TCU Football Wins 2024 Season-Opener Against Stanford, 34-27

 

TCU quarterback Josh Hoover led TCU's victory over Stanford

The TCU Horned Frogs opened their 2024 college football season with a sloppy, lackluster, come-from-behind  34-27 victory over Stanford on Friday, August 30, in Palo, Alto, California, before an announced crowd of 36,026. The game was broadcast nationally by ESPN.

TCU trailed in the game 7-0, 14-7, 14-10, 17-10, 17-13 and 24-20. The Frogs took the lead for good at 27-24 late in the fourth quarter. 

TCU was led to victory by sophomore quarterback Josh Hoover. He completed his first eight pass attempts and finished 28-of-42 for 353 yards and two touchdowns.

The Frogs' offense accumulated 457 total yards.

Senior wide receiver Jack Bech had a career-best 139 yards receiving on six catches. 

Senior wide receiver JP Richardson had a career-best 107 yards on six receptions for the second 100-yard game of his career. Richardson has at least one catch in 28 consecutive games, tied for the seventh-longest active streak in the nation.

This was the first time that TCU had two 100-yard receivers in the same game for the first time since Derius Davis (139 yards) and Quentin Johnston (114 yards) did so in a game against Oklahoma State in 2020. 

Senior wide receiver Savion Williams tied a career-high with 11 receptions, for 85 yards. He had a five-yard touchdown catch on TCU’s opening series, his ninth career receiving score. It was part of five receptions on the drive.

Sophomore running back Cam Cook scored the first rushing touchdown of his career on a seven-yard carry for TCU’s final points, in the fourth quarter. Cook ran for a career-high 81 yards on 20 attempts.

True freshman quarterback Hauss Hejny made his collegiate debut. He had two rushing attempts for seven yards.

Truce freshman kicker Kyle Lemmermann made 22- and 42-yard field goals on his first two collegiate attempts.

TCU scored for the 395th consecutive game, the second-longest streak in NCAA history. Number one is Florida, at 448 games (1988-present). The Horned Frogs haven't been blanked since November 16, 1991, at Texas (32-0). 

Under the guidance of first-year defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, who is the former head football coach of Boise State, the Horned Frogs held Stanford to 281 total yards, had 10 tackles for loss and four sacks and limited the Cardinal to converting five-of-15 third-down attempts.

Making his first career start, sophomore safety Jamel Johnson had a personal-best 11 tackles. He also forced a fumble.

Senior linebacker Namdi Obiazor had 2.5 tackles for loss, including 1.5 sacks, as part of four total tackles.

Junior linebacker Devean Deal had 2.5 tackles for loss, with a half sack, in his TCU debut. Deal  transferred to the Frogs from Tulane prior to this season. 

Senior linebacker Marcel Brooks’ 1.5 sacks were his first at TCU and since recording 1.5 sacks while playing as a true freshman on LSU’s 2019 national championship team.

Senior linebacker Cooper McDonald took part in his first sack as a Horned Frog. He transferred to TCU from San Diego State.

Senior defensive lineman Tymon Mitchell, a transfer from Georgia, had his first career interception, off a deflection by linebacker Johnny Hodges. He also had a tackle on a fourth-down play that resulted in Stanford turning the ball over on downs to the Frogs.

Senior defensive lineman NaNa Osafo-Mensah, a transfer from Notre Dame, posted four quarterback hurries.

Senior cornerback JaTravis Broughton, a transfer from Utah, recorded two pass breakups.

TCU-Stanford box score: here

Game highlights: here

TCU head coach Sonny Dykes, quarterback Josh Hoover and linebacker Johnny Hodges talk about TCU's win: here

TCU locker room after beating Stanford: here 

Stanford head coach Troy Taylor talks about Stanford's loss: here

Stanford is a first-year member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), which the Cardinal joined after the Pac-12 imploded last year. Only Oregon State and Washington State remain as members of the Pac-12.

This was the fourth meeting between TCU and Stanford. The Frogs have won all four contests. The last meeting between the two teams was in the 2017 Alamo Bowl, in San Antonio, Texas. TCU won, 39-37. The two teams have played once in California, in 2007. TCU won, 38-36. The two teams' only game played in Fort Worth, in 2008, was won by the Horned Frogs, 31-14.

The last time TCU opened a season with a Friday night road game was in 2022. The Frogs defeated Colorado, 38-13, in Boulder, en route to a College Football Playoff National Championship appearance. 

 

August 30 equals (2008, 2014) the earliest date in history for TCU to open a football season.

TCU has a four-game winning streak against ACC opponents. The Horned Frogs are 5-5 all-time against the ACC.

The Horned Frogs are 8-4 in road games under third-year head coach Sonny Dykes.

TCU is 7-9 in its last 16 games, including 5-7 last season.

TCU's first home game of the 2024 season is Saturday, September 7, against Long Island University, a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)-level opponent. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 pm (Central). The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

The third game of TCU's 2024 schedule is the Frog's 2024 Big 12 Conference-opener, against UCF (Central Florida), in Fort Worth, on Saturday, September 14. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 pm (Central). Fox will broadcast the game.