BYU at TCU, Pregame Thoughts

Thursday's match-up between BYU and TCU will is shaping up to be the most important game BYU will play until November 22, when the Cougars face their in-state rival the Utes. TCU has once again proved it deserves national recognition by jumping back into the Coaches poll. They currently sit at number 24, which makes this game that much better for BYU's BCS hopes.

Last week, the Cougars faced a powerful rushing offense in the New Mexico Lobos. It gave the BYU defense some difficulties, but their "bend, but don't break" philosophy seemed to work well for them. Although they gave up 285 total yards, they only gave up 3 points on the score board.

TCU has a similar run game, but struggled against a rebuilding Colorado St. team last week. Their high powered run offense was limited to only 13 points on two scores, all of which came in the first half.

This game will be BYU's first real test against a team that deserves all the hype they are given before the game. UCLA was supposed to be a tough team that would give the Cougars trouble. 59-0 made UCLA look like a Jr. College team. Since then the Bruins haven't done much and will be lucky to end the season as a mediocre Pac-10 team. TCU is different. They have already proved that they deserve the attention they are getting. Their only lose was to then no. 1 Oklahoma, who very much deserved to be no. 1 at the time. (The evidence is that they only dropped a few spots after their loss to Texas.)

Even though there are those out there that favor TCU, I believe BYU can and will pull it off on Thursday.

Keys to the Game (Similar to New Mexico)
Run Defense
TCU is good on the ground, maybe better than New Mexico. The "bend, but don't break" philosophy won't work against TCU. If BYU allows TCU to have ground yardage, they will score. If they can't run, TCU has a hard time passing.

Quick Start
We saw how BYU struggled agains't New Mexico, when they didn't score first. It is imperative they score first. I would say, if BYU wins the coin toss they should want to recieve.

Two-dimensional Offense
BYU needs to establish a run game and a pass game. TCU's defense is too good. If they stop one of BYU's offensive attacks, BYU won't stand a chance with the other. They have to keep the defense honest.

Predicted Score
BYU 31, TCU 27