In the past two games, the TCU Horned Frogs had put the "D" back into their defense.

In a home loss to Utah and a shutout of New Mexico, TCU had only allowed an average of 173 yards and few big plays.

But the BYU "O" had different ideas Thursday night.

The Cougars racked up a total of 417 yards, more than the Utes and the Lobos combined (346).

BYU quarterback Max Hall hit nine different receivers in going 26-for-44 for 305 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Leading the way was wide receiver Austin Collie, who caught four passes for 109 yards, including a 66-yarder early on that set up a BYU touchdown

The Horned Frogs did limit the BYU running game to just 112 yards.

The Cougar defense allowed TCU to score 22 points, the most it has allowed since it gave up 24 to New Mexico on the road on Sept. 24, but came up big with two big sacks on the final Horned Frog drive.

It also gave up 352 yards total to TCU (130 rushing and 222 passing).

• Go for six or settle for three: Including Thursday night's game, TCU has scored 22 touchdowns so far on the season. With the three field goals kicked in the game, Horned Frog kicker Chris Manfredini has accounted for 17 field goals.

Ironically, midway through the third quarter and trailing by nine points TCU elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the BYU 31-yard line instead of sending in the talented kicker. The Cougars stopped the Horned Frogs behind the line to force the turnover on downs.

• After further review: For the first time in the 2007 football season, BYU successfully had a challenge overturned. Late in the second quarter, the Cougars were flagged for a pass interfearance penalty but when the BYU sideline challenge the ruling, the repaly booth determined the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage and reversed the call.

In the third quarter, however, TCU got a break from the booth. Quarterback Marcus Jackson fumbled the ball into the end zone, where the Cougars recovered. After review, the booth determined that Jackson was down before the ball came out, setting up the first Horned Frog touchdown.

In the fourth quarter, BYU once again came out on the short end on a third down play. A low pass to tight end Dennis Pitta popped up into the air and was snagged by tight end Andrew George, who carried it 31 yards down field. The booth, however, said that the ball had hit the ground, giving TCU a chance to take the lead.

• Coming out swinging: After an 11-yard sack in the second quarter, BYU defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen came out of the pile thrusting his fist in the air in celebration. In doing so, he came close to clobbering the head official as the ref came in to collect the ball.

On the next play, Jorgensen also made a tackle for a loss but this time kept his celebration a little more controlled.

• Early game streaks continue, end: With a touchdown on their first on their first offensive possession, the Cougars have scored first in 19 of the last 21 games. In the last 18 games when they have gone in front first, BYU is 16-2. The only two contests in the last 21 contests in which the opponent scored first were at UCLA and at UNLV this fall.

• Becoming a habit: With a 1-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter, fullback Joe Semanoff reached the end zone for the second straight week. Semanoff scored his first touchdown of the season against Colorado State on a 5-yard reception in the fourth quarter that capped the BYU scoring for that contest.

• Extra points: Injured BYU safety Dustin Gabriel carried the flag onto the field before the contest for the Cougars ... TCU won the toss and elected to defer to the second half, giving BYU the ball first ... the announced attendance for the contest was 64,231, the fifth consecutive sellout at LaVell Edwards Stadium ... the Cougar women's soccer team was honored at halftime after its 2-0 win over San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference semifinals. BYU faces UNLV in the finals on Saturday at South Field.

• Jared Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@heraldextra.com.