BYU's Stalled Drives Against TCU Had Three Things in Common

BYU's win over TCU was as ugly as wins get. While BYU deserves credit for a gritty win in a venue that's been the host of nightmares in the past, it's also true that BYU will need to be much better on offense to win future games.

Eight BYU drives stalled against TCU. One of those ended with a Hail Mary at the end of the first half, so there were seven drives that ended with a BYU kick (six punts, one field goal). There were three things that BYU's stalled drives had in common.

1. Penalties by the offensive line

After the game, center Bruce Mitchell said BYU's self-inflicated mistakes had as much to do with BYU's stalled drives as TCU's defense. The data agrees. Of the seven stalled drives, four included penalties by the offensive line.

Since BYU was struggling to move the football, the penalties were impossible to overcome. Here were the third downs BYU faced after those penalties:

3rd & 12
3rd &13
3rd &14
3rd & 20

BYU was 0/4 on those long third downs. Frankly, BYU didn't try to push the ball downfield on those long third downs, either. More on that in a moment.

2. Dreadful early down success

On the drives that didn't include penalties, the Cougars got behind the chains and couldn't sustain drives. On one drive, Bear Bachmeier was sacked. On another, BYU took a shot intended for Kyler Kasper that fell incomplete and fumbled an option pitch. Of the three drives that ended without penalties, here were the third downs BYU faced:

3rd & 6
3rd & 10
3rd & 13

The most manageable third down BYU faced came on the first drive when Bear Bachmeier threw a pass to LJ Martin near the first down marker that fell incomplete.

3. Live to fight another day

Of the seven failed drives, BYU's averagage distance to go was 3rd & 12.6 yards. Outside of the pass to LJ Martin near the first down marker, BYU did not push the ball downfield to try and move the changes. Instead, Aaron Roderick made conservative calls to avoid turnovers.

Given the rainy conditions, Roderick's decisions were understandable. What remains to be seen is whether Roderick will trust Bachmeier in better conditions, or not. The Cougars will need Bachmeier to pick up long third downs at somepoint this season. Bachmeier was very effective on third downs in camp. Sooner or later, Roderick will need to trust Bachmeier's decision making in those spots.

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