TCU Heads West Searching for Redemption at BYU

The Horned Frogs' physical and mental toughness will be tested by a hard-nosed BYU team that rarely falters in front of its home fans.

Nov 8, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs wide receiver Jordan Dwyer (7) and wide receiver Eric McAlister (1) point to the replay screen during the second half against the Iowa State Cyclones at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

On the heels of one of the most disappointing results of Sonny Dykes’ tenure as the head football coach at TCU, the Horned Frogs now have to make the long trek to Provo to face BYU. In the words of Steven Wright, “If at first you don’t succeed, then skydiving definitely isn’t for you.”

Skydiving, at least in the metaphorical sense, is exactly what TCU (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) will be doing when it plays BYU (8-1, 5-1). This will by far be the toughest test the battered and wounded Horned Frogs will have all season, and the fact that it’s coming immediately after the most debilitating result of the year just makes it all the worse.

BYU Wants to Be Physical

Sep 20, 2025; Greenville, North Carolina, USA; Brigham Young Cougars running back LJ Martin (4) runs for a touchdown against the East Carolina Pirates during the second half at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images | James Guillory-Imagn Images

One thing that’s a certainty is that the Cougars are going to try to assert their will in the trenches. It’s what they do best. Despite being thoroughly manhandled by Texas Tech last week, BYU is the second-best rushing offense in the Big 12 (behind only Utah). Running back LJ Martin leads that charge, as he’s the top rusher in the conference with 824 yards. He averages 5.8 yards per carry and 91.6 a game. If he’s humming, then BYU is going to win — no ifs, ands, or buts.

It'll be TCU’s task to make sure that doesn’t happen. The only team that’s been able to keep Martin and the rest of the Cougars’ ground game in check was Texas Tech, which held BYU to just 2.5 yards per carry in last weekend’s dominating win in Lubbock. A lot of that can be credited to the Red Raiders’ excellent talent up front. While TCU doesn’t have those types of bodies on the defensive front, perhaps Andy Avalos can scheme up some of the same stuff Texas Tech did and find some success.

Where the Frogs might find even more trouble when it comes to BYU’s physicality is on their own offensive line. Everybody’s aware of TCU’s poor rushing offense, and a lot of that has to do with subpar run blocking. That’s especially evident against teams that have a goal of being more physical than their opponent — think Arizona State, Kansas State, and Iowa State. The results in all three of those games for TCU were losses, and if the Horned Frogs don’t figure out a way to match that physicality, then Saturday night could produce a similar outcome.

The One-Dimensional Frogs

Oct 18, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs quarterback Josh Hoover (10) throws downfield against the Baylor Bears during the second half of a game at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Let’s assume that TCU won’t be able to run the ball all that well — an easy bet based on the past three seasons. The question, then, is whether the Frogs can find success through Josh Hoover’s arm against a BYU secondary that’s proven to be one of the nation’s best at creating turnovers. The Cougars rank ninth nationally in interception rate, picking off passes on 4.7 percent of opponents’ attempts — an elite number that speaks to how disruptive they’ve been in coverage.

On top of that, BYU doesn’t give up many explosive pass plays, which makes life even tougher for a quarterback trying to carry the load through the air. TCU certainly wasn’t able to crack a similar code against Iowa State.

Of course, forecasting any of this is tricky given how much college teams can change from week to week. But it’s fair to assume BYU will be locked in on Eric McAlister, Jordan Dwyer, and the rest of the TCU passing attack. It’ll be up to the offensive coaching staff to find ways to keep BYU guessing, though, based on what we’ve seen in recent weeks, that might be easier said than done.

Provo at Night Is Scary

Oct 3, 2025; Provo, Utah, USA; Brigham Young Cougars students cheer during a third down defensive play against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the fourth quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Saturday’s game will kick off at 9:15 p.m. CT (8:15 p.m. local time), which means the BYU crowd is going to be quite the rowdy bunch. It doesn’t matter that no alcohol is allowed in the stadium — that place is going to be the loudest environment the Frogs have faced all season.

BYU is almost unstoppable at night, no matter the location. Since 2019, the Cougars are 35-4 in games that have kicked off past 7 p.m. That’s just absurd, and it doesn’t bode well for TCU’s chances of coming in and pulling off the upset.

Need to Win

The next three games, starting with this upcoming bout against the Cougars, will define the season. Going 3-0 would give the team a 9-3 finish, which would surely help settle down some doubts that this operation is heading in the wrong direction. But 0-3 is certainly on the table, and that would be an unmitigated disaster.

How TCU handles that type of pressure is anybody’s guess. If it goes on a run to salvage the season, then maybe going (metaphorically) skydiving with no preparation at all will be not a risk, but a feat worth applauding for years to come.

It’ll all starts on Saturday night in Provo at LaVell Edwards Stadium at 9:15 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ESPN.