PROVO, Utah — TCU quickly crushed any notions BYU may have had about revenge.
The 10th-ranked Horned Frogs scored the game’s firs three touchdowns, then stifled every attempt No. 16 BYU made at a comeback in a 38-7 win Saturday night.
“We came out firing tonight. That’s what we needed to do,” said Andy Dalton, who threw for 241 yards and three touchdowns as TCU remained unbeaten. “I think it shows the capabilities of our team. We still haven’t played our best game, but we played really well tonight.”
Yes, they did.
TCU (7-0, 3-0 Mountain West) held the Cougars under 300 yards of offense and didn’t turn the ball over once in a blowout that kept the Frogs in the hunt for a possible BCS berth.
The Frogs won their eighth straight and routed the Cougars (6-2, 3-1) for the second year in a row. The Frogs sacked Max Hall five times, including once when he was called for intentional grounding. Hall was sacked again on the next play, causing a fumble early in the fourth quarter that led to a touchdown to finish the blowout with 12:00 left in the game.
“We’ve been having fun all year. That wasn’t very much fun,” Hall said. “That defense is the best defense that I’ve faced.”
The Frogs were credited with a fifth sack on a play when Hall was called for intentionally
Hall finished 18 for 28 for 162 yards with a touchdown. The Cougars did nothing to help by committing nine penalties, including two on third downs that kept scoring drives alive for the Frogs.
TCU finished with five sacks and outgained the Cougars 412-298.
The Horned Frogs and coach Gary Patterson left the field to chants of “Ga-ry! Ga-ry!” after continuing their best start since opening 10-0 in 2003.
“I don’t think anyone would have predicted this and that’s why I told the players to enjoy the moment,” Patterson said.
Harvey Unga had more than a third of BYU’s yardage, running for 123 yards and caught a 3-yard pass from Hall for BYU’s only touchdown.
Hall ended up with two turnovers, one on a tipped pass and the other when he was sacked by Jerry Hughes early in the fourth quarter.
BYU, which had won 13 straight conference home games, was hoping to avenge a 32-7 loss at TCU last year that ended the Cougars’ 16-game winning streak. The Frogs were too fast for the Cougars then and now, scoring the first three touchdowns Saturday and never letting BYU back into it.
“We got beat in every facet of the game,” BYU tight end Dennis Pitta said, “that was pretty evident tonight.”
The Cougars gave the Frogs two breaks early in the third quarter. The first was when BYU’s Bryan Kariya tipped a pass straight up in the air and Daryl Washington intercepted it and returned the ball to the 40. The Cougars defense came up with a stop on third down from the 19, but a roughing-the-passer call gave TCU first-and-goal from the 9.
BYU held TCU to a field goal, but the Cougars’ defense blew another chance a few minutes later. Dalton threw an incomplete on third down, but Brian Logan was called for interference on TCU receiver Antoine Hicks and TCU got a first down at the 25. On the next play, Dalton threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Hicks, who left behind Logan long before he caught the ball in stride at the BYU 30.
After taking a 7-0 lead on a 4-yard run by Joseph Turner, the Frogs caught the Cougars by surprise with a reverse pitch pass deep in their own territory. Receiver Jeremy Kerley looked like he was going to throw the ball away and avoid a big loss when he spotted Jimmy Young open near midfield and threw it for a 44-yard gain.
Patterson said he wasn’t paying attention when one of his assistants called the trick play.
“They must have known to do it on first down because that way I wouldn’t veto it,” Patterson said.
Dalton completed the drive with a pass to Ed Wesley, who broke one tackle around the 25 and didn’t face another Cougar until he leaped over the goal line.
TCU scored again with 5:03 left in second on a 12-yard pass from Dalton to Young, who leaped to grab the ball and dragged a toe for the touchdown.
The Frogs had two sacks in the first quarter and nearly a third on a play that turned out even better for TCU. Hall passed the ball just before he hit the turf and the throw went backward enough that it was considered a lateral and a live ball. BYU recovered for a 9-yard loss.
BYU took a gamble late in the second quarter after getting stymied for a loss of 1 on third-and-goal from the 2. The Cougars went for it — quieting the boos they had been hearing from the home fans — and Hall hit Unga with a pass in the flat and Unga ran it in for a touchdown with 1:42 left to get BYU within 21-7.
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