Recap: BYU football grinds a 17-10 win over TCU on a drizzly and gloomy evening

When the season is all said and done, this could be the worst the offense will look all season. The fact that this was still a victory means No. 10 BYU football can take care of business in more ways than just explosive plays. 

Similar to the weather all game in Fort Worth, Texas, it was a gloomy night if you like offense. It was truly surprising that BYU – a team that was averaging 44 points per game, 10th in the nation – put up the offensive effort it did in this one. It is safe to assume the constant drizzle for the majority of this contest impacted the way the offensive coordinator was calling plays. In addition, what should not be overlooked is that TCU has allowed the 12th fewest points per game coming into this one. These key factors caused the product to look ugly but get the job done in the end. Now, let’s see how the events transpired.

Right away, it was easy to see where this one was heading towards in the first quarter. All three Cougar possessions in the frame resulted in a three-and-out. Yikes. Thank goodness the defense was getting the job done on the Horned Frogs as it allowed just 20 yards of offense in the quarter. The Cougars compiled four tackles for loss and two sacks in the first, with each sack produced by Nusi Taumoepeau and Tausili Akana. Goose eggs for both teams through one. 

TCU began the second period with a decent drive and moved the chains multiple times to put themselves within striking distance of at least a field goal try. While still barely out of field goal range on fourth-and-four, Horned Frog head coach Sonny Sykes decides to go for it instead of testing the range of his kicker. In hindsight, it was the right move despite the ensuing result but stay tuned for why that is.

Harvard transfer Jaden Craig felt some pressure, causing him to get rid of the ball quicker than he liked. This led to him sailing the throw over his receiver in the middle into the hands of Faletau Satuala, his first interception of the season and fifth of his career. He returned the pick 59 yards into the red zone in TCU territory. It was definitely the biggest play of the half, with the defense being ever so slightly on its heels there. 

The Cougars capitalized six plays later on their one and only red zone trip of the entire evening. Quarterback Bear Bachmeier punched in his first of two rushing touchdowns from nine yards out and caught air in the process. Good defense leading to good offense is how BYU went up 7-0 halfway through the second.

Each team exchanged punts before the Horned Frogs responded back with a scoring drive. The defense neglected tight end Kari Ashley for the latter part of this drive as he went on to catch three balls for 53 yards and a touchdown to help TCU knot it up at seven a piece. 

Going into the locker room, Cougar nation’s stomachs had multitudes of butterflies. A big challenge awaited them knowing LJ Martin and Isaiah Glasker were out the rest of the game after picking up injuries in the first half. It was looking very bleak without those two plus eight other players ruled out on the pregame injury report.

Also, the offense committed an egregious number of penalties all night, with a lot of them in the first half. The line committed five false starts, which is a telltale sign of how out of sync they were due to the bye week, and starting left tackle Andrew Gentry being out forced head coach Kalani Sitake to rotate through young and inexperienced linemen. 

The opening drive of the second half for BYU led to Matthias drilling a 49-yard field goal, which felt more impactful considering the wet conditions. Even field goals were at a premium. 

Stalwart defense continued. After four more combined punts, TCU had a huge chance to tie it up. However, remember when Sykes elected to go for it on fourth down in the second quarter, the same play that Satuala got a pick, instead of testing his kicker’s range to get points on the board? Well, it was because of what happened next. Horned Frog kicker Nate McCashland left his 46-yard field goal try short of the cross bar. I am sure the potential for a slippery disaster was on his mind there.

Emphatically, the Cougars responded and put the game away. Bachmeier added to his list of signature runs when he followed his lead blockers then carried multiple defenders into the end zone for six from 21 yards out. The Fort Worth crowd could not bear the Bear. 

TCU’s last-ditch efforts came up short, and BYU moved on to 4-0 in the most grueling way they could. The Cougars have started 4-0 in three straight seasons for the first time in program history. 

Hey, a win’s a win as they say, but why did it have to be this way? Roderick called a boat load of screens and a variety of run plays with very few plays testing the Horned Frog secondary downfield. Yes, it was frustrating to watch, but the most important takeaway from all of it is there were no giveaways. In a game like this, that is how you win, and BYU did just enough scoring when they really needed it to come out of Amon G. Carter Stadium victorious. I am not ruling out that Roderick could have been inspired by D. Todd Christofferson’s talk in General Conference earlier Saturday morning about gambling and applied it to the play calling. 

Bachmeier’s inaccurate passing throughout the night was another factor that led to the very conservative offense. He completed only 11 of his 24 pass attempts for 62 yards, giving him a mere 2.6 yards per completion. This really showed how excessive the screen passes were. LJ Martin being ruled out meant it was time for more leg work for Bachmeier. Boy oh boy did that come through for the offense. He applied his father’s teachings to “command a presence” by rushing 15 times for 66 yards and two scores. The ground and pound offense as a whole churned 154 yards rushing to make for the lack of an aerial attack. 

We can thank the heavens that football is a team since the defense really came through for the Cougars. Coming into the season, one of the goals was to turn in the consistent pressure from last season into more sacks this season. The defense had four sacks on Saturday night to go along with eight tackles for loss. Every one of those felt like it took a bit of life away from any momentum TCU’s offense tried to gain.

Last but most certainly not least, it won the turnover battle 1-0 which was arguably the main difference in the contest. Even while missing Glasker for a little over half the game, defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga was still able to cook. 

A sigh of relief can be had. Besides last season’s onslaught, BYU can put the recent brutal history of its matchups against the Horned Frogs further in the rearview mirror.

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