Three Thoughts on TCU’s 44-11 Win Over BYU
Despite entering Saturday’s matchup without their starting quarterback in Week 7, the TCU Horned Frogs showed up in a big way to get back into the win column after taking down the BYU Cougars 44-11. BYU entered Week 7 riding high after getting off to a 4-1 start while Sonny Dykes squad looked to get back on the horse after a rocky 3-3 start.
On Saturday, it was the Horned Frogs taking care of business in dominant fashion to advance to 4-3 with a commanding 44-11 win.
Here are three thoughts on the game.
JOSH HOOVER
How about the performance from Josh Hoover!
Hoover stepped to the starting role in place of the injured Chandler Morris and had an absolute day. The Texas native led the Horned Frogs to an impressive 44-11 win finishing with 439 yards passing and four scores through the air.
To say that Josh Hoover spread the ball around against the Cougars is an understatement as he completed passes to a whopping 13 different receivers. The sophomore from Texas stepped up in a big way to give Horned Frogs fans some much needed confidence as they get ready to head to Manhattan in pursuit of the defending Big 12 champion Kansas State Wildcats.
THE GAP CONTINUES
The BYU Cougars entered Saturday afternoon as 5.5-point underdogs to TCU, but after becoming the first of the four new additions to earn a win as members of the Big 12 Conference, things in Provo had been looking up.
The four new additions BYU, Houston, Cincinnati, and Houston have struggled this season. Had it not been for a late Hail Mary from Houston to beat the West Virginia Mountaineers, the four new conference members would be winless against Big 12 teams from 2022.
BYU had a brutal afternoon on all three phases of the ball with two turnovers on offense, 40 points given up on defense, and not much to write home about on special teams. While BYU started off hot with 4-1 record through their first five games, Kalani Sitake’s squad now drops to 4-2 as they get ready for a Week 8 matchup against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
TCU DEFENSE
The Horned Frogs defense was lights out all afternoon against one of the better offensive units in the Big 12 and kept senior quarterback Kedon Slovis to just 152 yards passing on the day.
The defense forced two turnovers with a fumble recovery from linebacker Jamoi Hodge, and an interception from senior safety Milliard Bradford. The unit kept BYU to just 243 yards of total offense and an impressive 2-14 on third down.
The Horned Frogs defense has been hit-or-miss at multiple points this season including TCU’s Week 1 loss to Colorado where they surrendered 45 points, but things are seemingly changing. The unit continues to develop as they climb back into the Big 12 title hunt ahead of their Week 8 matchup against Kansas State.
