Aside from the normal rivalries in Utah, Utah State, and Boise State, there is no love between me and TCU. I cannot stand TCU and I honestly cannot tell you why. There is just something that fueled me in the Mountain West that made me just not like them. They thought they were so good, and they usually were. They also had a high caliber coach in Patterson who lead them to some magical seasons. So I am excited to renew this series with TCU and see if this game becomes a rivalry game again.
History vs TCU
No game to recap last week as BYU had a bye week. But this week starts a pretty crazy October against all Texas teams. BYU and TCU havent played since 2011 where BYU fell to TCU 28-38. The Cougars were actually down 22 at one point but their comeback fell a little short. BYU and TCU have played 7 times in the MWC with BYU winning 2 of those and TCU winning 5. BYU had a commanding all time series lead from games in the 70s but the MWC games tilted it back into TCUs favor. The all time series is 6-5 in favor of TCU. TCU is also on a 4 game win streak against the Cougars with BYU not winning since 2007.
Game Preview vs TCU
Enough of the past, lets look forward to this weeks game! TCU will have their backup QB for this game. Their starting QB, Chandler Morris, sprained his left MCL and will be out multiple weeks. Their next QB in line is Josh Hoover. He came in last week in the 3rd quarter, when Morris went down, and threw for 119 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. Hes a freshman so it’ll be interesting to see how he handles his first collegiate start.
TCU is also favored by 6 and ESPN analytics gives BYU only a 27.6% chance of winning. Thats on par with what we saw for the Arkansas game. Its going to be a tight game but with a backup QB making his first start for TCU, I think BYU has a better chance of winning than what ESPN and Vegas thinks.
TCU Offense
TCU obviously has a dynamic offense. It seems like they always do. They are currently averaging 472.5 yards per game with 280.3 passing yards and 192.2 rushing yards. The yards per game is good enough for 16th in the country. They are a run first team, and I think that’ll be even more of the focus with their backup QB making his first start. They have a great RB in Emani Bailey. He is currently 4th in the nation in total rushing yards with 690 total yards. Thats about 115 yards PER GAME. BYU will have to slow him down to have any chance in this game.
TCU Defense
TCUs defense is another story. They are worse than BYUs defense in terms of total yards allowed. TCU has allowed 241.7 yards passing and 126 yards rushing a game. They seem to be pretty solid against the run, but the pass defense is susceptible. BYU will hopefully be able to pass all over this defense. Of course, TCU will probably be focusing on that as well, so BYU will need to get their run game going just to switch it up and get a nice flow to the game. I think BYU will do JUST enough to pull out this game. It will hinge on our defense again with them making a defensive stop to win the game. I have BYU winning 28-24.
BYU Injury Updates
Both Hill and Roderick gave updates on their players on each side of the ball this week. Hill said that Ben Bywater will not be playing. Thats a big blow to BYUs defense, but Taggert, a transfer from Oregon, filled in for Bywater and had 10 tackles last week. Roderick said that they aren’t sure yet if Aidan Robbins will be able to play, so it could be more of Deion Smith and Miles Davis to backup LJ Martin at the RB position. Roderick also said that Parker Kingston and Kody Epps will both be playing this week against TCU, which is exciting news to get those playmakers back on offense.
BYU Uniform
BYUs uniform this week is more of a classic look. We are going back to the white helmet with chrome royal face masks, white jersey with royal trim, and royal pants.
Big 12 Conference Update
The first news for the Big 12 is that Brett McMurphy, a reliable reporter for Action Network is reporting that the Big 12 is “seriously considering” adding Gonzaga in 2024 or 2025 and that the decision may occur in 2 weeks and Gonzaga may accept less revenue similar to SMU joining the ACC. In the report, he also says that Gonzaga would join their men’s basketball, baseball, women’s soccer, volleyball, and men’s and women’s tennis to the Big 12.
It was previously reported that Brett Yormark, the commissioner for the Big 12, was done expanding the Big 12, but with the ACC adding Cal, Stanford, and SMU and the changing economics of college athletics, the Big 12 decided to revisit the idea. If the Big 12 can add Gonzaga, that would be huge. It would be the indisputable best basketball conference. Yormark would like to negotiate football and basketball deals separately coming up and thinks that the basketball media revenue currently is undervalued. So adding Gonzaga would help drive up that revenue deal. Im all for it! As much as I thought BYU was safe from Gonzaga when we left the WCC, it would be fun to have them back in conference and they were always intense games.
Big 12 Standings
Oklahoma St beat Kansas St, in a very entertaining game that went back and forth, 29-21. In the biggest game of the week, Oklahoma upset Texas, 34-30, in an absolutely bonkers game. There were special teams TDs, blocked punts, 4th down stops, interceptions, it was crazy. Probably one of the craziest games that I have watched. Kansas beat UCF 51-22 with an explosion of offense. Texas Tech stomped on Baylor, 39-14. Another upset, Iowa State beat TCU, 27-14, behind forcing 4 turnovers.
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