After a hot 8-0 start to the 2025-2026 college football season, the BYU Cougars got their first taste of defeat last week against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. This week, the Cougars play the Horned Frogs of TCU in what seems to be a must-win game if BYU wants to have a chance in the College Football Playoff.
Last week’s game was brutal, with BYU taking the 29-7 loss to the Red Raiders. The Cougars were held to a scoreless first half – the only game this season where BYU hadn’t scored in the first half.
Texas Tech led BYU in nearly every category. They had more passing yards, more rushing yards, more first downs and forced three BYU turnovers.
The loss was ugly, and one that Cougar Nation would like to forget. They now drop to 8-1 on the season, but head coach Kilani Sitake said the game was a big learning opportunity for his guys.
“We’ll definitely learn from the game. I’ve said it before – stay humble and stay hungry,” Sitake said on Monday when addressing the media. “Unfortunately, when you experience a loss like this, it makes it easier to be humble and hungry. We’ll bank on that, and we’ll also bank on the opportunity that we can still learn from it, and we can still play better football.”
Offensive Coordinator Aaron Roderick made it very clear: BYU did not play well.
“Tough day in the office for sure. We did not play well,” Roderick said. “So yeah, it was a really tough day. We played poorly and we’re just trying to put it behind us and move on now.”
True freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier struggled last week against a very strong, very tough Texas Tech defensive line. But he says he focused on the week ahead and is not dwelling on the past, something his older brother, Hank, has been talking to him about.
“The true test of a man and a football team is how you bounce back from adversity,” Bachmeier said. “He’s just been telling me that. He’s got some great experiences with that and, yeah, I mean we just got to bounce back and obviously learn from it and grow.”
BYU is suiting up against the TCU Horned Frogs this week. Historically, TCU leads the series 7-5, with the Horned Frogs winning the last five meetings.
The last time the two programs met, back in 2023, TCU demolished the Cougars 44-11.
“This isn’t going to be easy,” Sitake said. “It didn’t go well for us a couple of years ago, and we remember that. So, we’re going to have to find ways to be better than we were against them the first time around. And we get to have them at home, which is going to be helpful for us.”
The BYU Cougars host the TCU Horned Frogs tomorrow night at LaVell Edwards Stadium for a Big 12 Conference clash. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. The game will be streamed at The Crossroads in the Manwaring Center at BYU-Idaho.