TCU Preview
TCU Offense
The Horned Frog offense is engineered by one of the most talented, though potentially most underrated, quarterbacks in college football, in Josh Hoover. TCU’s starter since midway through the 2023 season, Hoover threw for nearly 4,000 yards in 2024, and after three games, he currently leads the nation in passing yards per game.
Through three contests, Hoover averages 333.33 yards per game with 11 touchdowns to just two interceptions, along with 30 net rushing yards. Hoover has increased his passing total each game of the 2025 season as he threw for 284 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the opener against North Carolina, then he had 337 passing yards with four touchdowns and no picks against Abilene Christian, and most recently, Hoover tallied 379 passing yards with five touchdowns and one interception against SMU.
At running back, Kevorian Barnes has a team-high 156 rushing yards in two games but is expected to miss Friday’s contest with ASU. The former UTSA transfer shined in his TCU debut as he posted 113 rushing yards on 11 carries with a touchdown against North Carolina, but he missed last week’s game against SMU and is listed as unavailable for Friday.
Though Barnes leads the team in rushing yards, Jeremy Payne tops the squad with 23 carries for 110 yards, along with seven catches for 62 yards with a touchdown, and could be the starter this week for TCU.
Trent Battle, Joe Denman, and Nate Palmer all should see action as well in the ground game. Battle is off to a very intriguing start as he leads the team with two rushing touchdowns and averages 9.0 yards across his 12 carries thus far.
TCU’s group of starting wide receivers is a deep, highly talented, and very experienced unit that can cause major trouble for any secondary, as Eric McAlister, Jordan Dwyer, and Joseph Manjack IV are all key contributors, and in just three games, each of the three receivers has posted at least one 100-yard game.
McAlister enters Friday’s game scorching hot, with an eye-popping 254 receiving yards and three touchdowns on eight catches last week against SMU. Prior to that, he had only had five receptions for 66 yards with no touchdowns in the first two games. He has a team-best 320 receiving yards as well as three touchdown catches, along with 13 total catches in three games.
Dwyer, a heralded transfer this offseason from Idaho of the FCS level, has a team-high 17 receptions with 257 receiving yards and a touchdown. He started the season with an outstanding FBS debut as he had nine receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown in the opener against North Carolina.
Manjack, who began his college career with a short stint at USC before spending the last three seasons at Houston, transferred to TCU this offseason. He has recorded nine catches for 153 yards with a touchdown so far this season. He had a standout performance in TCU’s second game as he totaled 114 receiving yards on four catches against Abilene Christian.
At tight end, DJ Rogers is off to a very good start with nine catches for 82 yards with a touchdown. Chase Curtis also should see significant action at tight end, and he has two catches for 31 yards with a touchdown in three games.
The TCU offensive line figures to start Ryan Hughes at left tackle, Scottsdale Notre Dame prep alum Cade Bennett at left guard, Coltin Deery at center, either Carson Bruno or Remington Strickland at right guard, and Ben Taylor-Whitfield at right tackle.
TCU Offense Summary
Similar to last week’s opponent, Baylor, TCU presents a seasoned and talented quarterback backed by a highly talented group of pass-catching receivers and tight ends.
TCU is likely to look to threaten the Sun Devil defense through the air early and often, presenting what should be the stiffest aerial test to the ASU secondary that the Devils have faced so far in 2025.
TCU Defense
TCU’s depth chart shows a 4-2-5 base defense with the starting defensive line as ends Paul Oyewale and Devean Deal flanking tackles Markis Deal and Ansel Din-Mbuh
Devean Deal leads all TCU linemen with 12 tackles, including one for loss with a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery. Din-Mbuh ties for the team lead with 3.0 TFLs and leads the squad with 1.5 sacks as part of his seven total tackles. Markis Deal has three tackles, including a share of one tackle for loss.
At linebacker, Kaleb Elarms-Orr and Namdi Obiazor are listed as the starters for Friday’s game. Elarms-Orr ranks second on the team with 18 tackles, including 2.0 for loss, with 1.0 sack, and two quarterback hurries. Obiazor ranks third on the roster with 17 tackles, including a sack with one quarterback hurry.
In the secondary, cornerbacks Vernon Glover and Channing Canada will be joined by an outstanding pair of safeties in Bud Clark and Jamel Johnson, and nickel defensive back Austin Jordan.
Johnson leads the team with 20 tackles and two interceptions, while Clark, a Second-Team All-Big-12 pick last year, has 13 tackles, two pass breakups, and an interception.
Canada has collected seven tackles so far, Glover has posted five tackles with a pass breakup, while Jordan has registered four tackles with a pass breakup.
TCU Defense Summary
A balanced and talented defense, TCU allows under 20 points per game through three contests, while also yielding just 107.0 rushing yards per game with two rushing scores allowed.
Even in its thrilling victory, ASU did not have the offensive success against the Baylor defense that many predicted would be the case, so the Sun Devils will need greater offensive efficiency and execution to keep up with both the TCU offense and its defense.
TCU Special Teams
The kick game for TCU has been generally shaky so far, as punter Ethan Craw averages just 33.8 yards on six punts with a long of 41 yards, while Kyle Lemmerman and Nate McCashland are a combined 2-for-3 on the year with a long of 33 yards.
Jordan Dwyer has three punt returns for three total yards, while Jon Denman averages 27.0 yards on five kickoff returns, though the TCU depth chart lists Jeremy Payne or Ed Small as the options for Friday’s game. Small has a 24-yard kickoff return this year, while Payne has yet to return a kick in 2025.
Overall Summary
For just the third time – and first with both teams as members of the Big-12 – Arizona State and TCU will lock up on the gridiron. ASU carries a perfect record in the first two games against the Horned Frogs, with victories under Frank Kush in Tempe and Fort Worth in 1974 and ’75.
Back in those days, however, TCU was a shell of a program, as over a 10-year span from 1974 to 1983, the Horned Frogs only had one season with more than two wins – a three-win campaign in 1982. In that span, they had five seasons with one or zero wins. Yikes.
An up-and-down program over the past three seasons, TCU advanced to the College Football Playoff championship game following the 2022 season, then dipped to a losing record in 2023 before winning nine games a year ago.
Standing at 3-0 and ranked in the top 25, TCU comes to Tempe for its Big-12 conference opener looking to continue its winning ways, while ASU looks to build on its dramatic win at Baylor that began its league slate.
Similar to last week, ASU faces a team with a proven quarterback with a host of dynamic pass-catchers at his disposal. Though ASU’s contest at Baylor was far from the offensive outpour that was expected, it’s difficult to predict that form of lightning to strike twice, as TCU should pose a major offensive threat to the Sun Devil defense.
Though this context doesn’t feel as dire of a make-or-break scenario as the Baylor game was for ASU, if the Sun Devils can manage a win, they will then have the luxury of a bye week respite with a 2-0 start in league play and, most importantly, significant momentum and an unquestionably increased spirit among the fan base that the Devils are returning to form that was expected of them in the preseason.
