TCU restores Star-Telegram credentials as Fields faces assault charge
TCU reversed course on the Star-Telegram ban the same week its former safety was formally charged over the locker-room punch that started it all, and the receiver he hit still has no return date.
Credentials restored, but the case behind them just got heavier
TCU fully restored the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's media credentials this week, ending a standoff that started when the school pulled them over reporter Steven Johnson's coverage of the August 13 locker-room fight between safety Jacob Fields and receiver Dozie Ezukanma, according to Yahoo Sports. TCU had said the ban was about protecting Ezukanma from threats stirred up by the reporting, but the paper's account — that tensions had been building in the room and coaching staff knew without stepping in — is the version that's held up. In a statement carried by ESPN's Alex Rittenberg and On3's Brett McMurphy, the school called the resolution the product of "a series of productive discussions" and said it respects the Star-Telegram's "role as an independent news source."
The other side of that story got heavier the same week: Jacob Fields has now been formally charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, turning himself in to Tarrant County police, per McMurphy. TCU had already dismissed him on August 15, nearly two weeks before the team ever left for Dublin. Per Covers' injury table, Ezukanma is listed Out with a head injury, and the entry adds it's "not anticipated that he will return to action anytime soon" — plenty firm to say he misses Grambling, and likely more than just that one.
He wasn't the only piece missing in Ireland, either — receiver Jordan Dwyer made the trip still managing a foot injury, and defensive lineman Zach Chapman sat out entirely. TCU played its highest-profile game of the year down three contributors before the ball was even snapped.
Dykes still isn't blaming the execution for the Dublin collapse
TCU led 10-3 into the second quarter of a rematch nobody had circled — the same North Carolina team the Frogs blew out last Labor Day, this time at Aviva Stadium with Bill Belichick pacing the other sideline. A high snap over the punter's head turned into a safety right before the break, and from there TCU kept earning field position without cashing it: stuffed on fourth-and-short at the goal line twice, before finally clinching the 15-10 loss by lining up offside on a fourth-and-1 try, the 10th and final penalty of the day.
North Carolina10-15Asked how to fix the discipline problem afterward, Dykes didn't exactly own it. "Not have ACC officials," he told reporters, before adding, "Then I think we got to do a better job of getting more disciplined." He was more contrite about the fourth-down math itself: "Looking back now, obviously, I wish we had kicked the two field goals, but at the time, it makes sense to try."
TCU Football posted the coach's rawer version of that same message two days later, speaking candidly in the locker room about a game his own team is calling a giveaway. The file is still open — 0-1, with the conference's other four ranked programs, Colorado, Kansas, UCF and Utah, all sitting at 1-0.
Craig's clean box score still added up to nothing
The stat line says Jaden Craig was efficient without ever being dangerous: 20 of 32 for 175 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions. He led a 15-play drive into the red zone in the fourth quarter, then, facing fourth-and-2 from the North Carolina 10 with 4:05 left, rolled out and threw incomplete toward Jeremy Scott to end TCU's last real chance. A clean box score attached to an empty one.
Dykes isn't backing off the pick that got Craig the captain's patch in the first place. "I've seen Jaden practice and I know what it's looked like. It didn't really look like that today. I'm sure North Carolina had something to do with that ... we just didn't give ourselves a chance," he said afterward, per Heartland College Sports — the same coach who spent Big 12 Media Days saying Craig had "won over the hearts and minds of his teammates" by never pounding his chest.
The former Harvard record-holder, TCU's pick over other Power 4 offers once Josh Hoover left for Indiana, gets a real chance to prove Dykes right in front of a home crowd for the first time all year.
Grambling brings a kickoff-return touchdown and a rout into Fort Worth
TCU's home opener comes September 12 vs. Grambling, and the visitors arrive with more juice than a typical SIAC trip suggests. Grambling State throttled Clark Atlanta 49-7 in its own opener, with Tony Phillips Jr. returning the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown just 14 seconds into the game and the Tigers piling up 487 total yards on 6.6 yards a play, per KTBS.
That's a considerably friendlier matchup than a rainy Aviva Stadium against Bill Belichick's defense, and it's Jaden Craig's first true home start as a Horned Frog — the stage Dykes was pointing to when he called the week after Dublin "an opportunity." No line has been posted on this one yet, but a team that just lost on 10 penalties and a blocked kick against a Power 4 opponent should not need Vegas to tell it what's at stake against an FCS team it's supposed to beat.