Horned Frogs Rising

TCU faces make-or-break stretch for College Football Playoff contention

After nine weeks, the speculation ended. The College Football Playoff committee released its first top 25 of the 2014 season, and the speculation turned to analysis and whining, depending on where your team ended up.

It’s hard to imagine there was much whining in Fort Worth, as the CFP committee deemed the Horned Frogs No. 7 in their poll. The top four teams, as selected by the committee in early December, will compete in the first College Football Playoff in major college football.

The Horned Frogs were 4-8 last year. No one had a clue what to expect from them this season as they radically revamped their offense into something more resembling the spread formations that many college football teams run nowadays. Head coach Gary Patterson joked after TCU’s whopping 82-27 win over Texas Tech on Saturday that he needed defensive call sheets for four-and-a-half-hour games now.

If TCU wins its remaining five games, the team would finish 11-1 and have a resume that includes four wins over teams ranked in the AP top 25 when they played.

“This call sheet is one-sided,” he joked. “It’s going to need to be double-sided now.”

If no one had a clue what to expect from TCU this season, the College Football Playoff had that same flavor until Tuesday night’s release of the rankings. It isn’t so much what the committee would use as selection criteria. It’s what the committee would value as selection criteria. The CFP beta tested this process with the selection committee and members of the college football media. The results raised a few more questions — not that debate is a bad thing in college football.

One thing that CFP chairman Bill Hancock told reporters at Big 12 media days in July was that the committee’s members would have every tool at their disposal to determine the four playoff participants.

Those tools led to an unsurprising top four in the first poll. If the season ended today, the CFP semifinals would have an SEC flavor, as three teams — Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Auburn — ended up in the top four, with defending national champion Florida State. Oddly, it was the all-SEC BCS National Championship game between Alabama and LSU in 2012 that sparked the impetus toward this new playoff, which ends with the championship game January 12 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

But more than a month remains in this season, and TCU has a final stretch that could set it up to be a serious CFP contender, as long as the Horned Frogs keep winning.

TCU’s only loss is to Baylor, which was ranked No. 13 in the CFP poll. The Horned Frogs have already defeated Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Losses to either probably would have derailed the Horned Frogs altogether.

But the next two games will make or break TCU’s potential playoff resume. First, the Horned Frogs travel this weekend to No. 20 West Virginia. The following weekend the Horned Frogs host No. 9 Kansas State.

Take a minute and imagine the Horned Frogs win their remaining five games. TCU would finish 11-1 for the season and have a resume that includes four wins over teams ranked in the AP top 25 when they played. That would include three wins over teams ranked in the top 15.

Those wins, combined with a potential Big 12 title, would be a tough resume to beat come December. Not bad for a Horned Frogs team that would have been happy to return to bowl eligibility this season.

Trevone Boykin set a TCU record with seven touchdown passes to go with a career-high 433 yards passing and 461 in total offense in the Horned Frogs' 82-27 win over Texas Tech.

Photo courtesy of TCU Horned Frogs

Trevone Boykin set a TCU record with seven touchdown passes to go with a career-high 433 yards passing and 461 in total offense in the Horned Frogs' 82-27 win over Texas Tech.

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Touchdown

Dallas Cowboys go all-in on nachos for 2026 food lineup at AT&T Stadium

Photo courtesy of Dallas Cowboys

Peri Peri, Texas BBQ, and Butter Chicken Doritos Loaded nachos are among the new concession items for the 2026 Dallas Cowboys season.

Every Dallas Cowboys season brings something new on the concessions front, and for the 2026 season the team has gone all-in on nachos, offering multiple new takes on the favorite stadium fare.

In a September 16 release, the Cowboys announced all the new menu items for the season, in advance of the team's home opener against the Washington Commanders on Sunday, September 20 at AT&T Stadium.

The new nacho lineup will feature international flavors on an array of Doritos Loaded and Tostitos Nachos options, including:

Peri Peri Chicken Doritos Loaded — House-made peri peri chicken with peri cheese sauce, pico de gallo, drizzled with garlic perinaise sauce.
Texas BBQ Doritos Loaded — House-smoked beef brisket with nacho cheese sauce, barbecue sauce, sweet and spicy pickles, coleslaw and green onion.
Butter Chicken Doritos Loaded —House-made butter chicken in butter sauce with raita vegetable mix (tomato, red onion, cucumber and cilantro), drizzled with spiced yogurt.
Tostitos Peri Peri Chicken Nachos — Tostitos tortilla chips topped with house-made peri peri chicken, peri cheese sauce, garlic perinaise sauce and fresh pico de gallo.
Tostitos Island Jerk Nachos — Thick-cut Tostitos tortilla chips topped with house made jerk chicken, fresh mango salsa, cilantro and lime crema.

The Doritos Loaded Nachos will be available at Doritos Loaded Carts at Upper 50 Yard Lines, Sections 412 and 442, while the Tostitos Nachos will be available at Tostitos Cantina at Section 423.

Fans who attended FIFA World Cup matches in Arlington already got a taste of the new nachos, which were developed by Frito-Lay and the Legends Global at AT&T Stadium Food & Beverage team.

Two other new non-nacho items for the 2026 Cowboys season include:

Kraft BBQ DCQ — A hoagie bun stuffed with a grilled jalapeño cheese sausage, famous Cowboys mac n cheese, chopped brisket, and Kraft BBQ sauce, topped with jalapeños. Available at Sections 412 and 442 Smokehouse Stands and Upper Bent Buckle Locations at Sections 410 and 444.
Kraft Buffalo Aioli Chicken Sandwich — Crispy chicken breast with fresh lettuce and tomato on a seeded bun dressed with Kraft Buffalo Aioli. Available at all four Crisp stands at Sections 218, 243, 409, and 439.

$Kraft\u00ae Buffalo Aioli Chicken Sandwich at AT&T Stadium$ The new Kraft Buffalo Aioli Chicken Sandwich.Photo courtesy of Dallas Cowboys

But don't worry: Just because the Cowboys are bringing new items doesn't mean they're getting rid of fan favorites from past seasons.

Fans will still be able to enjoy unique items like Tyson Cowboys Star Nuggets, Cowboys Cheesesteak, The Lineman Burrito, The Rowdy Dog, and Dessert Nachos, among others.

And if you're lucky enough to get to sit in a suite, AT&T Stadium will now offer a variety of vegan options for those ticketholders.

Choices include vegan burgers, brat sausage, barbecue meatless meatballs, meatless chicken nuggets, dessert bars, cookies, Buffalo cauliflower bites, and more.

Meatless chicken nuggets at AT&T Stadium for Dallas Cowboys Suite ticketholders will be able to enjoy new vegan items, including the Meatless Chicken Nuggets.Photo courtesy of Dallas Cowboys

On the non-vegan side, other new suite items include Caribbean Spiced Jerk Chicken, Chicken Empanadas, Reese’s Peanut Butter Pie, Cream Filled Scones, Buffalo Ranch Corn Nuts, and more.

To help fans find the new foods and other locations, the team is also unveiling AT&T Stadium Wayfinding, a web-based navigation tool that can be used either in the Dallas Cowboys app or any of four designated AT&T kiosks on the East and West Platforms. The platform connects fans to the most efficient routes to their seats, as well as the the nearest concessions and restrooms.

The Cowboys will also continue to host their Celebrity Chef series, featuring local restaurant chefs bringing their special signature creations to a concession stand in the Main Clubs at AT&T Stadium during every home game.

Another home opener tradition features the First and Second Place winning teams of the annual Taste of the Cowboys Youth Challenge cooking for fans. Mesquite High School and Duncanville High School will cook for fans at the stadium on September 20.

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