Fort Worth, Texas • Kalani Sitake didn’t seem upset as he was ushered into the back hallway of Amon G. Carter Stadium following a 44-11 loss Saturday.
If anything, BYU’s head coach was matter of fact in assessment of what can only be described as a beatdown.
“They exposed us in a lot of different ways,” he said after the second-worst loss of his tenure. “I’ve got to reassess a lot of things.”
BYU may have been in conference play for the last three weeks now, but Saturday in Fort Worth could be considered its first real introduction to its new league.
TCU left nothing to interpretation as it outgained the Cougars by 300 yards, built a 24-point lead in 20 minutes and turned over quarterback Kedon Slovis twice. The Horned Frogs had Big 12 speed and physicality. BYU did not.
“Basically, for them, they played a complete game in all three phases. It showed on the scoreboard,” he said. “Everything was making a lot of sense for them... Utilizing their speed and big, physical O-line. They covered us really well. ... You can’t just keep doing the same things and expecting results to change.”
It seemed BYU had been building to a loss like this for a while. Against Cincinnati two weeks ago, BYU was out-gained by 200 yards. All year its offense struggled to stay on the field, scoring more on quick drives rather than through sustained execution. Its average third-down distance hovered around seven yards.
“I want to see us get in a rhythm. I’ve mentioned that before,” Sitake said earlier in the week, acknowledging the problem.
He knew his Cougars could possibly get away with it facing a fellow Big 12 newcomer like the Bearcats. But against a team like TCU — a team with a roster that embodies the speed of the Big 12 and a program that went to the conference title game a year ago — it wouldn’t fly.
That was evident early. The game began with a Slovis pick-six, putting BYU down 7-0 before its defense even came on the field. The offense proceeded to go three-and-out three more times before the half even ended and passed midfield just once.
Receivers couldn’t break free from the cornerbacks, with Slovis recording just 22 passing yards on its first six drives. And the offensive line couldn’t block anyone either, averaging under three yards per carry.
“I don’t know if we are this type of team that can sit there and play power run game,” Sitake said.
It was capped off by Slovis fumbling the ball on a blitz BYU couldn’t pick up and TCU scored five plays later to make it 24-0.
“We can’t be down by that much,” Slovis said plainly. When asked if he thought his receivers were getting enough separation, he said, “There was enough. I take pride in being able to make a lot of throws. There were some plays that we were hoping for a little grab or a PI.”
As the offense struggled to get going, the defense was equally alarming. TCU backup quarterback Josh Hoover, who was making his first start, threw for 439 yards and four touchdowns. His receivers were wide open most of the afternoon. He converted 12-of-19 third downs and four third-and-longs.
At the end of the first half, Hoover made an easy pitch and catch to Savion Williams for a seven-yard touchdown to give the Horned Frogs a 31-8 lead. There was no resistance, not even near the goal line.
“We didn’t make things even difficult for him,” Sitake said. “We didn’t pressure him and make things uncomfortable. It just goes to show, if that guy has time he can really hurt you. Hats off to him. I thought he made some throws that I was not expecting.”
Are there some caveats to BYU’s blowout? Sure, and the players talked about them.
For one, BYU came in expecting TCU to run the ball more with a backup quarterback. Linebacker AJ Vongphachanh admitted as much. Hoover threw it 58 times and TCU head coach Sonny Dykes opted to run it just 27 times.
Also, the defense was playing without cornerback Kamden Garrett and safety Tanner Wall. Preston Rex, a fifth-string option, played nearly half the game.
But after watching TCU score on seven of its 13 drives, and march into BYU territory 10 times, it was hard to believe it would’ve mattered much.
“They are an impressive, athletic team. They’ve got good players,” Slovis said. “We saw on film. They’ve shown that. Went to a national championship a year ago.”
That was ultimately what it boiled down to.
Which leaves BYU in a difficult spot. Because after TCU, that Big 12 speed and physicality only gets tougher in games against Texas and Texas Tech.
“Sometimes you have to pivot and figure out different ways to do things,” Sitake concluded. “You can’t just keep doing the same things and expecting results to change.”
But what does that mean for a team whose roster is not changing? Sitake wasn’t sure, but the rest of the season will be an experiment in trying.
“We have to pivot and it is all in the realm of our capabilities,” Sitake said. “I don’t think we have to reinvent the wheel but we do have to do some things differently to get stops on defense, to get pressure. On offense, get points on the board. Whatever it takes, it doesn’t really matter.”
