The TCU Horned Frogs played the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday, and for TCU, it looked like a game that could be a spring board into a strong 2025 football season. TCU finished the 2024 season with an 8-4 record, including winning five of their last six games, with the only loss coming by three points to rival Baylor.
TCU was arguably one of the most underrated teams in the Big 12, if not the country, during the second half of the season, and on Saturday, the Horned Frogs showed exactly why. They dominated Louisiana from start to finish on their way to a 34-3 win in the New Mexico Bowl.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from the game.
Fast Start Frogs
The Horned Frogs got off to a red-hot start against the Ragin’ Cajuns. TCU scored on their first four drives, going: touchdown, touchdown, field goal, field goal. The drives went 75, 63, 30 and 60 yards, with Josh Hoover breaking TCU’s single-season record for passing yards late in the second quarter. He passed Trevone Boykin’s record set in 2014.
It was all about the passing game for the Frogs, and strong play from the wide receiving corps. Eric McAlister finished with 87 receiving yards on 8 catches, while Drake Dabney also had a big afternoon, finishing with three grabs for 73 yards, while JP Richardson have five for 53 with a score.
TCU finished the regular season ranked fourth in the Big 12 in points per game (33.4) and fourth in the Big 12 in yards per game (431.8), and while this unit didn’t get the attention of teams like Colorado and UCF on the offensive side, Sonny Dykes, Kendal Briles and the rest of the unit proved just how dangerous it can be.
Louisiana’s QB Situation Proves Meaningless
There was a ton of chatter leading up to the game as to whether or not Ben Woolridge was going to play for Louisiana. He had not played since suffering a broken collarbone in mid-November.
An article from the Acadiana Advocate noted that Woolridge was going to give it a go on Saturday vs. TCU, reporting, “All signs point to Wooldridge starting Saturday against the Horned Frogs.”
That moved the line on the game from TCU -12.5 to TCU -10, as Woolridge seemed like a big upgrade from true freshman and third-string QB Daniel Beale, who took over for back up Chandler Fields, who also got injured in recent weeks.
But none of it made much of a difference, as Louisiana’s offense was kept in check in a big way by TCU’s defense for most of the afternoon. Woolridge finished 7/20 for 61 yards and one interception. Beale got into the game and went 3/4 for 28 yards and one interception.
Louisiana only had 209 total yards of offense in the loss.
Where TCU Can Improve in 2025
If there is a place of improvement for TCU that the Frogs can take out of this game it’s the running attack, which struggled all season.
TCU ranked 13th in the Big 12 this season, only averaging 114 rushing yards per game, and their 3.7 yards per carry was tied for second-worst in the Big 12, ahead of only Oklahoma State.
For TCU to become a more balanced offense in 2025, this will need be an area Sonny Dykes looks to address this offseason. TCU only had 33 carries for 110 yards, good for 3.3 yards per carry. And while negative yardage on sacks count against rushing yards, TCU only had -4 from Josh Hoover, meaning big sacks did not impact this number in any meaningful way.
TCU can compete atop the Big 12 in 2024, but it will take improvement in the run-blocking game, and help at running back, to make it happen. But if it does, TCU can be a threat to end up in Arlington for a Big 12 Championship in 2025.
