Mission is clear for No. 8 TCU: Stay hot or miss CFP again

The TCU Horned Frogs lit up the college football world the past three weeks, picking up three consecutive wins over ranked opponents and solidifying themselves as serious College Football Playoff contenders.

TCU (6-0) notably missed out on the first College Football Playoff in 2014 after falling from third in the penultimate CFP ranking to sixth in the final ranking because of the lack of a Big 12 championship game at the time.

This season, the Horned Frogs look ready to right that wrong.

TCU spent the entire first month season absent from the AP top 25. The Horned Frogs first appeared in the poll Oct. 2, at No. 17, and climbed to No. 8 after their recent run of success.

With their wins and undefeated record, TCU’s resume looks like that of a College Football Playoff contender.

Add in the fact that the Horned Frogs have the third-best offense in the country in terms of total and scoring offense, and their case for a spot in the CFP strengthens.

Projected to finish the season 10-2 per ESPN analytics, TCU’s biggest remaining tests may be road games against No. 20 Texas and Baylor—both games ESPN expects the Horned Frogs to lose.

The Horned Frogs did the work in the first half of their season, but if they want a chance at the making the CFP, they will need to find a way to keep their hot streak going.

With another ranked foe, No. 17 Kansas State, up next at home, first-year TCU head coach Sonny Dykes knows the Horned Frogs have unfinished business.

“It’s been good to get off to a fast start,” Dykes said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “But this season will be judged on how we finish."