QUARTERBACK: B

Nothing was pretty about Bear Bachmeier’s performance. The sophomore starter struggled to provide much of anything through the air, ultimately finishing with just 11-24 passing for 64 yards, leading to subsequent low marks in that regard. But what boosted his grade significantly was how he ended the game while carrying the entire offense on his ample shoulders. Bachmeier ran the football 15 times for just 66 yards, but when considering the conditions and the loss of LJ Martin due to injury, the overall stats receive a boost, not to mention him again making a gritty and physical run into the endzone late to all but secure the tough win.

RUNNING BACK: C

BYU needed physical between-the-tackles type runs given the strengths of TCU’s defense and the conditions, and doing as much isn’t exactly the strengths of backups Journee Tonga and Preston Rex. the duo combined for just 49 yards on 15 carries, although Tonga contributed some key runs late as coaches opted for him to be the team’s primary running option behind Bachmeier when it mattered most. Both players will have to up their respective play significantly if Martin is to miss any amount of playing time over the coming weeks.

RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: D

BYU’s group of receivers and tight ends were flat out not winning enough 1-on-1 battles to allow open windows for Bachmeier to throw through. Time and again Bachmeier was forced to go through too many progressions while in the pocket due to the inability of BYU’s receivers to beat whatever coverage they’d face. No receiver rose above the conditions with Kyler Kasper finishing the game as the leading receiver with his two receptions for 22 yards. The tight ends were particularly quiet, with Walker Lyons and Roger Saleapaga combining for just two receptions for 13 yards.

OFFENSIVE LINE: C-

BYU’s offensive front incurred all sorts of problems throughout, namely five illegal procedure penalties which set the offense back time and again. TCU used some clever pre-snap movements to get the offensive line off its game, and it worked during the game’s opening stages before the group adjusted enough to bust open some critical holes late. Center Bruce Mitchell, is regarded by some services as the top-performing center in the country, had a couple of errant snaps as he battled the conditions, which set the offense back. Overall it wasn’t the group’s beat collective performance by a wide margin and they’ll have to be much better moving forward if the offense is to prove productive.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A

It’s hard to find much fault with BYU’s defensive front during Saturday’s win. TCU was unable to mount a productive run game in large part due to the collective play of BYU’s interior line which proved stout throughout. But it was the group’s ability in rushing the quarterback that boosts the overall grade the most. The edge position was live and active with players like Nusi Taumoepeau, Tausili Akana and Braxton Lindsey providing powerful and disruption pressures throughout the game, leading to four sacks and more than several errant throws.

LINEBACKERS: A-

As good as BYU’s defensive front was throughout Saturday’s win, the linebackers were right there with it, for the most part. Jake Clifton filled in well for Isaiah Glasker and finished with six tackles which was equaled by starting middle linebacker Cade Uluave. Backups like Miles Hall and Kendal Wall also had standout moments in helping limit The Horned Frog’s attack in what was overall a very solid performance from the linebacking group.

SAFETIES: B+

Faletau Satuala made his presence felt often from both the free safety position for most of the first half before being employed much closer to the line of scrimmage throughout the second. The Cougar’s premier safety contributed the biggest defensive play of the game with his interception that set up the game’s first touchdown and was overall impactful with his run support and coverages throughout. Tommy Prassas showed big strides and finished with a team-leading seven tackles.

CORNERBACKS: A

If you didn’t notice the play of BYU’s cornerbacks throughout Saturday’s game, you can chalk that up as being a good indicator that the group was locking it down. TCU presented some very good options at wideout, but all of them were held in check by cornerbacks Evan Johnson, Tre Alexander and Jayven Williams, the latter of whom saw extensive playing time due to Cannon DeVries injury incurred early in the first quarter. The group showed much better than it did a few weeks back versus Arizona and were collectively a big reason why TCU was limited to just 10 points.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B+

One kickoff went out-of-bounds, but that was about the only mark against BYU’s solid special teams play on Saturday. Matthias Dunn’s 49-yard field goal was a big moment, and given the wet and rainy conditions, he deserves even more praise for booting it through, along with long-snapper Ty Smith. Tiger Bachmeier largely performed well in replacing DeVries as the team’s primary returner and punter Fuller Shurtz did well in averaging 43.2 yards on his six punts. Overall BYU won the special teams battle and it played big in the final outcome.

COACHING: C

The goal of the defense was to come out strong, and it did just that in Saturday’s win while providing dominant play throughout. TCU couldn’t get much of anything going and it’s a credit to the defensive preparation and key adjustments made throughout the game’s 60 minutes. Offensively it was another story. The gameplan appeared to focus on beating TCU on the edges to open up the middle for LJ Martin to run through, but it didn’t come close to working with the Horned Frog defense shutting down just about everything the offense attempted. Aaron Roderick has been very good as the team’s offensive coordinator, although Saturday didn’t prove to be one of his better outings overall.