BYU Football Progress Report: TCU Edition

PROVO, Utah – No. 12 BYU dominated TCU on Saturday night, 44-13, to keep its Big 12 Championship hopes alive.

BYU Football Progress Report: TCU Edition

BYU’s drubbing of TCU was by far the Cougars’ best outing of the 2025 season, marking the program’s sixth-largest margin of victory against a Power Four opponent. It also ranked as the third-widest margin this century, trailing only a 59-point win over a 4–8 UCLA team in 2008 and a 34-point victory over Texas in 2014, when the Longhorns finished 6–7.

Saturday night’s performance was the most complete game BYU has played this year. All three phases executed at a high level, and it felt as if TCU was never truly in it. The 31-point win stood out not just for the dominance, but for the quality of the opponent. The Horned Frogs entered the matchup 6–3 and have Houston and Cincinnati remaining on their schedule. It’s realistic to think they could finish with eight wins, underscoring how impressive BYU’s performance was.

Offense: A-

TCU’s defense had no answer for BYU. The Cougars received a major boost from LJ Martin, who looked like a different player than the one limited to 10 carries in the loss at Texas Tech. Martin finished with 122 total yards and a touchdown. BYU’s offense operates at a different level when Martin is healthy, and it showed against what has been a stingy Horned Frogs defense.

One of the biggest storylines coming out of Lubbock was BYU’s lack of success on first down. On Saturday, the Cougars averaged 7.2 yards on first down, a critical improvement for an offense built to sustain long drives and control the clock. BYU ranks third in the Big 12 in time of possession and has now won 20 straight games when scoring first.

TCU head coach Sonny Dykes was complimentary of Bear Bachmeier in his postgame remarks, saying the quarterback already plays like a veteran. Bachmeier completed 70% of his passes for 296 yards and a touchdown, added 59 rushing yards on 10 carries and converted another third-and-long with his legs—this time with a 17-yard touchdown run. The score placed him in the BYU record book, tying Steve Young, Taysom Hill and Zach Wilson as the only quarterbacks with 10 rushing touchdowns in a single season.

The only notable miscue came on the opening drive, when Parker Kingston dropped what would have been a touchdown. BYU still came away with a field goal, but a 7–0 start would have been preferable to 3–0.

Most importantly, BYU showed it was better than the team that struggled a week earlier at Texas Tech. Anyone who viewed the Cougars as a fraud after losing on the road to a top-10 opponent should have had those doubts erased if they watched Saturday’s game.

Whether the College Football Playoff selection committee agrees will be known Tuesday night.

Defense: A-

BYU’s defense delivered another strong performance. TCU was without its leading rusher, but his absence likely wouldn’t have changed much.

Two years after quarterback Josh Hoover torched the Cougars in his first career start, Hoover completed just 43% of his passes with two interceptions and no touchdowns. He looked uncomfortable throughout the night, largely because BYU’s defensive line turned in one of its best outings of the season.

Keanu Tanuvasa recorded his first sack since the Stanford game in Week 2, while Nusi Taumoepeau and Tausili Akana again flashed their potential as future stars. Both finished with four tackles and a sack, but some of their most impactful plays didn’t show up in the box score. One example was Akana’s quarterback hurry that led to an interception by Faletau Satuala.

It was likely Tanuvasa’s best performance in a BYU uniform. An underrated storyline was the absence of Anisi Purcell, a major contributor along the defensive front who has battled injuries recently. He appeared on the initial availability report Wednesday night but was off the report Thursday and ultimately didn’t see the field on Saturday. Getting him an additional week of rest this late in the season was a meaningful boost for the defense heading into the final two regular-season games.

It was a relatively quiet night for the linebackers. Max Alford and Isaiah Glasker led the team with six tackles each, while Siale Esera and Jack Kelly weren’t as active—but that’s often the case when the defensive line and secondary play as well as they did.

BYU’s safeties have been playing at a high level, and the return of Raider Damuni from injury has made the group one of the deepest on the team. Both interceptions came from the safeties: Satuala’s earlier pick and a 68-yard return for a touchdown by Tanner Wall. Wall taking his interception to the end zone was significant, as a 44–13 score looks far better than 37–13 when your résumé is being compared with other teams for an at-large spot should BYU not win the Big 12 championship.

That said, one critique of this defense is that, for how strong it has been, I don’t think it has quite matched preseason expectations. It often feels like opponents move the ball between the 25s with relative ease. BYU ranks No. 30 nationally in total defense, but its saving grace is a top-11 redzone defense. The “bend but don’t break” label is probably overused, but it fits what this group has been for much of the year.

Special Teams: B+

I probably could have gone with a higher grade, but there wasn’t anything that truly stood out.

Still, it was encouraging to see Will Ferrin go 3-for-3 on field goals. His first attempt—a 52-yarder following Kingston’s dropped touchdown—cleared the crossbar by only a few yards, but that was all it needed. He later connected from 35 and 29 yards.

Another notable storyline was the absence of Sam Vander Haar. After shanking a couple of punts at Texas Tech, he handled only holding duties Saturday night. In his place, Fuller Shurtz attempted two punts. His first went 41 yards, but he mishandled the ball before he could get the kick away during his second attempt and set up TCU near midfield. It’s probably safe to assume Vander Haar will retake the starting punter role next week at Cincinnati.

Overall: A-

The burning question all week was how BYU would respond to its first loss. A year ago, the Cougars followed their first setback by sleepwalking through the first half against Arizona State. This time, they answered in a big way, dominating TCU on both sides of the ball.

When it feels like the odds are stacked against you, and you don’t have the blue-blood logo that earns national benefit of the doubt, performances like this matter. BYU needed Tanner Wall to find the end zone while already up 24. BYU needed Nusi Taumoepeau to sack Josh Hoover on fourth down with under a minute to play. Those moments send a message—not just to opponents, but to those selecting the College Football Playoff field.

Coming into the game, I had long-term concerns about BYU’s ability to keep pace with Texas Tech if the Cougars reached Arlington. I wasn’t sure whether LJ Martin would get healthy enough to return to the player he was in the first seven games. I had doubts about how BYU would respond after a blowout loss in a game many called the biggest in program history.

Those worries disappeared Saturday night.

BYU now has a chance to set up a senior night showdown with UCF for a berth in the Big 12 championship game if the Cougars can take care of business Saturday at Cincinnati. That game kicks off at 6 p.m. MST on FOX. Big Noon Kickoff will also be on site, marking the third time in four games that either Big Noon or ESPN’s College GameDay has featured BYU. As always, KSL NewsRadio will have Cougar Sports Saturday pregame coverage from noon to 3 p.m.

Nate Slack is an Executive Producer for Cougar Sports Saturday (Noon–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.