TCU coach Sonny Dykes takes another swing at Stanford in the season opener for both teams on Friday night in Palo Alto, Calif., a team he failed to knock out in four seasons at Cal.
The Cardinal are also going for a first in this edition of Friday night lights: a home win. Stanford was 0-7 at home in 2023, coach Troy Taylor’s first season.
“They’re really well-coached, I’ve known Sonny Dykes for a long time,” Taylor said. “They’re going to have great, challenging schemes. They know how to do it. There’s also the element of what they’re going to do a little bit different. We’ll be ready to roll.”
Stanford went 4-0 against Dykes from 2013-16, including a 50-point win in his first season guiding the Bears. Dykes was never within 14 points of Cal in the Big Game.
TCU finished runner-up for the national championship in Dykes’ first season in Fort Worth, but went 5-7 last season, failing to qualify for a bowl game.
Hopes for a rebound start with one of the top wide receivers in the Big 12 Conference.
Savion Williams led the Horned Frogs with 573 receiving yards last season.
“He showed me consistency, which hasn’t always been there in the past,” Dykes said. “I think everybody understands you have a uniquely talented guy, just from size and ability to make plays, and strength and speed. He did at times, but the great ones do it every day.”
Williams, who’s listed at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, thought about entering the NFL draft after last season, but knew he needed more experience.
“I just know I needed another year,” he said. “I felt like last year at the beginning of the season, I wasn’t getting as many targets as I needed, so I felt like me coming back would’ve been better.”
Josh Hoover will be throwing the ball to Williams and he’s shown he can produce big games. Hoover threw for more than 300 yards in his final four starts last season, including 412 yards in a 42-17 win against Baylor on Nov. 18.
Stanford begins its first season as a member of the ACC after finishing 3-9 in each of its last three seasons competing in the conference formerly known as the Pac-12.
The Cardinal still had not decided on a starting quarterback when they broke fall camp.
Ashton Daniels, Justin Lamson and freshman Elijah Brown are all vying for playing time behind center, and Taylor could end up using all three against TCU.
“Ashton’s a really good runner, had a really good camp,” said Taylor, who is also the quarterbacks coach. “Justin’s had a great fall camp, and Elijah’s had a fantastic camp, too. Competition in our program is going to be at every single position.
“We have three quarterbacks we feel really good about.”
Daniels passed for 2,247 yards and 11 touchdowns with eight interceptions as a first-year starter last season, completing 58.8 percent of his throws. He also rushed for 292 yards, second-most by a Pac-12 quarterback behind Lamson (334).
