Tweaks, fixes, health dominate BYU prep heading into showdown with TCU

This article was first published in theCougar Insiders newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each week.

The Cougars will take on a familiar foe Saturday when No. 12-ranked BYU hosts TCU in LaVell Edwards Stadium. While the Cougars’ defense played well enough to challenge Texas Tech in a loss in Lubbock last week, the offense has some fixes to make.

And, at this time of the season where everyone is banged up, it would help if BYU’s offense could find help for star running back LJ Martin.

The Cougars will need to get back to forcing turnovers after getting none at Texas Tech. On offense, BYU will need to find ways to get back to making big plays with both the run and pass. High on the agenda is the run game, a necessary tool for offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick to use in keeping balance and triggering play-action passing with freshman Bear Bachmeier.

On Monday, coach Kalani Sitake said he liked how BYU responded to the physical play of Texas Tech, but the team needed to make more plays and clean up mistakes on special teams. He wants the team to start faster, get momentum earlier and keep it, control field position, and just play smarter.

“Our players were embarrassed,” he said. “There is no finger-pointing here. We still control our own destiny.”

Cougar Insider predictions

Question of the Week: BYU’s disappointing first loss of the season at Texas Tech certainly provided an opportunity to learn from the experience. Which player, coach or group do you think can learn the most from the loss to the Red Raiders in Lubbock, and why? Give a game prediction.

Jay Drew: For perhaps the first time this season, BYU didn’t play complementary football against Texas Tech, and it cost the Cougars dearly. There were breakdowns in all three phases, mostly on special teams and offensive execution. The defense played well, given the circumstances, but was asked to do too much and eventually the dam broke and the Red Raiders asserted their will.

Although the shanked punts, muffed punt and missed 51-yard field goal proved difficult to overcome, special teams wasn’t the only reason the Cougars lost. Simply put, the offense did not do nearly enough to keep the defense off the field, control the clock and the ball, take the TTU crowd out of the game, and reach the end zone.

So I’m going to say it was the offense that needs to learn the most. Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick needs to come up with plays that will work when the opposing team’s front seven is as good as Texas Tech’s was. Truly, the Red Raiders have literally paid for one of the best defensive lines in the country, with an estimated payroll for those four guys around $7 million. Saturday, they were worth every penny.

Granted, that is not an easy task, given the limitations with which Roderick is working. BYU lacks a burner who can take the top off defenses and keep them honest. And with the way the wind was howling in Lubbock, throwing deep was nearly impossible.

It will be much colder in Provo late Saturday night, but not nearly as windy.

Prediction: BYU 24, TCU 21

Dick Harmon: Bear Bachmeier has been fantastic this season and he is not to be blamed for BYU losing to Texas Tech, the best defense he may face this season. But I think he will learn a ton from that game as the week goes on.

First, he did turn the ball over twice, but that rushed lateral pass was a mistake he will not repeat and it will give him a reference point in what not to do when in the grasp of pass rushers. Second, he now knows what it is like to have a defensive rush overcome his pass pro max protection schemes and how hard it is to run when the defenders center their second-level defenders on him. Film will show what Texas Tech did and there will be discussions on how to counter. One of those would be for his backs to peel off to the flats after chipping a D-end and become pass targets. This was a mainstay of BYU of old.

Third, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick now knows he won’t have a 100% LJ Martin to work with and he needs to either get better help going north and south between the tackles, or develop a range of pass plays (quick slants, bubble screen, HB and TE hooks and comebacks) as a transition to force defenses to respect the passing game and open things deep or take a defender or two out of the box for easier runs. Interesting that BYU DC Jay Hill told BYUtv’s “Coordinator’s Corner” the running back room has to produce some answers down the stretch with Martin banged up.

TCU has always given BYU tough games because of its speed and athleticism. This game with the Horned Frogs will be a challenge, but one BYU must meet and conquer if they want to get to Arlington. Look for the Cougars to respond at home, find some energy and play far cleaner than the team that showed up and let big-game jitters eat them alive in Lubbock.

My prediction: BYU 28, TCU 24

Cougar tales

BYU’s women’s soccer team won its first Big 12 championship as a historic No. 8 seed over the weekend.

AJ Dybantsa was named to the Big 12 starting five. Read details here. After winning the Big 12 soccer championship in Fort Worth, Texas, the Cougar women had four players named to the Big 12 All-Conference team.

The BYU basketball team displayed athleticism in running past Holy Cross in the home opener. Transfer point guard Nate Pickens is out for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery.

On Tuesday, BYU hoops got a commitment from 6-10 Abdullah Ahmed, a 22-year-old G-League center who has played for the Westchester Knicks. He is from Egypt and has three years of eligibility to play. He will enroll in January and sit out to prepare for the 2026-07 season.

Here’s our coverage of BYU’s game matchup between two top-10 teams for the first time in school history:

WR Roberts wants a rematch with Texas Tech (Jay Drew)

What Joey McGuire said of his TT win (Jackson Payne)

Cougars fall flat in big-time game (Jay Drew)

3 plays that doomed the Cougars in Lubbock (Dave McCann)

Big plays highlighted from TT clash (Jackson Payne)

This Friday, BYU’s athletic department and Cougar Club will induct seven legends into the Hall of Fame. They include volleyball player Alexa Gray, basketball star Tyler Haws, track star Nachelle Stewart Mackie, baseball pitcher Jack Morris, photographer Mark Philbrick, former basketball coach Roger Reid and national championship team football center Trevor Matich. You can read their bios here.

BYU’s women’s soccer team will host Utah State in the first round of the NCAA regional Friday. BYU is seeded No. 5 and at 11-6-4, will face the Aggies, who have a 10-6-6 record. Kick is 6 p.m. MST.

From the archives

From the X-verse

Extra points

Is TCU coach on the hot seat? (Heartland Sports)

Money talks in TT win over BYU (KSLsports)

How BYU hoops takes on service (Deseret News)

Fanalysts

Comments from Deseret News readers:

Overmatched, outplayed or was it the kitty kat head gear? Well, BYU and Utah struggled against a talented Texas Tech team (the best money could buy), and the difference was the fact that the Red Raiders settled for field goals four out of five times for 12 points (should have been 15). Yes, kudos to the Cougs forcing fourth downs some five times inside the 20, but little else worked. And you have to credit Texas Tech’s defense and a gutty performance by their QB. Now look, you ride into Lubbock with kitty kats on your lids and expect to intimidate the local team? And then there was a muffed kick ... by BYU, this time, that set the tone for this game in many ways. BYU held and forced a field goal. Tech had the chance to really put BYU in a deep hole just before half but came away with nothing. BYU’s best moment. And the Cougs stymied Tech to open the second half, but the offense only had scattered good plays, and that was not enough. But the BYU Nation can take some solace in the fact that right now it looks like the conference championship game in Arlington will be a Texas Tech/BYU rematch. But a whole lot of football still has to be played, and it will be interesting, no?

— Stathis

Texas Tech is the king of not going for it and attempting field goals instead. Championship games are not won by not going for it and attempting field goals. After looking at the BYU-Texas Tech game, Give Tech the credit it deserves. But if they play BYU again, on a neutral field, in a championship game, I guarantee it that this time around, it definitely will be a much different game. Three costly mistakes: a muffed punt catch, an interception, and a backwards pass recovered as a fumble ALL led to easy points for Tech. You can count on it this time, BYU will not be as rattled when they meet Tech again. Then there is the intangibles of BYU coming up with a game plan to surprise Tech. You might see things like Treyson Bourguet coming in and taking snaps. With his junior year, more experienced demeanor, it might possibly negate Tech’s ability to disrupt. Also there is the intangibles of both Bear and Treyson in the backfield where Tech would not know who is going to receive the ball. All sorts of good unexpected plays which BYU’s Roderick, is famous for, could appear in the next meeting. Don’t count BYU out just yet. Winning the Big 12 championship could put BYU back deep into the NCAA playoffs.

— AllAmerican

Up next

Click here to read article