanwhile BYU is 4-0 and looking like it could be the Big 12 favorite. The next few weeks are all about Craig. Either Dykes lets him throw it or he finds out how long the paper bags keep coming back.