Long live The Hypnotoad: Was TCU’s magical run a flash in the pan or sustainable?

The Hypnotoad may have been frog stomped by the Dawgs, but TCU is not a flash in the pan.

It may hurt more than you could even know, but TCU had one helluva run this college season.

Coming off a forgettable 5-7 campaign, TCU was picked to finish seventh in a 10-team Big 12. Though former SMU head coach Sonny Dykes had a plan to apply his metroplex blueprint in Fort Worth, nobody saw this magical run happening. Unfortunately, the clock struck midnight right around 8:00 p.m. ET, 5:00 p.m. PT Monday night. The glass slipper shattered into a million pieces.

Fortunately, TCU is in a fantastic position to sustain more good years like this, rather than be a flash in the pan. Simply put, the Horned Frogs have a chance to be the new Big 12 equivalent of Gus Malzhan era Auburn. Malzahn may have never won a national title as a head coach down on The Plains, but two division titles, an SEC championship and a national title bout are his AU legacy.

There are two things Dykes must do in Fort Worth to sustain this: Recruit and own the new Big 12.

Long live The Hypnotoad: Why Sonny Dykes’ TCU team is not a flash in the pan

Look. This is not about being or beating Georgia. It is about channeling everything that makes this small Christian private school in Fort Worth, Texas so special. Dykes did something in year one his predecessor Gary Patterson was never capable of, and that man has a statue on-campus! With College Football Playoff expansion coming, TCU has an even better opportunity at sustaining this.

This is because TCU has earned the right to sit at the big kid’s table. The Horned Frogs reap the cachet of being a top-12 program in the country. Just like this past season, they do not have to win the Big 12 to make the expanded playoff field. They need to be a strong force in the new Big 12, as well as recruit at a top-tier level for their standards. TCU had the No. 19 recruiting class for 2023.

Although BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF all have strong football programs, the Big 12 is about to lose two blue-bloods in Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC. Once the Big 12 becomes a new 12-team league in 2024, somebody is going to have to take charge to be the new standard bearer in the conference. One would think TCU would be in the running to be that team in the new Big 12.

What people are failing to realize is TCU is not really an underdog story. Along with Oklahoma and Baylor, TCU has been one of the very best programs in the Big 12 throughout the College Football Playoff era. Although they have not won a conference title just yet, the Horned Frogs won a playoff game, something Lincoln Riley was never able to do during his five-year run in Norman…

Overall, TCU may not overachieve like this in some time. However, about every three years, the Horned Frogs have had a team worthy of being in the playoff discussion down the home stretch. They have made it once, and could have made it in twice. For now, it is about establishing a new standard of winning 10 games annually under this current regime. This can be sustained at TCU.

Ultimately, the Horned Frogs are more likely than not to make the College Football Playoff at least one more time in the next three years. Do not let a 58-point title bout loss ruin it for you. Dykes has shown you can get to and play in championship settings at TCU. The Big 12 is about to be an incredibly exciting and competitive league. This should bring out the best in Dykes’ TCU program.

TCU is probably not making the final four-team playoff next season, but this program has arrived.

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