20. TCU Horned Frogs – Ben Banogu, DE
TCU is another team coming off a strong season, but like any of the top contenders, they want to be in the playoff come season’s end. The offense will once again feature a run-heavy attack with Kenny Hill, Kyle Hicks, Darius Anderson and Sewo Olonilua.
Hill will also need to produce through the air in 2018. When it comes to the defense, TCU stands apart from the rest of the Big 12 conference. They only gave up 331 yards per game and only allowed 19 points per game. It sounds like a broken record at this point, but the Horned Frogs need to win up front to stay competitive, especially in a conference where the spread offense rules.
They lost their sack leader from last season, so it’s up to Ben Banogu to pick up the slack. Banogu finished last season with eight and a half sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss. TCU expects a jump for him in his senior season, and he will need to build on his performance and be a double-digit sack guy. If Banogu goes down this season, the pass rush won’t be nearly as equipped to handle the offenses in the Big 12.