BYU Football: Grading the Cougars' Game vs. TCU

It’s been four years since 2007, when BYU last beat TCU, and that was also the last time the game was even close.

2011’s version of the Cougs vs. the Frogs was closer, but in the end BYU couldn’t get out of its own way (and had some unfortunate officiating) in a 38-28 loss in Dallas.

BYU did some good things in the game, particularly on defense, but the Cougars were devastatingly bad in some ways, in a game they could have won.

Here are the grades..

Quarterback: C

Riley Nelson kept the game close and moved the Cougars, netting 215 yards passing and 84 yards rushing with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Nelson threw a bad pick and—worse—tried too hard to make something out of a broken play, throwing a backward pass on a critical drive that was recovered by the Frogs.

One of the interceptions wasn’t Nelson’s fault, as the ball was tipped by a receiver, who was absolutely mauled in a devastating pass interference no-call and grabbed by a TCU back in the end zone.

Nelson made some good things happen, but in the end, he made too many bad decisions and wasn’t able to rally the Cougars. 

Offensive Line: B+

The boys up front did a good job picking up blitzes and dealing with the speed of TCU on the edges.

This performance was one of the team’s best of the season against a very good defensive front. 

Running Backs: C+

This squad did a decent job, considering it was by far the best defensive front seven it had seen.

It seems each week a different back emerges with a big game for the Cougars, and this week it was last year’s star, JJ Di Luigi. He finished with 69 yards on 11 carries, while Michael Alisa, who had been the Cougs' go-to rusher, only managed 11 yards on six carries. 

Wide Receivers: B+

Ross Apo made a spectacular check early in the game. Cody Hoffman continues to be a solid No. 1. JD Falslev is beginning to find open routes underneath.

Against a TCU secondary that isn’t as good as in years past, the Cougar wideouts managed to get yards and separation against what is still a solid defensive backfield. 

Special Teams: F

Riley Stephenson won’t be popular in Provo anytime soon. This game was lost by the punting unit. On four occasions, the punting crew gave TCU the ball in position to score easy touchdowns, which is exactly what happened.

And it was in a number or ways. A tipped punt. A nicked snap. A dropped snap. Poor return coverage.

All this led to 28 points for the Horned Frogs, a number which the BYU offense and defense were never able to overcome.

Oh, and Justin Sorenson missed a field goal. 

Defensive Front Seven: A

This group did a tremendous job despite the 38 points on the scoreboard.

The BYU defense held TCU to just 157 yards rushing and was physical and even dominant at times. 

Secondary: C

This group was amazing—with two brutal exceptions.

On the second play of the game, the Horned Frogs completed a 48-yard touchdown on blown coverage, and then, just before the half, another big pass was completed for 33 yards on another blown coverage play.

Eighty-one of TCU’s 157 passing yards were on those two plays. 

Coaching: D

Special teams screw-ups, turnovers and penalties are a reflection of coaching.

And those things cost BYU the game.

While the staff did some good things, particularly using the hurry-up offense in the first half, in the end, too many mental errors by a team that should be smarter than average doomed the Cougars.

And there was more poor clock management rearing its ugly head.

When you lose games you should have won, that’s on coaching.