How TCU snapped its two-game losing streak and embarrassed BYU
With its football season hanging in the balance, TCU played its most complete game of the year behind a big day from a redshirt freshman quarterback.
Josh Hoover, who started in place of the injured Chandler Morris, passed for 439 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Horned Frogs to dominating 44-11 win over BYU on Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
“What can you say about Josh?” coach Sonny Dykes said after the win. “I thought he played incredibly well, I’m not surprised he’s the most prepared player on our team and I’m just really proud of the poise he showed.”
The win snapped TCU’s two-game losing skid and extended the program’s winning streak over the Cougars to five.
The game was over in a blink of the eye as the Horned Frogs jumped out to a 24-0 lead thanks to a defensive touchdown and Hoover’s stellar start.
BYU had a chance to make things interesting after finally scoring a touchdown in the final minutes of the second quarter to pull within 24-8. Hoover responded by leading the Horned Frogs on a methodical nine-play, 81-yard drive in roughly two minutes to end any hopes of a startling comeback.
He capped the drive by hooking up with Savion Williams for a seven-yard touchdown that pushed the lead to 23. BYU never challenged the Horned Frogs the rest of the way.
“It was a gut check for our guys and for them to come out to play like they did it says a lot about who they are,” Dykes said.
Hoover’s debut
Hoover exceeded any and all expectations of him in his first start for the injured Chandler Morris. Hoover didn’t look like a redshirt freshman and head coach Sonny Dykes didn’t treat him like one with a heavy emphasis on the passing game in the first half.
How much did the staff trust Hoover? He attempted 33 passes in the first half to just 11 TCU rushing attempts. Part of that was how hard the Cougars were selling out to stop the Horned Frogs’ running back Emani Bailey, but the biggest reason was how dialed in Hoover was. He threw three touchdown passes and was at his best on third downs. With him leading the way, the offense converted 6 of 9 third downs in the first half.
Hoover was most impressive when he showed his ability to fit the ball into tight windows. On his first drive, he threaded the needle to Savion Williams and Jaylon Robinson on back-to-back third downs to keep the chains moving. The ball was placed in an area only they could get it and he continued making plays like that all afternoon.
On the first drive of the second half Hoover threw a near perfect pass to JP Richardson on an out route to convert a third-and-long. Then he went through at least two of his progressions before working back to find Warren Thompson for an easy 14-yard touchdown that put TCU ahead 38-8. Were it not for an redzone interception in the first half it would’ve been a flawless outing for Hoover.
“I thought our guys around me gave me a chance to make plays,” Hoover said. “We threw 60 balls and I had no pressure, that’s unheard of. Our offensive line played their butt off, I can’t express how thankful I am for those guys and our receivers. They played unbelievable.”
Hoover finished with 37 completions in 58 attempts and also ran a quarterback keeper for 26 yards.
He led an offense that had 584 total yards and a 30-15 edge in first downs.
Defensive masterpiece
While Hoover will receive plenty of attention for his stellar debut, don’t forget about the TCU defense. Defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie’s unit put together a masterclass in the first half as the defense held BYU to just 108 yards and an average of just three yards per play.
Forget scoring touchdowns, it was a minor miracle to see BYU pick up a first down in the the first half. The Horned Frogs forced BYU to be one-dimensional with the Cougars running the ball 20 times for just 40 yards. When Kedon Slovis wasn’t being pressured he was forced to throw into tight windows thanks to exceptional coverage by the TCU secondary.
Along with an interception from Millard Bradford, Avery Helm sacked Slovis and forced a fumble which led to TCU taking a 24-0 advantage midway through the second quarter. Even in the second half with the game out of hand, TCU was still playing lights on defense and came up with two fourth down stops to keep BYU from reaching the endzone.
“I’m just proud of the performance and I thought defensively we played outstanding,” Dykes said. “BYU is a really good offense and can throw the heck out of the ball. I thought we did a really good job of not giving up big plays.”
This defense looked nothing like the one that took the field against Colorado to open the season.
JPR is WR1
No player benefited from Hoover’s insertion into the lineup more than JP Richardson. The Oklahoma State transfer had the best game of his career as he went over 100 yards for the first time. It was also the first time this season a TCU receiver has crossed the century mark.
He finished with six catches for 104.
It was clear that Richardson’s had Hoover’s trust as the freshman turned to Richardson on multiple third downs to keep the chains moving. And while TCU’s receivers struggled with drops, Richardson was a model of consistency, catching everything that touched his hands.
Richardson had a highlight touchdown catch and averaged over 17 yards per reception. When he’s healthy, he’s TCU’s best wide receiver and makes the offense much better.
“It felt great, we were all just flying around out there,” Richardson said. “We had a lot of confidence in Hoover and he came out and executed the gameplan at a really high level.”
Dominating start
With a freshman quarterback making his first two start and a two-game losing streak hanging over the team, the Horned Frogs understood they needed to start fast against a well rested BYU team. So what did TCU do? The Horned Frogs played arguably their best stretch of football to start the game.
On BYU’s opening possession, Millard Bradford intercepted Kedon Slovis and returned it for a score to give TCU a 7-0 lead. with just 70 seconds gone in the game.
Then after forcing a three-and-out, Hoover led the offense down the field for another scoring drive. He threw his first touchdown to JP Richardson, who reeled in the pass and shook off two BYU defenders before racing for a 42-yard touchdown with 19:09 still remaining in the opening quarter.
Hoover led TCU on two more scoring drives and tossed his second touchdown to Jared Wiley midway through the second quarter to move the Horned Frogs ahead 24-0. The Cougars didn’t cross the 50-yard line or score a point until the final five minutes of the first half. You couldn’t have scripted a better start to open the game.
This story was originally published October 14, 2023 at 6:03 PM.
