Five Takeaways As No. 10 BYU Wins a "Sweet Spirit" Game versus TCU

As the sun rises on another BYU victory Sunday morning, the events on a rainy Saturday in Fort Worth are probably worth forgetting. BYU road its defense to a 17-10 win, which was BYU’s first in Fort Worth in 20 years. BYU would have taken this in 2010, but in a year where BYU has real playoff aspirations, the outcome felt uninspiring, particularly on offense. The question is, was this a one-off or a sign of things to come? Here’s what we learned.

1. If you take away a top five running back in program history and put them in a rainstorm on the road, BYU isn’t going to look very good. Otherwise, it's going to be ok.

BYU RB Journee Tonga against TCU | BYU Photo

That was an awful watch. Just brutal. The kind of game that has college football fans in Provo and beyond if BYU is actually a top 10 team. Under those conditions, the answer is a resounding no, especially on offense. BYU’s passing attack was non-existent to a point where OC Aaron Roderick didn’t even try. 41% of BYU’s passes were screens that yielded a 54% completion rate and 4 yards per completion. BYU’s five false starts put BYU in unfavorable positions all night long which led to BYU pretty much playing for the punt on third and long. BYU’s offense was disjointed and disorganized, but whether that’s a sign of things to come is to be determined. What we learned is that this is not an offense that will take chances in adverse circumstances. That was good enough against TCU, but won’t be if BYU wants to win a Big 12 title.

The good news is BYU basically played this exact game against SMU in 2024 and Arizona in 2025. TCU isn't as good as those teams were but they are still a fringe top 40 team by most metrics with a top 25 defense. If BYU can get healthy, my views of what this BYU team is are unchanged and the metrics agree. The win actually moved BYU up in ESPN FPI's predictive, resume, and game control metrics. If they can't get healthy and BYU's pass game remains a no-show, all bets are off.

2. BYU’s lack of pass rush through three weeks wasn’t real

BYU defensive end Nusi Taumoepeau celebrates a sack against TCU | BYU Photo

A lot has been made coming into the week about BYU’s lack of pass rush. The Cougars ranked 2nd to last in the Big 12 in pressure rate and recorded four sacks in three games. I think it’s clear that had more to do with their opponents than BYU. Utah Tech and Colorado State both had the goal of neutralizing BYU’s pass rush by getting the ball out in two seconds or less. Arizona and TCU held the ball 2.5-3 seconds and BYU had seven sacks between the two games. BYU’s pass rush was unbelievable Saturday, getting pressure on 48% of drop backs despite sending 4 rushers or less 65% of the time. Five different players were in on a sack while 12 others recorded a pressure. When TCU got in 3rd and long, BYU teed off, resulting in the Frogs sub 30% conversion rate on 3rd/4th down. We said it after the Arizona game, but if BYU can force teams into obvious passing situations, their pass rush can resemble Texas Tech’s from a year ago. A seven sacks/QB hits mark against a P4 opponent is just another data point in the affirmative.

3. I would hire Bear Bachmeier

BYU QB Bear Bachmeier against TCU | BYU Photo

Personal story. After a high school basketball game in which I played poorly with worse effort, my dad gave me the following advice: “College coaches know that anyone can give a 100% effort when they are playing at 100% of their abilities. What they really want to see is who will give 100% effort when they are playing at 60%.”

Bear Bachmeier was downright bad yesterday as a passer. Elements aside, he never looked comfortable in the pocket, often missing open receivers on the few downfield passes he threw. Still, BYU fans left that game saying the sophomore carried BYU to a win. Why? Effort. Bear never goes down on first contact and, on that final drive, wouldn’t go down on third and fourth contact either. Everyone will rewatch his 21-yard touchdown run to seal the game, but the play of the night for me was the 2nd and 6 run where he appeared to be stopped three yards downfield before bouncing off multiple defenders for a first down. Effort like that is why BYU has the right quarterback even if the downfield passing isn’t there yet this season.

4. BYU could be in real trouble if LJ is hurt for any meaningful amount of time

Coming into the season, we knew running back depth would be an issue should LJ Martin go down. Through three weeks, the backups looked good enough to lessen that concern. Then reality set in on Saturday. BYU still ran the ball well enough, going for 158 yards on 4.4 yards per carry, but it's clear BYU’s offense is just not the same without its Doak Walker candidate. BYU’s number one goal should be getting him ready for Notre Dame. BYU should be able to get past Iowa State without him, but BYU’s pass game has not taken a big enough step forward for me to believe it will be any threat against the Irish if Martin isn’t his best self.

5. We’ve watched this program enough to know that BYU would rather win than be watchable

While that was an incredibly painful three hours to sit through, every bit of it was by design. Once the injuries started to pile up, the elements became unforgiving, and BYU’s defense dominated, the goal became win the game by any means necessary, and the means on this night was get a lead and don’t make mistakes. Stats were unimportant. Saturday was just the fifth time in the last 52 years that BYU was held under 65 passing yards, and it didn’t matter. Why? Because the only stat that mattered was a zero in the turnover column.

It felt obvious that the number one goal for the offense wasn’t to score. It was to not turn the football over. Everyone watching, including myself, was begging BYU to throw downfield to give us a reprieve from swing passes and 3rd down options, but sometimes life gives you what you need and not what you want. What the winning team needed was safety over flash. That’s what complementary football means. In reality, TCU probably ran the game plan BYU fans wanted. Nearly 40% of TCU’s passes traveled more than 10 air yards, which were completed at a 78% clip. The problem was one of those incompletions was an interception that set up the BYU touchdown that proved to be the difference. At the end of the day, the goal is to win and BYU won. That turns an otherwise ugly game into more of a sweet spirit.

Bonus: The Cut will be for sickos only

If BYU wins, the MVP is gonna be the editor of The Cut.
— Sporty (@SportyMcSports) October 4, 2026

Watching that game was the worst three hours of my week. There was nothing fun about watching that football game. Almost every moment was a chore, but am I going to watch a 20 minute “highlight” tape on it set to nostalgic alternative rock? 100%. That is our collective duty. After that? We can all agree to never speak of this week again.

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