No. 10 BYU survives TCU 17-10 as Bear Bachmeier takes over late

A tight, rain-soaked final

TCU and BYU slogged through a defensive, rain-soaked night at Amon G. Carter Stadium, and neither side found much room to move the ball early. BYU struck first in the second quarter. TCU's Faletau Satuala jumped a fourth down pass and returned the interception 59 yards, setting the Cougars up deep in TCU territory. Six plays later, Bear Bachmeier lunged into the end zone on a 9 yard keeper on third-and-goal. TCU answered with 27 seconds left before half, Jaden Craig finding tight end Kari Ashley for a 13 yard touchdown to tie the game at 7. BYU kicker Matthias Dunn put the Cougars back in front with a 49 yard field goal early in the third quarter, making it 10-7, and the score held into the fourth.

Bachmeier takes over late

BYU's final answer came on a 10 play drive that ate up nearly six minutes of the fourth quarter. Bachmeier capped it himself, bouncing off a teammate at the line and running through several TCU defenders inside the 10 yard line for a 21 yard touchdown with 2:06 to play, pushing the lead to 17-7. He finished with 66 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, more production on the ground than he had through the air, where he went 11 of 24 for 62 yards. Coach Kalani Sitake called it "a gritty win" and said "I liked ending the game how we did." Center Bruce Mitchell put it simply: "There's nothing stopping him from getting in the end zone."

BYU survives without Martin

The win cost BYU its top offensive weapon. Running back LJ Martin, last season's AP Big 12 offensive player of the year, carried twice for 16 yards in the first quarter before leaving with an apparent lower leg injury and not returning. Linebacker Isaiah Glasker was also hurt. Sitake did not give a firm update on either player afterward, but said neither one needed crutches. BYU improved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in Big 12 play without Martin on the field for most of the night. TCU got a 44 yard field goal from Nate McCashland with 32 seconds left to cut it to 17-10, but the Horned Frogs could not recover the onside kick that followed, and the game ended there.

By the numbers

TCU actually out-gained BYU, 259 total yards to 216, and out-passed the Cougars by a wide margin. Craig, the Harvard transfer, completed 18 of 25 throws for 187 yards with a touchdown and the game's only turnover, a costly interception. Running back Jeremy Payne led TCU on the ground with 77 yards on 14 carries, and Ashley's six catches for 108 yards and a score led all receivers. Linebacker Hudson Hooper topped TCU with 8 tackles, and John Schobel had a sack. For BYU, Tommy Prassas led with 7 tackles and Jake Clifton had a sack. Coach Sonny Dykes was blunt afterward: "We have to find a way to score points." TCU fell to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in Big 12 play.

Facts per ESPN box score. Opinion is the taproom's.