No. 10 BYU (3-0, 1-0 Big 12) at TCU (2-2, 0-1 Big 12)
- To start up: Saturday, 5 p.m. MDT
- Place: Amon G. Carter Stadium (capacity: 46,000)
- TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: espn.com/live or Disney+
- Radio: KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM/BYU Radio Sirius XM 143
- Series: TCU Leads, 7-6
Trends
For BYU: The Cougars are 3-0 for the fourth straight season, but more importantly, they are well-rested after last week’s early bye.
BYU scores 42 points per game, allowing 15.7 points per game defensively, and has a turnover margin of +4.
The Cougars beat TCU 44-11 a year ago, but they haven’t won in Fort Worth since 2006.
For TCU: The Horned Frogs took a step back in 2026, starting the season 2-2 with two deflating losses to UNC and UCF.
TCU scores 29.3 points per game, allowing 12.5 points per game on defense, and ranks among the most penalized teams in college football by drawing 30 flags in four games.
The Horned Frogs desperately need an upset win to turn their season around, especially since they haven’t started 0-2 in the Big 12 since 2013.
What to watch for
BYU has had its share of slow starts after the bye week under Kalani Sitake, so watch out if the Cougars are sluggish or locked in from the start.
TCU has held opponents to just 76.0 yards through four games, while BYU has averaged almost 200 yards more than that per game. Watch to see if the Horned Frog defense or the Cougar offense can win the ground battle.
Additionally, TCU has already fumbled nine times this season, so pay attention to how BYU’s defense attempts to attack TCU’s shaky ball security.
Bear Bachmeier has been outstanding so far as a sophomore, but he has yet to take on a Big 12 road challenge. Watch to see if he can continue to post similarly impressive passing numbers in a conference setting.
Player to watch
Bott Mulitalo, freshman, offensive tackle, BYU: With veteran Andrew Gentry now sidelined indefinitely due to ankle surgery, BYU will turn to a freshman platoon of Siosiua Latu-Finau and Bott Mulitalo to fill its right tackle position moving forward.
Mulitalo has been excellent in 40 snaps coming off the bench this season, but Saturday against the Horned Frogs will mark his first real opportunity to see extended playing time.
Despite all of TCU’s struggles, the Horned Frogs have proven capable of getting to opposing quarterbacks, recording nine sacks so far and ranking as the second-best passing offense in the Big 12, according to Pro Football Focus.
Given his relative inexperience, TCU will likely attempt to target Mulitalo for sacking opportunities. How he responds will determine not only how comfortable Bear Bachmeier is in the pocket, but also how well BYU’s offensive line can hold up in the coming weeks without Gentry.
Quotable
“We feel like our guys accomplished what we wanted to do last week for the bye. We were ready to play a game. We just didn’t play one, but the guys put in the time and put in a lot of work, and we healed some bodies. But we always practiced with the intention of playing a game. The intensity and everything was still there in terms of our training. … We can’t wait to see them play this weekend.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake
“We’re disappointed, we’re hurt, but we realize if we sit around and pout, it’s not going to make things better… We’re obviously evaluating every aspect of our program, trying to understand why we’re not playing as well as we need to play to win games.
“We talked about it at the start of the season, an important point for us is the number of one-score games we are going to play and the formula to win these games, that is to say winning the turnover battle and limiting penalties and errors.
“Unfortunately for us, in those two (defeats), we didn’t do those things. So we have to figure that out as a team and investigate all the reasons why that was the case.” — Sonny Dykes, TCU coach
Afterwards
- BYU: against Iowa State on October 9
- TCU: at Baylor on October 17
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