Not forgotten: Nixon recalls his big hit the last time BYU football won in Fort Worth
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- MARIO RUIZ/Daily Herald BYU linebacker David Nixon (43) celebrates after intercepting a throw from San Diego State quarterback Ryan Lindley (14) in the second quarter Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008.
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- TCU wide receiver Derek Moore, top, can’t come up with a pass under pressure from BYU defensive back Quinn Gooch (25), defensive back Dustin Gabriel (28) and linebacker Cameron Jensen (35) in the second half of their football game, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006, in Fort Worth, Texas. BYU won 31-17, ending TCU’s 13 game winning streak. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
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- BYU running back Manase Tonga (11) dives for a touchdown against TCU’s David Roach (27) in the first half of their football game, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006, in Fort Worth, Texas. BYU won 31-17, ending TCU’s 13 game winning streak. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
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- BYU quarterback John Beck (12) throws against TCU in the first half of a football game, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)
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- BYU tight end Jonny Harline pulls in a touchdown pass under pressure from TCU cornerback Mike Salvage in the second half of their football game, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006, in Fort Worth, Texas. BYU won 31-17, ending TCU’s 13 game winning streak. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
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- BYU running back Fui Vakapuna celebrates a 14-yard run that set the team up for a touchdown against TCU in the first half of a football game, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006, in Fort Worth, Texas. BYU won 31-17 ending TCU’s 13-game winning streak. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)
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- BYU defensive lineman Hala Paongo (70) chases TCU quarterback Jeff Ballard (16) during the first half of a football game, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)
If you’re going to be most well known for a single play, it might as well be a good one.
That’s the way former BYU linebacker David Nixon looks at it, anyway.
Nixon, who is now a member of the BYUtv pre-game and post-game broadcast crew, was a 6-foot-3, 223-pound bundle of energy from College Station, Texas. He totaled 275 tackles in his four-year career (2003, 2006-08), which included 137 solo stops, 39.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions and 11 sacks.
But it is still his sack and forced fumble against TCU at Fort Worth in 2006 that rings most true to BYU fans who run into him, especially when talking about this year’s BYU football road trip to the metroplex in Texas.
“I’ve seen the play come on Twitter (X),” Nixon said. “I was joking with my wife that it’s the one play in my whole career that most people know about me. It was just one particular sack but its still fresh in the old memory banks.”
Those memories of the last time BYU beat TCU at Fort Worth are worth exploring.
Setting the stage, Nixon was on a church mission in Ecuador when the Cougars suffered a heartbreaking 51-50 overtime loss to the Horned Frogs at Provo in 2005. But he certainly heard about the details: BYU led 34-16 early in the third quarter but couldn’t hold the advantage and missed an extra point in the extra session.
John Beck had a spectacular game, going 30 of 51 for 517 yards and five touchdowns (three to Todd Watkins). Ballard was a backup that season but replaced injured starter Tye Gunn to go 8 of 12 for 150 yards and two scores against a Cougar defense that couldn’t recover from a rash of second half injuries in the secondary.
BYU came into the 2006 contest at Fort Worth at 2-2, having lost tight road games to Arizona (16-13) and Boston College (23-20, 2OT). Beck didn’t play in the game preceding the trip to Texas, having suffered a double high ankle sprain against BC. Instead, Jason Beck (currently the offensive coordinator at Michigan) started in his place and finished 20 of 28 for 305 yards and a touchdown in a 38-0 shutout of Utah State.
“Jo. Beck and Ja. Beck,” Nixon noted, remembering the names on the back of the jerseys of the two quarterbacks.
No. 17 TCU was unbeaten and ranked No. 17 entering the 2006 game, having beaten Baylor (17-7), UC Davis (46-14) and No. 24 Texas Tech (12-3) to continue a 13-game winning streak.
“It was a really big homecoming game for me,” he said. “There were a ton of family and friends that were going to be there. I was gone the previous year but everyone told me how the game slipped away and the main story in the leadup to the game at TCU was that we owed them.”
The Cougars led 3-0 in the first quarter but the Horned Frogs mounted a 10-play drive that had them poised to take the lead.
“They were driving,” Nixon said. “We had a ‘Will’ blitz with me coming off the edge. The biggest asset I had was my speed. The offensive tackle was settling back and I did a swipe and rip move. The quarterback (Ballard) didn’t know I was there because I was coming up on his blind side. I jarred the ball loose and everybody started scrambling around.”
The ball was recovered by BYU defensive lineman Matangi Tonga at the 8-yard line. The Cougars went on a 12-play, 82-yard drive culminating in a 7-yard touchdown run by Manase Tonga for a 10-0 lead.
In the second half another Texas native, wide receiver Michael Reed (Baytown), made a big play with a 40-yard touchdown off a pass from John Beck to break the game open. Beck, who finished 23 of 37 for 321 yards, added TD passes to Matt Allen and Jonny Harline for a 31-10 lead with 7:27 to play. The Cougars ended up with a 31-17 win and never lost again, finished 11-2 after a 38-8 thrashing of Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl.
“There’s a picture circulating on social media of us celebrating in the locker room,” Nixon said. “TCU outgained us (437 yards to 393) but we forced three turnovers. It was a big moment for us. That league (the old Mountain West Conference) was so good, super competitive. And here we find ourselves back together in the same league renewing old rivalries.”
Nixon said he’s been impressed with BYU’s linebackers so far this season.
“There depth with (Jake) Clifton and (Braxton) Lindsey,” he said. “The headliners in the room are Cade (Uluave) and Isaiah (Glasker). When you throw in the depth, that keeps them fresh. BYU really shut down Arizona in the second half of that game because of our conditioning and the ability to rotate guys in and out. I would not be shocked if those linebackers were able to utilize their speed to force some turnovers on Saturday against TCU.
“Cade is so good in space. He kind of reminds me of (NFL linebacker) Fred Warner with is ability to go sideline to sideline. He’s aggressive, he’s relentless and he had a high motor. He just never stops.”
Nixon won’t be making the trip to Texas on Saturday because he’s coaching his son in football game against Farmington — coached by former teammate and BYU safety Andrew Rich, whose son is also playing.
BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick has played and coached often against TCU.
“The last time we were down there (a 44-11 loss in 2023, the Cougars’ first year in the Big 12) it didn’t go well at all,” Roderick said. “It can be a tough place to play. It can be loud and they’ve got great fans, so we know what we’re up against.
“I gave them (the players) a little history lesson about my experience playing against TCU over the years. They’ve got a great tradition, they’ve had great players and coaches there for years and years and its no different now.”
