5 Things We Learned From BYU's PFF Grades Against TCU

On Saturday night, BYU escaped Fort Worth with a gritty road win over TCU. The Pro Football Focus data has been released for BYU's win against TCU. In this article, we are breaking down five things we learned from BYU's PFF grades.

1. The front seven wins the day

This game was won in the trenches on the defensive side of the ball. Kelly Poppinga's defense held the Horned Frogs to 72 rushing yards on 2.4 yards per carry. They also sacked Jaden Craig four times. The four highest-graded players (mimimum 15 snaps played) were members of the BYU front seven: Hunter Clegg (78.5), Bodie Schoonover (75.4), Cade Uluave (73.8), and Kendal Wall (73.0).

Braxton Lindsey and Jake Clifton were also among the 10 highest-graded players. In other words, 6 out of the 10 highest-graded players were defenders playing in the box.

The pressure on Jaden Craig was the difference in the game. Three of the four sacks came on third downs and gave the ball back to the BYU offense. Craig was pressured on 15/31 dropbacks. You can't ask for much more from the BYU front seven.

2. The position group that struggled the most

It's not a secret that BYU's passing attack struggled. After the game, Bear Bachmeier spoke with Jaden Craig about how challenging it was to grip the football in the wet conditions.

Bear Bachmeier waited on the field until after the TCU alma mater to make sure he had the chance to speak with Jaden Craig.

He said “I just wanted to shake your hand.” He also talked about how hard it was to grip the ball in the weather, for what that’s worth. pic.twitter.com/ro9fRRqybD
— Melissa Triebwasser (@TheCoachMelissa) October 4, 2026

While the weather certainly played a role, the wide receivers also struggled to get open against the TCU secondary. There were multiple times where Bachmeier looked downfield before checking it down.

Only four wide receivers played significant snaps: Jojo Phillps, Kyler Kasper, Legend Glasker, and Reggie Frischknecht. Those four wide receivers were four of the six lowest-graded players on offense.

The play calling was very conservative as the Cougars did everything in their power to prevent turnovers - that played a role as well. Still, the wide receivers will need to find ways to create more separation against man coverage in future games.

3. The left side of the offensive line help up...but the right side?

Starting left guard Sonny Makasini and left tackle Paki Finau were the two highest-graded players on BYU's offense. Those two didn't allow any quarterback pressures against a good TCU front seven.

The middle and the right side, meanwhile, struggled. Bruce Mitchell had an uncharacteristic night of bad snaps and penalties. Mitchell had the worst grade on BYU's offense. However, he is a proven commodity and his performance against TCU should be viewed as an outlier.

Right guard Kyle Sfarcioc struggled as well, particularly as a run blocker. He had a 49.3 run block grade, the worst among BYU offensive linemen. Considering it was their first real experience against Power Four competition, Bott Mulitalo and Siosiua Latu-Finau held up fairly well from a grading perspective. Latu-Finau did allow a sack, although Bachmeier held the ball on that play since nobody was open downfield. More than anything, it was penalties that brought down the grades for Mulitalo and Latu-Finau.

4. Bear Bachmeier carried the BYU offense on the final drive...and he carried TCU defenders too

Bear Bachmeier led BYU in rushing with 66 rushing yards. Bachmeier carried the BYU offense on the final drive of the game, and he carried TCU defenders too. 54 of Bachmeier's 67 rushing yards came after contact.

On Bachmeier's 21-yard touchdown run, he was contacted at the line of scrimmage and he eventually dragged a pair of TCU tacklers into the end zone.

TAKES IT IN FOR SIX!!

📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/0lwVpbFbFf
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) October 4, 2026

5. Tight rotation in the secondary

Coming out of the bye week, we were curious if Kennan Pula would get more run at safety. Pula played one drive in the second half and he finished the game with three snaps. Besides that drive, BYU kept Faletau Satuala and Tommy Prassas at safety throughout the game. Additionally, Evan Johnson and Therrian Alexnader III played every snap. BYU kept the rotation very tight in the secondary.

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