BYU football: TCU goes Frog wild

PROVO — Different season. Different venue. Different roles.

Pretty much the same result.

For the second year in a row, TCU bludgeoned BYU — this time Saturday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium, 38-7. The No. 10 Horned Frogs dominated the game both offensively and defensively and left Provo with an impressive victory. The No. 16 Cougars were left to try to explain another demoralizing setback to TCU.

"I really had believed from a year ago, and what I thought was that this was a one-time thing," said coach Bronco Mendenhall. "What this proves is that it wasn't a one-time thing. Currently, TCU is executing and playing football at a higher level, and their coaches are preparing their team at a higher level."

"Frustrating is a good word for it," Cougar tight end Dennis Pitta said of what unfolded Saturday night. "We weren't able to do a lot of things that we wanted to. First and foremost, we've got to give credit to TCU. They're a good football team. They proved that tonight. They're well-coached and have tremendous athletes. They were too much for us tonight. We didn't play our best, but they're a good team."

These purple-clad Frogs have transformed into a prince. Actually, now they appear to be the kings of the Mountain West Conference.

TCU (7-0, 3-0) made a strong statement and played like a top 10 team with a legitimate claim on a Bowl Championship Series berth while BYU (6-2, 3-1) made too many mistakes and played like a team destined for another Las Vegas Bowl appearance.

"They were very well-prepared, executing at a very high level on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively," said Mendenhall. "I thought special teams were about even. They won two of the three phases and they won them decisively through execution and through making all of the critical plays."

"That wasn't very much fun. TCU's a good football team," said quarterback Max Hall, who completed 18 of 28 passes for 162 yards, one touchdown and one interception. "I think that defense is the best defense I've faced. They were better than Oklahoma. They make plays. ... They took away our weapons. That's a great defense. Even when they only rushed four, they still got pressure on me. We weren't able to make plays."

No, not much has changed since last October, when TCU battered a higher-ranked BYU squad with BCS aspirations in Fort Worth, 32-7.

"They seem to have our number of late," Pitta said.

This one was arguably worse than last year, considering all of the national buildup to this game — including a first-ever appearance in Provo by ESPN's popular College GameDay program, and considering it was at home. The last two seasons, TCU has demolished the Cougars by a combined score of 70-14.