So apparently a bye week did not cure all of BYU football’s ills.

The Cougars are still sick. But not as sick as BYU fans after watching Saturday’s debacle.

The fact that the Cougars lost at TCU isn’t all that surprising, but after the first five minutes they were never even in the game. That’s disheartening on so many levels.

The Cougars weren’t able to compete in any phase of the game with the Horned Frogs, which came into Saturday having lost two straight. TCU started a redshirt freshman quarterback and BYU decided to force him to throw. He did so and riddled the Cougar defense without much pressure or resistance.

When the third quarter hit triple zeros with the Cougars down 41-11, I thought, “I have to watch another quarter of this?”

BYU once again demonstrating the worst thing that can happen to you on your first possession by giving up six points on an interception return, then allowed the Horned Frogs to sweep down the field to take a 14-0 lead.

It was ugly from start to finish and despite what BYU coaches and players said afterward, there is nothing to take from this game. No lessons learned, no bright spots to build on.

This game needs to be flushed.

I wonder about the mental condition of this team after absorbing such a one-sided loss. Certainly the players need to take accountability for the poor performance, but so do the coaches. Nothing in the game plan worked against TCU, and that means kind of going back to the drawing board (again). What can they do to put their players in better positions to be successful?

Moving forward, Texas Tech comes to Provo. The Red Raiders (3-4 overall, 2-2 Big 12) got beat by Kansas State 38-21 on Saturday. Texas Tech quarterbacks Jake Strong and Behren Morton combined to go 30 of 49 for 298 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions against the Wildcats. The task for the Cougars is not to let one of those guys have a career game in LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Red Raiders also have a very good ground game, led by Tahj Brooks.

The BYU offense needs some sort of jump start. The Cougars went pick-six, five punts and a fumble on their first seven possessions against TCU. Starting cleaner and more effectively against Texas Tech would be good, right?

Now it’s time for Perfectly Rational Overreactions (BYU football version).

PRO No. 1: How could BYU have two weeks to prepare for this game and look so unprepared?

Not sure if that’s an overreaction or just an observation, but it was painfully obvious that the two weeks focusing on the basics did nothing to help the Cougars fix any of their issues. The execution was poor against TCU and the game plan seemed unfocused and unsure. There is a phenomenon I’ve noticed over the years where a coaching staff makes a game plan based on what they hope their players can do, not what they are currently doing. They want to believe that their players will be their best selves and when they are not, they don’t know what to do. I’m not suggesting that coaches don’t need to believe in their players but they also have to be realistic about what they are capable of against a certain opponent. I think we’re reached that point with this team, especially on offense. Running the zone blocking scheme has been a nightmare for example, and it’s not working. Too often I see blockers running through an area and not blocking anyone, defenders free to make plays. Even the TV broadcasters are asking why the Cougars aren’t trying to take advantage of their big offense line and let them be road graders.

PRO No. 2: It’s time to move on from Kedon Slovis.

Slovis started with the pick-6 and didn’t get much better, but it wasn’t all his fault. TCU consistently got free rushers and disrupted timing all afternoon. It sure seemed as if Slovis found most of his receivers covered and rarely got to throw to his first option. In other words, no one was open. There isn’t any experience beyond Slovis in the quarterback room so there probably isn’t another option there unless you are throwing in the towel on the season and preparing for next year. BYU isn’t there yet and Slovis has shown that he can have good moments, too.

PRO No. 3: The Cougars defensive game plan of crowding the box to stop the run was wrong.

You have to think that BYU was confident it could confuse and rattle redshirt freshman Josh Hoover in his first start and forcing him to beat them with his arm seemed like the right move. But Hoover was on target with a ton of short throws which allowed the Horned Frogs to consistently move the ball and convert third downs. The Cougars actually did well against the run but didn’t get any pressure on Hoover and he chewed them up. BYU missed tackles and didn’t matchup well with TCU’s myriad of receivers, who seemed to get open way too easily.

Finally, PRO No. 4: BYU has bit off more than it can chew in joining the Big 12.

Everyone knew the first year in the Big 12 would be a tough road, but losing like the Cougars did at TCU is unacceptable. There’s no reason BYU can’t compete in every game it plays in this league. Saturday was an example of what happens when you come out flat and spot a P5 team a 14-0 lead in the first 15 minutes on the road. This is not the same Horned Frogs team that advanced to the CFP Championship Game last year and the fact that they abused BYU so easily is pretty alarming. Saturday revealed a pretty large gap between the Cougars and the Horned Frogs with Texas Tech and Texas coming up on the schedule.

Who Carried the Boats and the Logs? (BYU version)

There were a few bright spots but with the game was so out of hand, none of them really affected the outcome at all. Kudos to Eddie Heckard for his spectacular interception and it was probably good to get young guys like Preston Rex and Siale Esera some reps on defense. There’s not much else that stood out.

That time of year

If you are looking for me the next five weeks I’ll probably be at a state playoff football game or the girls volleyball state tournament. Come say hi if you can get a sideline pass, which seems like anyone who wants to be there for most games I cover. Hey, school administrators, can we clean that up a bit so those that are there to work can do so?

Where’s the trainer?

After playing in the Media Madness basketball event last week (I went scoreless on one shot but did have one assist and one rebound) I have decided that we all need more encouragement in our lives. So Jay Drew of the Deseret News, Kevin Reynolds of the Salt Lake Tribune, Mitch Harper, Matt Baiamonte and Sean Walker of KSL, all the guys at ESPN 960 and every single one of the sports information staff at BYU, expect fist bumps and high fives from me every time we greet each other.

Sound good?

I also played the part of “onery post-game player interviewee” and make some jokes about our coach, senior Trevin Knell. It was all in good fun, Trev. You did an awesome job. The play you drew up for us to get a game-tying three in the final seconds would have worked if our rebounder hadn’t gotten fouled on the pass.

Pass the wasabi

Last week I was walking to South Field for the BYU-Kansas State women’s soccer game when I spotted a couple eating sushi out of the back of their truck in the parking lot.

A women’s soccer pre-game sushi tailgate party?

Yep.

Save the receipts

BYU men’s and women’s basketball are deep into preseason practices. Here’s what I think.

The men’s team will be one of the most experienced groups in the Big 12. The schedule is brutal but I have a feeling Mark Pope’s team will be tough enough to be competitive every time out. I’m not predicting a win-loss record or anything (yet) but I think this group may surprise you.

The women’s team took some off-season hits, losing a couple of key additions from a really good recruiting class. Still, the talent level has been upgraded and the returning players learned a lot with their struggles last season. I think the Cougars could be a mid to upper third kind of team in the Big 12.

That’s all for now, but for this: I hate it when the temperature changes from shorts weather to pants weather. When I attended Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho), all the Polynesian football players wore shorts year round. For those of you who have braved a Rexburg winter, you know how crazy that is.

Stay warm and have a great week.