PROVO, Utah — Bear Bachmeier threw for 296 yards and a touchdown to lead No. 12 BYU to a 44-13 victory over TCU on Saturday night.
Bachmeier added 59 yards and another touchdown on the ground for his seventh game this season with both a passing TD and a rushing TD. He's the first BYU player since Virgil Carter in 1966 to accomplish the feat in a single season.
The freshman racked up 239 passing yards in the first half alone.
"Offensively, it felt like it was just good to let Bear throw the ball," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said.
Parker Kingston added 80 yards on five catches. LJ Martin led BYU (9-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 12 CFP) with 88 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The Cougars scored on their first seven drives and did not punt until the fourth quarter.
"Everyone contributed today — the pass game, the run game," tight end Carsen Ryan said. "We were firing on all cylinders, so it was a good bounce back for us."
Josh Hoover threw for a season-low 183 yards and had two interceptions for the Horned Frogs. Eric McAlister had 107 yards on four catches. TCU (6-4, 3-4) had just 15 first downs and went 1 of 10 on third down.
"They had a great plan, they tried to take away the things we did best, they put us in a hole," Hoover said.
BYU attacked on the ground and through the air with equal efficiency to take control before halftime.
Kingston finished off a 10-play, 91-yard drive in the first quarter by scoring on an 11-yard jet sweep. Then, in the second quarter, Bachmeier barreled up the middle for a 17-yard touchdown and threw a short pass that Carsen Ryan took 43 yards for another score. It gave BYU a 24-3 lead with 6:00 left before halftime.
"Our guys were excited to play, I can promise you," TCU coach Sonny Dykes said. "We just didn't get off to a great start, BYU took the ball down and scored quickly on us and made us get on our heels pretty quickly."
Both of BYU's fourth-quarter touchdowns came off TCU turnovers. Faletau Satuala intercepted a pass at the TCU 43 to set up a 1-yard, fourth-down plunge from Martin. Then, Tanner Wall returned Hoover's second interception for 68 yards to put the Cougars up 44-13 with 4:09 left.
The Takeaway
TCU: An inability to get stops on defense and convert third downs on offense kept the Horned Frogs on their heels for much of the game.
BYU: The Cougars were methodical and efficient on offense from the start, helping them snap a five-game losing streak in the series with TCU. By halftime, Bachmeier had his fourth 200-yard game as a passer, and the Cougars had eclipsed 100 rushing yards.
Efficient Football
BYU committed a season-low two penalties for 25 yards. The previous best for the Cougars was four penalties for 35 yards against Stanford. They also finished with only one turnover a week after having three against Texas Tech.
It helped BYU sustain longer drives. The Cougars went 6 of 12 on third down, converted all five trips to the red zone, and held the ball for 36 minutes.
"We can do some really good things when everybody plays clean football," Sitake said.
Career First
Wall's late pick-six was the first interception return for a touchdown of his collegiate career and his third interception of the season. A TCU defender chased him down inside the Horned Frog 5 and shoved him in the back, propelling Wall across the goal line.
"I got a little boost at the end," Wall joked.
Up Next
TCU: At Houston on Saturday.
BYU: At Cincinnati on Saturday.
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