The BYU Cougar defense had a huge game in their 44-13 win over TCU. This defense had played well enough in the loss to Texas Tech, and they came out sharp against TCU. They were focused from the very beginning. They got after Josh Hoover and made it a long night in Provo for the Horned Frogs quarterback. Most impressively, they did it with depth. A lot of different Cougar players were coming up big for Jay Hill’s defense in this win.
BYU flew to the football, no matter what TCU was doing with it. Even when TCU’s star receiver Eric McAlister got the ball and got things moving for Sonny Dykes’ offense, the Cougars were right there. McAlister got a respectable 107 yards on four catches, but BYU kept him out of the end zone. They pressured Josh Hoover and inflicted negative plays on TCU. The defense came into this game with 21 sacks and 45 tackles for a loss, ranked modestly at 42nd and 45th in the nation, respectively. They sacked Hoover four times and got six tackles for a loss against TCU’s offense.
Kalani Sitake’s guys ranked 21st in the nation in turnovers forced with 16, and 9th in the nation with 12 interceptions. They added two picks of Josh Hoover to their count for the year. BYU’s all-Big 12 safeties made the plays. Faletau Satuala had an interception that went through the receiver’s hands and into his own. Tanner Wall got an interception that he took on a rumbling return for 68 yards for a BYU touchdown. Jay Hill is known as BYU’s defensive coordinator, but it gets forgotten that he is also the safeties coach. He couldn’t have been happier with how his two stars played.
BYU’s 11th-ranked Red Zone defense was excellent, too. TCU made it to the Red Zone three times and scored on all three trips, but BYU tightened up and held them to field goals on two of those three trips. The run defense, ranked 44th in the nation, held TCU to 115 yards, below the Cougars’ average of 131.6 allowed. They grounded TCU’s high-flying offense, too. They held the Horned Frogs to 183 passing yards, below the Cougars 35th 35th-ranked passing defense of 192.2 yards per game. BYU’s 30th-ranked total defense held TCU to 298 yards (well below their 323.8 average).
The Cougars' scoring defense held firm in the most important place a defense can, on the scoreboard. BYU’s scoring defense was 16th in the nation coming into the game, allowing only 18.3 points per game. TCU only got 13 points. BYU did it with a variety of players, too. Stars like Satuala and Wall played, well, but so did some newcomers.
Sophomore Tausili Akana, a linebacker from Laie, Hawaii, had only three tackles coming into the game. Against TCU, Akana had four tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, and 0.5 sacks. Freshman Nusi Taumoepeau had only two tackles coming into the game, but burst on the BYU scene with four tackles, all of them solo, including a sack and a tackle for a loss.
This was just the game the BYU defense needed. Holding a solid opponent to only 13 points and getting a 31-point win. That’s how you want to rebound from a difficult loss, with an emphatic and decisive win. BYU is back on the right track.