MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – What a difference a year can make. Last year around this time, TCU had dropped to 3-5 after a 31-12 loss at Kansas State on the way to a 5-7 season.
 
Well, hit the fast forward button to today, and the Horned Frogs are sitting atop the Big 12 Conference with a 7-0 overall record and a No. 7 national ranking in both polls.
 
Coach Sonny Dykes was an analyst on TCU's team that won 11 of 14 games in 2017 and reached the Big 12 Championship game, and after a five-year stint at SMU, he's already got the Horned Frogs in this year's College Football Playoff discussion.
 
Just about everything that could go right for TCU has. In its conference victories over Oklahoma, Kansas, Oklahoma State and Kansas State, the Horned Frogs have either knocked out the other team's starting quarterback or faced an injured one.
 
During last Saturday's come-from-behind win over 25^th-ranked Kansas State, TCU took care of K-State starting quarterback Adrian Martinez and backup Will Howard to finish the game dealing with freshman third-stringer Jake Rubley.
 
The Horned Frogs rallied from a 28-10 deficit to defeat the Wildcats 38-28.
 
It was a similar deal against Oklahoma State when TCU fought back from a 24-10 deficit to top the Cowboys 43-40 in double overtime. Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders was dealing with a shoulder injury leading into the game and finished the day just 16 of 36 for 245 yards and an interception.
 
TCU, meanwhile, has gone through the first seven games of the season relatively unscathed. Eight of the Horned Frogs' 11 offensive starters have started all seven games this season, and all but one has made every start on the defensive side of the ball.
 
"TCU has a chance to go on one of those special runs, and one of the ways you do that is to be healthy," West Virginia coach Neal Brown said.
 
Compare that to Brown's football team, whose long injury list heading into last Saturday's game against well-rested Texas Tech got even longer coming out of it.
 
As of Tuesday, West Virginia's training room more closely resembled a MASH unit with all of the walking wounded. Brown indicated Tuesday that starting running back Tony Mathis Jr., starting left guard James Gmiter, starting cornerback Rashad Ajayi, and starting outside linebacker Lance Dixon will be out for Saturday's game. That's in addition to starting tight end Mike O'Laughlin, who was lost for the season during the Texas game.
 
The coach is not sure about the availability of backup running back Justin Johnson Jr. or starting left tackle Wyatt Milum, and he said starting defensive end Sean Martin is getting "closer" to full speed. He's also hopeful West Virginia's best returning corner, Charles Woods, can play a few more snaps on Saturday after returning to the field in a limited role against Texas Tech.
 
Woods has been dealing with a foot injury since the season opener.
 
"I hate it for the injured guy, but that opens up opportunities for the guys behind them," Brown offered.
 
The Mountaineers are going to need all of their healthy players performing well to counter a TCU offense that ranks among college football's best at generating explosive plays.
 
The Horned Frogs have 38 runs of at least 12 yards and 50 passes of 15 yards or more heading into Saturday's game, making TCU the country's third-most lethal offense in terms of percentage of explosive plays. The Frogs are No. 3 in the country in points per game (44.7), yards per game (522.1) and yards per play (7.4).
 
Just Tennessee and Ohio State are scoring more points and only Tennessee and Georgia are averaging more yards per game than the Horned Frogs.
 
Much of this can be attributed to senior quarterback Max Duggan, who is operating TCU's offensive attack like an experienced maestro. In the past, you could usually count on Duggan to misfire on some key passes or throw the ball to the other team. 
 
This year he's not doing that.
 
The Council Bluffs, Iowa, resident has thrown only one interception in 193 pass attempts this season, while completing a career-high 68.9% of his throws for 1,871 yards and 19 touchdowns. He's also accounted for 274 yards and four scores in the run game and is approaching 2,000 yards rushing for his collegiate career.
 
"He's a big, strong, fast guy when he runs, and they will call quarterback runs for him," Brown said. "He's done a really good job of being efficient in the pass game. His passing has really improved."
 
Junior Kendre Miller, who shared rushing duties last year with Zach Evans and Emari Demercado, has emerged as one the Big 12's top ball carriers in 2022. The Mount Enterprise, Texas, resident has topped 100 yards four times in his last five games, including a season-high in last Saturday's win over K-State.
 
His 6.77 career yards-per-carry average ranks second among all Power 5 backs with a minimum of 200 career attempts, and he's scored at least one rushing touchdown in all seven games so far this season. At 220-plus pounds, Miller becomes even more effective deeper into games.
 
"He's as good in our league as anybody. He's 220-plus pounds and he's a running and receiving threat," Brown noted.
 
Outside, Duggan has a big-league threat in 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior Quentin Johnston, who shows 26 catches for 460 yards and three touchdowns in his last three games. He caught 14 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown in a recent win over Kansas and had an eight-catch, 180-yard, one-TD effort in the Oklahoma State victory.
 
Last Saturday he went for just four catches for 74 yards and a touchdown against Kansas State. For the season, he shows 34 catches for 574 yards and three touchdowns.
 
"He's long and he can take the top off it," Brown said. "He's super-talented and will be a top-end draft pick. Then, they've got two slot receivers in Derius Davis and Taye Barber that are special as well."

Davis has returned four punts for touchdowns for his career and had a 100-yard kickoff return for a score against West Virginia last season.
 
Brown believes TCU's offensive line has been the secret to its success, with four starters returning and SMU transfer Alan Ali anchoring the unit at center.
 
"For them, it starts up front," he said. "They have four returning starters, and they added a transfer who came with coach Dykes from SMU, so they're a very experienced group up front. They've done a nice job in the run game and in pass protection and Max Duggan has taken care of the football."
 
Defensively, TCU has replaced Gary Patterson's old 4-2-5 scheme with a three-down front and three safeties. Defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie's unit gives up yards (398.6), points (26.7) and ranks 99^th in the country in red-zone defense, but they have generated eight interceptions, and they don't commit a lot of penalties.
 
"They're playing with a lot of confidence right now defensively. The new staff has come in and you can tell they're really confident in what they're doing" Brown said. "It looks to me like they've simplified, and this simplification has allowed their guys to play really fast. It is simple for them but very complex to find holes in their pass coverages or numbers in the run game."
 
TCU's red numbers include fumbles gained (113^th), kick return defense (110^th), passing yards allowed (101^st), pass defense (101^st), red-zone defense (99^th) and sacks (94^th).
 
But that pales in comparison to the Horned Frogs' best figures: fewest interceptions (first), scoring offense (third), total offense (third), punt return defense (fifth), passing efficiency (fifth), fewest penalties (11^th) and turnover margin (16^th).
 
West Virginia's red numbers this week include fourth-down defense (126^th), turnovers gained (122^nd), interceptions gained (120^th), scoring defense (117^th), pass defense (117^th), pass efficiency defense (116^th), kickoff returns (108^th), third-down defense (103^rd) and turnover margin (101^st).
 
The Mountaineers' strongest areas are punt return defense (11^th), red-zone offense (12^th), fourth-down conversions (14^th) and total first downs (22^nd). WVU this week slipped out of the top 25 in possession time at 27^th.
 
Quarterback JT Daniels is coming off a three-interception performance last Saturday at Texas Tech, but two of those picks were 50-50 balls that WVU receivers could have easily caught.
 
For the season, the junior is completing 63.8% of his attempts for 1,686 yards and 10 touchdowns. Bryce Ford-Wheaton leads the receiver corps with 45 catches for 516 yards and five touchdowns, while senior defensive tackle Dante Stills needs one more tackle for loss to pass consensus All-America linebacker Grant Wiley's school record 47½ TFLs.
 
Stills also ranks sixth in school history with 21½ sacks.
 
"We've got to find ways to run the football," Brown said of his keys for Saturday's contest. "We are a good offensive team when we rush the football, and we've got to be able to hold on to it. We've got to take advantage of our possessions to put points on the board."
 
WVU is hunting for its first victory over a Top 10-ranked team since knocking off No. 4 Baylor 41-27 in Morgantown on Oct. 18, 2014.
 
Saturday's homecoming game will kick off at noon and will be televised nationally on ESPN (Bob Wischusen, Roddy Jones, and Kris Budden).
 
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage starts at 9 a.m. with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show leading into regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace, and Jed Drenning at 11 a.m. on stations throughout West Virginia. 
 
You can also catch the broadcast on the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps, as well as Sirius satellite radio on channel 156 or 206, or the XM app on channel 969.
 
Tickets remain and can be purchased by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
 
West Virginia has won four in a row against TCU and now leads the overall series 7-4.