Game Notes vs TCU: rain-blotted pages from an ugly Week 5 win in Fort Worth

No, we didn't have an especially fun time watching the Cougars snap their losing skid in Fort Worth, but a win is a win, and BYU football has opened the season with a 4-0 record for the third straight season.

When you're positioning for a spot in the 12-team CFP bracket, that's the only statistic that really matters.

But if you're interested in details that only sort of matter in the grand scheme of things, I'm opening up my notebook and doing something incredibly bold: sharing the scribblings of my internal dialogue with strangers on the internet.

Let's get into it.

Ground 'n' Pound

ESPN Insights highlighted BYU's non-existent passing attack when they shared that Bachmeier's 62 passing yards is the second-fewest in a win in program history.

The last time the Cougars won a game while passing for fewer than 100 yards was when Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters won the New Mexico Bowl in his first and only career start, where he threw for just 47 yards on 12 attempts, but used his legs to push his hobbled comrades past SMU in a 24-23 final.

Despite the final score reading just 17-10, the situation wasn't quite as dire in Fort Worth. On a rainy, gloomy day, Aaron Roderick opted to play the game safe, avoid handing TCU free momentum in a game where it came at a premium, and take care of the football.

And it worked beautifully, especially considering how well BYU's defense played. They were the difference-makers, and TCU made the game's fatal error when the ball cruised over the intended receiver on 4th and 4 and landed gently in Faletau Satuala's awaiting arms.

Awkward games happen. Great teams control and win those game.

Injuries aplenty

The rain was a significant factor toward that awkwardness, yes, but BYU was also without a significant number of starters on the road.

They were without veteran Andrew Gentry on the offensive line.

LJ Martin hurt his ankle in the first quarter and was unavailable for the remainder of the game. His backup, Sione Moa, got hurt in Week One against Utah Tech, so BYU was forced to feed Preston Rex and Journee Tonga -- whose tenacious running style has impressed me through this point in the year.

Isaiah Glasker, Cannon DeVries, Raider Damuni, and Siale Esera were all absent on the defensive end. And considering the state of this defense's second unit when they entered the game against Colorado State, holding the Horned Frogs to 10 points in Fort Worth is applaudable -- who cares if TCU is a 2-3 team?

BYU is Playing Big 12 Defense

Through two games of Big 12 competition, BYU has allowed 13.5 points per game and only 3 total points in the second half -- which came in TCU's final drive.

When Noah Fifita tore BYU apart in the first half of their Week 2 meeting, Arizona led their hosts at halftime. That was the moment where the overreactors began to panic about Kelly Poppinga's direction of the defense. Clearly, those concerns have been overblown -- and BYU is faring much better to this point than Jay Hill's team in Ann Arbor (real ones know that Michigan is 1-3 right now).

This team terrorized TCU's offense all evening. If the conditions were better and BYU wasn't left with scraps of their first-string unit, this likely would have been a completely dominant win.

We'll get a true sense of this defense's identity when they face off against a Notre Dame team that is currently ranked 3rd in the country. Assuming BYU handles business against Iowa State at LES on Friday, that'll be a top-10 matchup and likely the site of ESPN College Gameday.

Good News from the 'Cats?

Don't look now, but Arizona is 4-1 and just stomped a previoulsy undefeated Cincinnati team to the tune of 34-7.

Yeowch.

Many propped the 'Cats as a sleeper contender in the Big 12 Conference when they met BYU in Week 2. Those claims were mocked when Arizona struggled against Washington State a week ago, but have since been reignited.

Arizona is the 8th team out of the latest AP Top 25 rankings, and continues to make the Cougars look better with every win.

Bear Bachmeier Wins Games

It's something of a minor miracle that Bear Bachmeier has won so many games so early into his career. As a starter at BYU, he's lost just two games, and that's fed into his share of the best team-win percentage in program history.

When a window of opportunity arises, it's great to know that BYU has a reliable quarterback steering the ship. Who could have predicted BYU would find such poise in a true freshman?

Dunn and Dunn

I have no more concerns about BYU's kicking game after seeing Matthias Dunn drill a 49-yarder like it was nothing.

This proved to be a huge conversion for BYU -- especially in a game that finished with just one score separating the two sides.

Kalani Sitake's program got very accustomed to reliable field goal kicking behind the reliable leg of Will Ferrin. In Dunn, it seems the Cougars have another steady leg.

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