TCU TKO’S # 9 BYU, ends perfect start to season

While BYU’s offense has been getting all the press, TCU’s defense has been making its own noise in the Mountain West Conference.  BYU found out firsthand how good the Horned Frog defenders are as their offense was shut down en route to their first loss of the season as TCU prevailed 32-7 on Thursday night.

TCU was helped by QB Andy Dalton’s return to the lineup after missing the past two games due to a knee injury.  He didn’t put up gaudy numbers a la BYU’s Max Hall, but he was solid and productive with 170 yards on 12/19 passing good for 2 TDs and no interceptions.  Hall had a game that was anything *but* “solid and productive” as he managed 274 yards, no TD passes and 2 interceptions.  He was also sacked six times by a punishing TCU pass rush, after having only been sacked twice during the season’s first six games.

TCU scored on their first three drives—two set up via Hall’s interceptions—and shot out to a 17-0 lead in little more than a quarter of play.  They’d go up 23-0 at halftime and stretch that lead to 26-0 before BYU managed to get their only score of the game via a Max Hall rushing TD.  The Horned Frogs would add another TD just before the end of the 3rd quarter to stake the team to their final margin of victory.

Cougar coach Bronco Mendenhall tried to put the blowout and the team’s bad play into perspective:

"It's more disappointing than surprising. We knew they were a very good football team. But when you make mistakes like we made against a team like that, that simply is the result."

TCU will host lowly Wyoming next week before a couple of tricky road games five days apart—they’ll head to Las Vegas to play a competitive UNLV team on 11/1 and then to Salt Lake City on 11/6 for a Thursday night game against the undefeated University of Utah.  BYU should be able to get back on track against an easy scheduling stretch which will see them host UNLV and San Diego State and travel to Colorado State.  The Cougars next three opponents are currently a combined 6-13 overall and 0-8 in the Mountain West Conference.