TCU Football: 2017 season preview, predictions
By Tim Kaiser
2017 schedule
| WEEK | DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION |
| 1 | Sept. 2 | vs. Jackson State | Fort Worth, TX |
| 2 | Sept. 9 | at Arkansas | Fayetteville, AR |
| 3 | Sept. 16 | vs. SMU | Fort Worth, TX |
| 4 | Sept. 23 | at Oklahoma State | Stillwater, OK |
| 5 | BYE WEEK | ||
| 6 | Oct. 7 | vs. West Virginia | Fort Worth, TX |
| 7 | Oct. 14 | at Kansas State | Manhattan, KS |
| 8 | Oct. 21 | vs. Kansas | Fort Worth, TX |
| 9 | Oct. 28 | at Iowa State | Ames, IA |
| 10 | Nov. 4 | vs. Texas | Fort Worth, TX |
| 11 | Nov. 11 | at Oklahoma | Norman, OK |
| 12 | Nov. 18 | at Texas Tech | Lubbock, TX |
| 13 | Nov. 25 | vs. Baylor | Fort Worth, TX |
Final Thoughts
There seem to be three clear tiers to the Big 12 (four if you give Kansas their own tier in the basement). The top tier consists of the two Oklahoma schools. Oklahoma is the favorite even without Bob Stoops, but Oklahoma State is a close second. The next tier is made up of teams that have varying but decent shots of making it into the Big 12 Championship game and spoiled Bedlam Part 2. Kansas State, Texas, and TCU are definitely in this tier. West Virginia is at the bottom of this tier depending on how good you think Will Grier can be without a defense.
TCU is fighting this group of two or three other schools in the upper middle class of the Big 12 to climb the ladder back to the upper crust of Big 12 society. The problem for the Horned Frogs is to make the leap it’s going to take some wins in hostile lands.
The Big 12 media voted TCU fifth in their preseason poll. Bovada set their win total at 7.5. ESPN’s FPI is high on the Horned Frogs. The model sets them at 8.7-3.7 but has TCU favored in every game except one.
Next: College Football: Top 50 breakout candidates for 2017
Prediction: 9-3, 6-3 Big 12
Gary Patterson will learn a lot about his team in just the first four weeks. Playing at Arkansas in Week 2 after last year’s heartbreaking loss will be a good measuring stick. The game against Oklahoma State in Week 4 will show if they are destined for something more special.
The schedule really is doing TCU no favors. If you flip the sites of a few games, TCU would be a good pick to win the conference. Having to go to Stillwater and Manhattan and Norman is just too many good teams on their own turf.
Ultimately, Patterson will continue his streak of turning around losing teams. The Horned Frogs will be comfortably bowl bound, but will not repeat that 2014 magic.