5 college football teams that could be the next TCU in 2023
By John Scimeca
Breaking down five college football teams such as Florida, Wisconsin, and others that could do what TCU football did in 2022.
Though TCU football suffered a notable 65-7 drubbing in the national championship game, the 2022 performance up to that point was the stuff of miracles.
The unheralded Horned Frogs were picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 after a 5-7 season in 2021, yet turned it around under a first-year head coach to go undefeated in the 2022 regular season. They became the first non-Oklahoma Big 12 team to reach the College Football Playoff, knocked off the No. 2-ranked team in the country, Michigan, to reach the title game.
It was a stunning turnaround for a team from which the pundits expected little entering the season. As quarterback Max Duggan took back over the reins early in the season and the defense made big plays, TCU football achieved its 13-2 season and national runner-up finish after going 23-24 overall during the previous four seasons.
The surprise performances came from a team that engineered several comeback victories in 2022, including a double-overtime win vs. Oklahoma State and hitting a last-gasp field goal to beat Baylor on the road. The Fort Worth-based school has an enrollment of barely 12,000 students, easily one of the smallest schools at the Division FBS level, and reached the Big 12 within the last decade after stints in smaller leagues like the WAC, Conference USA, and the Mountain West. The Horned Frogs have never had a composite recruiting class rank among the nation’s top 20 teams in a given year, according to 247Sports.
Considering how TCU football outperformed every expectation this past season, there are other teams in 2022 who had ho-hum seasons near or below the .500 mark. Some college football teams return significant talent and hired a new head coach. Others might land some key transfers at the right positions, and some players might bounce back from a disappointing year.
Which five college football teams in 2023 could emulate the Horned Frogs and defy the odds to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time?
5. Florida football
The 2023 Gators match last year’s Horned Frogs in several ways. First, Florida football had seven losses this season and won only three conference games. There’s an undeniable talent, too, in Gainesville and second-year head coach Billy Napier hopes to build momentum after some continuity with the team.
Florida football has posted two consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1978 and 1979, which can’t sit well with a fanbase that has experienced national championships, All-Americans, and major bowl games.
The Gators should continue to attract transfer portal talent like former Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz, who announced that he’s transferring to Florida for next season. He has 38 touchdowns and more than 5,400 career passing yards with the Badgers.