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| TCU fifth-year quarterback Jaden Craig (#1) will lead the TCU offense against Arkansas State. |
By Tom C. "Midnite" Burke
The last confirmed sighting of a wild wolf in Texas was in 1970, when two Mexican gray wolves were trapped and killed in the Big Bend region near the city of Alpine.
The last wild red wolves in Texas were collected in 1980, to start a captive-breeding program, marking their extinction in the wild.
A group of red wolves tried to make a return in Texas in September 2000, but they handily were eradicated by a bunch of nasty Horned Frogs.
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| Tom C. "Midnite" Burke |
This will be the third-ever confrontation between the Wolves and the Frogs. They first played each other on September 25, 1999. TCU won 24-21, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, which is the home of Arkansas State. On September 23, 2000, the Horned Frogs slaughtered the Red Wolves 52-3, in Fort Worth.
TCU will enter Saturday’s game with a 1-1 record and fresh off a 63-7 victory over Grambling State in Fort Worth on September 12. In defeating the Tigers, the Frogs rolled up 676 total offensive yards and defensively only allowed 210 yards, of which only 20 yards came on the ground.
The Horned Frogs opened their 2026 season on August 29 with a 15-10 upset loss to the University of North Carolina in the 2026 Aer Linus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland.
Following their contest with ASU, the Horned Frogs will open Big 12 Conference play with a game at UCF on Saturday, September 26. That game will kick off at 2:30 pm (Central) and be televised by FS1.
Arkansas State is 1-1. The Red Wolves opened their season on September 5 with a 42-24 loss to Memphis. On September 12, Arkansas State beat West Georgia 52-7. After playing TCU, the Wolves will host Kennesaw State in Jonesboro, Arkansas, on September 26.
TCU opened as a 20.5-point favorite over Arkansas State at DraftKings Sportsbook.
https://www.si.com/betting/sportsbook-promos/draftkings-promo-code
Betting lines may vary by sportsbook and are subject to change before kickoff.
Midnite Madness predicts a 45-17 TCU victory.
Other Week 3 Games Involving Big 12 Games
· Friday, September 18
o Houston at Texas Tech
· Saturday, September 19
o Tulane at Kansas State
o Bowling Green at Iowa State
o Arizona State at Kansas
o Miami (Ohio) at Cincinnati
o Utah State at Utah
o Louisiana Tech at Baylor
o Murray State at Oklahoma State
o Georgia State at UCF
o Colorado at Northwestern
o BYU at Colorado State
o West Virginia at Virginia
o Northern Illinois at Arizona
Dykes Says Arkansas State is Solid
“Arkansas State is a good, solid football team,” said TCU head football coach Sonny Dykes. “Butch (Jones) is a good football coach. He’s been around a long time and has had success everywhere he has been. His teams always play hard. They usually create a little bit of havoc on defense.
“They have a good returner, dangerous. They’ve really done a nice job of creating turnovers. I like their back-end guys. They can play the ball and make plays. Their quarterback is big and played really well last week. He’s big, strong and has a good arm. He can make the throws. He’s a good decision-maker. An effective runner who is hard to tackle. They have a big running back that runs hard and speed at the receivers.”
Dykes says he expects the Arkansas State offense to try to establish the run, which will be a good test for TCU’s defense.
“We’re going to need to play well up front,” explained Dykes. “We’ll need to be physical and do a good job of getting off blocks, and leverage the ball properly.”
Dykes was encouraged by how the Horned Frogs bounced back from their season-opening loss to North Carolina with the victory over Grambling State.
“We cut our penalties in half. We’ve got to continue to do that,” said Dykes. “I hated that we turned the ball over (one fumble lost). We’ve got to make sure we don’t do that. But we did execute better. A big improvement in that.
“We had five drops, you know, and probably left 150 yards out there. We’ve got to make those plays. If we want to be a good football team, we can’t have five drops. We’ve dropped eight balls in two games. That’s not something we normally do. We have some young players, but that’s no excuse. We’ve got to be consistent in catching the ball, especially the deep balls.
“Defensively, we’ve been good. We finished the game strong against Grambling. We had good execution. We played a lot of guys and I was very encouraged by the young guys’ effort, intensity and attention to detail. Defensively, we need to find a way to start games a little bit better. We’ve given up drives early in games. This is the biggest area we could improve on from a defensive standpoint.”
Dykes said edge rusher Zach Chapman and wide receiver Jordan Dwyer are doubtful for the Arkansas State game. Preseason All-Big 12 safety Jamel Johnson is expected to play.
Butch Jones Leads Arkansas State
Butch Jones is Arkansas State’s head coach. He is in his sixth season of leading the Red Wolves and his name probably is familiar to college football fans. At ASU, Jones is 26-37 overall and 16-24 in the Sun Belt Conference.
Jones has led Arkansas State to three straight bowl games, including back-to-back bowl wins in the 2024 68 Ventures Bowl and the 2025 Xbox Bowl. A-State is one of 18 Group of Six programs to earn at least three consecutive bowl bids through the 2025 season.
Jones came to Arkansas State from a stint at Alabama from 2018-2020. In 2020, Jones served as a special assistant to the Alabama head coach Nick Saban. He was an offensive analyst in 2018 and 2019.
Prior to Alabama, Jones spent five years (2013-2017) as head football coach at the University of Tennessee. He was head coach at the University of Cincinnati from 2010 t0 2012 and the head coach at Central Michigan from 2007 to 2009.
Over his 16 seasons as a head coach, Jones’ teams have combined to win four conference championships, play in 11 bowl games and finished ranked in the AP Top 25 six times. He is the only active, and one of just three all-time, FBS head coaches to lead four different programs to multiple bowl games. He earned his 100th career victory in 2024, to make him one of 16 active FBS head coaches to achieve the milestone.
“Our competition is now a lot steeper. A lot more challenging,” said Jones about A-State’s impending game against TCU. “We have to become a much better football team, just in the overall small details of winning football games.
“We will be playing a TCU football team that I totally anticipate will challenge for the Big 12 Conference championship. They are extremely, extremely talented and very, very well coached. In all three phases of the game, we are going to be challenged.
“It’s going to take everything we have, and obviously, like any coach will tell you, it starts with a great week of preparation. We have to get monumentally better from a fundamental standpoint. If not, when you play a talented, complete football team like TCU you will get exposed.”
TCU fans will notice at least two familiar faces on the Red Wolves’ coaching staff – former Horned Frogs Kenny Hill and Garret Altman.
Prior to this season, Hill was named the Wolves’ running backs coach. Hill spent the previous two seasons at Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, as co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach. Before his stint at Incarnate Word, Hill was an offensive quality control coach at Cal for two seasons.
Hill was a quarterback at TCU from 2015 to 2017. After concluding a standout 2017 senior season as TCU’s starting quarterback, in which he led the Horned Frogs to an 11-3 record, Big 12 Championship Game appearance and No. 9 final ranking, Hill remained with the Horned Frogs as a member of the coaching staff. He served as a student assistant and then graduate assistant, before becoming an offensive analyst in 2020 and quarterbacks coach in 2021.
Also, prior to this season, Altman, a former TCU offensive lineman, was named the Red Wolves’ offensive coordinator. Altman spent the previous two seasons I Nashville, Tennessee, with Vanderbilt, as the Commodores’ quarterbacks coach. Before his stint at Vanderbilt, Altman was an offensive analyst for two seasons at New Mexico State (2022-23) and a graduate assistant for four seasons (2018-21) at TCU. He was an offensive lineman at TCU from 2013-17.
Wolves Familiar with Big 12, Texas
Arkansas State is in the Sun Belt Conference, which is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football members are in two divisions. The East Division includes Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Marshall and Old Dominion. Arkansas State is in the West Division, which also includes Louisiana at Lafayette, Louisiana at Monroe, Louisiana Tech, South Alabama, Southern Mississippi and Troy University.
In 2008, Arkansas State changed its mascot from the Indians to the Red Wolves. Its colors are scarlet and black.
The Red Wolves have claimed 12 conference championships. Arkansas State's most recent conference championship came in 2016. The team claims one national championship, which came in 1970 at the NCAA College Division level.
When Arkansas State goes up against TCU, the Wolves will be playing their 21st game ever against a Big 12 Conference opponent. A-State is 2-18 against Big 12 competition. A-State’s last win against a Big 12 foe came in 2020, when the Wolves defeated Kansas State 35-31 in Manhattan, Kansas. The other win against a Big 12 opponent came 2008 at Kyle Field, when Arkansas State defeated then-Big 12 Conference member Texas A&M, 18-14.
Arkansas State will be playing in Texas for the 67th time in its history. The Wolves are 35-31 in the Lone Star State.
Arkansas State Offensive Overview
In its two games, Arkansas State has rolled up 76 points and 825 total yards. The Red Wolves’ offense is averaging:
- 38 points per game
- 412.5 total yards per game
- 182.5 rushing yards per game
- 230 passing yards per game
The Wolves have scored eight touchdowns, including five on the ground and three through the air. They have thrown four interceptions, lost one fumble and allowed four sacks.
Junior quarterback Trey Owns (#9), who is from Houston and is a transfer from the University of Texas, has completed 34-of-47 passes for 460 yards and three touchdowns. He has been intercepted four times and has a long completion of 75 yards. His passing yards rank fourth in the Sun Belt Conference.
Senior wide receiver Chauncy Chubb (#2) leads a group of four receivers who each has at least 80 yards in receptions. Chubb has grabbed 10 passes for 129 yards and one touchdown. He is averaging 64.5 receiving yards per game. He has a long completion of 28 yards.
Senior wide receiver Hunter Summers (#3), who is from Prosper, Texas, and who is a transfer from Tulane, has caught six passes for 107 yards. He is averaging 53.5 receiving yards per game and has a long reception of 40 yards.
Fifth-year senior running back Kenyon Clay (#5), who is a transfer from Southern Mississippi, has caught four passes for 89 yards and one touchdown. He has a long reception of 75 yards.
Senior wide receiver Jaylen Bonelli (#10), who is a transfer from Wagner, has a touchdown reception.
Arkansas State’s running attack is led by Clay. He has rushed 25 times for 99 yards and two touchdowns. He is averaging 49.5 yards per game. He has a long run of 11 yards.
Freshman running back Solomon Baggett (#23) has run eight times for 70 yards and one touchdown. He has a long run of 33 yards.
Fifth-year quarterback Drew Dickey (#7), who is a transfer from Vanderbilt, and fifth-year running back Timothy Carter (#31), who is a transfer from Incarnate Word, each has a rushing touchdown.
Arkansas State Defensive Overview
The Wolves’ defense is allowing:
- 24.5 points per game
- 384.5 total yards per game
- 181 passing yards per game
- 203.5 rushing yards per game
Arkansas State has allowed seven touchdowns, including four rushing and three passing. The Red Wolves have forced two fumbles, recovered two, recorded two sacks and intercepted four passes.
The Red Wolves’ six takeaways in their first two games is their most through two contests since 2008, when they had six takeaways.
Senior linebacker Robert Stevens III (#23), who is a transfer from Lafayette College, leads the Arkansas State defense. He has made 15 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack. He also has an interception, one quarterback-hurry and one forced fumble.
Stevens was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Wolves’ win over West Georgia. He totaled six tackles, including a tackle for loss, a quarterback-hurry, forced fumble and interception in the contest. His forced fumble led to a 68-yard touchdown return by teammate Noah Flores. Stevens became the first A-State player to force a fumble and intercept a pass in a game since 2024.
Sophomore linebacker Joe Drew (#16) has made 13 tackles.
Senior defensive tackle Elias Sherman (#92), who is a transfer from the University of Maine, has made 13 tackles, including one tackle for loss and half of a sack. He also has two quarterback-hurries
Fifth-year senior safety AG McGhee (#6), who is a preseason first-team All-Sun Belt honoree, has eight tackles and a pass breakup.
Senior safety Five Hamilton (#5), who is a transfer from Kennesaw State, has eight tackles, one interception and one pass breakup.
Sophomore defensive tackle Ryan Reese (#54) has made eight tackles, including one tackle for loss and a half a sack. He has two quarterback-hurries.
Senior safety Brandon Greil (#15) has a sack, one interception, a quarterback-hurry and a fumble recovery.
Junior cornerback Dontrae Henderson (#0), who is a transfer from Indiana, has an interception.
Senior cornerback Noah Flores (#3), who is a transfer from Utah State, has a fumble recovery.
Arkansas State Special Teams Overview
Arkansas State’s punter is senior Daniel Vuckovic (#90), who is a transfer from Northern Illinois. He has punted four times for an average of 35.5 yards per punt. He has a long punt of 50 yards. He has not had a punt blocked this season.
The Wolves’ field goal kicker is senior Van Andel (#34). He has converted both of his field-goal attempts. He has a long field goal of 48 yards and has not had a field goal attempt blocked this season.
Frogs Continue Quest for Greatness
A win over Arkansas State would be another milestone on TCU’s journey from a good football team to a great football team. Plus, it would be the second of three consecutive wins necessary for the Frogs to stoke the fans’ belief in the team.
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