BYU heads into Saturday’s trip to TCU with the warning lights already flashing.
The Cougars are coming off a bye week, traveling for their first Big 12 road game of the season, and walking into a place that has given them trouble before. They lost 44-11 in Fort Worth in 2023, then answered with a 44-13 win over the Horned Frogs in Provo a year ago. Now the matchup comes with BYU unbeaten at 3-0 and ranked No. 10, while TCU is trying to steady itself after a conference road loss at UCF.
For BYU, the lesson is simple: don’t treat this like anything less than a major test.
"I think the last time we went down to TCU was after a bye and we didn't play well at all," offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said. "I'm really confident in this team; it's a different team."
That confidence doesn’t mean anyone inside the program is brushing aside what waits in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs may have stumbled early with losses to North Carolina and UCF, but the Cougars are preparing for the version of TCU that can make a night miserable fast, especially at home.
"They're going to have the energy, welcoming a top-10 team in the country," BYU center Bruce Mitchell said.
Kalani Sitake echoed that same message, making it clear the Cougars are expecting TCU’s best shot.
"I'm anticipating them being at their best," Sitake said. "I know Sonny (Dykes), I know him as a coach, and I know what he's capable of doing. We're banking on them being the best TCU they can be."
The numbers back up why BYU’s staff isn’t taking anything lightly. TCU has given up just 264.8 yards per game and 12.5 points, both signs of a defense that can still clamp down even in a season that has started slowly. The Horned Frogs have also moved the ball well at times, but turnovers and penalties have kept them from turning that into a cleaner start.
"They're really good defense," Roderick said. "I have tons of respect for these guys.
They have good players. Coach Avalos is a great coach; he's one of the best in the game, and he's got a really good staff.
They're just a really well-coached team, so we have our work cut out for us. This is the biggest, most physical, and most athletic team we've played yet this year."
That physical edge is exactly what Mitchell expects to meet in the trenches.
"They are a physical group, and they're going to play you tough," Mitchell said. "They want to stop the run, so that's an exciting matchup for an offensive line. They're going to be hard-nosed and they're going to play you tough."
BYU has already handled a couple of early-season tests, including a Big 12 win over Arizona and a road victory at Colorado State. This one is different, though: the first conference road game of the year, after a week off, against a team that should be energized by the setting and the chance to knock off a top-10 opponent.
Roderick knows what that environment can feel like.
"We know it's going to be tough," Roderick said. "We have a lot of respect for this team.
The last time we were down there, it didn't go well at all. I've coached against TCU many times in my career.
It can be a tough place to play, it can be loud."
Sitake added that road games always bring their own challenges, though he believes the kickoff time could help BYU settle in.
"being on the road is not an easy thing," Sitake said, and said the start time of the game "is going to work in our favor, because we like to play that time slot."
The Cougars also know the danger of a flat start after the bye. If they don’t come out sharp, the crowd could hang around and turn this into the kind of game nobody wants late in the fourth quarter.
Roderick said the Big 12 has already shown this season how quickly games can tilt.
"I think our league is good," Roderick said. "I think our league is better than people think nationally - top to bottom.
It's a league where everybody is good enough to beat each other. Every single week, every game is going to be a fight.
I think you're going to see a lot of one-score games that go deep into the fourth quarter. You've got to be able to win those games."
That’s the reality BYU is stepping into Saturday: a road game, a rested opponent, a loud building and no room for a sluggish start. Sitake and Roderick are both making the same point in different ways - the Cougars need to show up ready or risk turning a winnable trip into a fight to the finish.
In Other News...
BYU Heads To TCU With New Availability Questions At Key Spots
BYUs first availability report for its trip to TCU brought a few notable absences into focus, and the biggest ones land on the offensive line and in the middle of the defense. Starting right tackle Andrew Gentry and linebacker Siale Esera were both listed as out, giving the Cougars some important lineup decisions to sort through before facing a Horned Frogs team that can make teams pay for any thin spots.
Freshman kicker Brody Laga also showed up on the report as out, an unexpected wrinkle for a BYU team that has been trying to keep stability in its special teams operation. TCUs side of the report was less alarming, with EDGE rusher Zach Chapman listed as questionable even as Sonny Dykes said he expects him to play, so BYU will be watching both the trenches and the kicking game closely as kickoff approaches. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Heads Into TCU With A New Turnover Concern
BYUs offense spent the first half of the season avoiding the kind of mistakes that can flip a game, but that changed in a hurry against Colorado State. In the second half, Bear Bachmeier and Treyson Bourguet each threw interceptions on consecutive drives, marking the Cougars first two turnovers of the year and giving the offense a fresh issue to clean up as the schedule tightens.
Now comes a conference road test at TCU, where ball security figures to be under an even brighter spotlight because of the expected wet conditions. Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick took responsibility for both picks and explained the circumstances behind the plays, but the larger concern for BYU is less about blame than about whether a previously careful offense can stay that way in a tougher environment. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Faces A Dangerous Test Against A Desperate Big 12 Opponent
Kalani Sitakes BYU team is headed into a stretch where the margin for error keeps shrinking, and the Big 12s broader coaching pressure cooker only sharpens the stakes. Around the league, coaches such as Lance Leipold at Kansas, Deion Sanders at Colorado and Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia are all dealing with the kind of late-season scrutiny that turns every matchup into more than just another game, and BYU is not separated from that conversation.
For the Cougars, the next test carries the feel of a measuring stick because the opponent is playing with urgency and the conference race is still shaping the leagues mood week by week. Sitake has built enough credibility to avoid panic talk, but in a league where momentum can swing quickly, a difficult night against a desperate Big 12 team would only add to the pressure that follows every result this time of year. [Read more 🡒]