Football: Hoover shines as TCU crushes BYU 44-11

Redshirt freshman quarterback Josh Hoover made the most of his first career start on Saturday, completing 37-of-58 passes for 439 yards and four touchdowns as the TCU Horned Frogs dominated BYU 44-11 in a battle of former Mountain West Conference foes. TCU (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) snapped a two-game losing streak and will look to create a two-game winning streak when the team travels for a road matchup against Kansas State next week.

TCU did not shy away from throwing the football despite Hoover making his first career start. The Horned Frogs ran 17 pass plays and only four runs over their first 21 offensive snaps and found success through the air right away, with the freshman finding wide receiver JP Richardson for a 42-yard touchdown early in the first quarter. TCU already had a 7-0 lead after the defense created a turnover and a touchdown on BYU’s opening drive, where linebacker Shad Banks pressured Cougar quarterback Kedon Slovis, who threw an errant pass that TCU safety Millard Bradford intercepted and returned to the end zone.

TCU extended its shutout lead in the second quarter, where Griffin Kell booted a 40-yard field goal and Hoover tossed another touchdown pass, this time hitting tight end Jared Wiley for a 7-yard strike. The redshirt freshman quarterback capped off a stellar opening half with his third touchdown pass of the game late in the second quarter, connecting with wide receiver Savion Williams for another 7-yard score. TCU finished with 584 total yards and 447 passing yards in the win, while running back Emani Bailey carried the ball 13 times for 61 yards to lead the rushing attack. Richardson recorded six catches for 104 yards, while Williams had six catches for 77 yards and wide receiver Jaylon Robinson added seven grabs for 68 yards. TCU saw 13 different players record at least one reception in the victory.

While TCU made noise on the offensive end, several defenders stepped up to hold the BYU offense to one first-half touchdown. The Horned Frogs made finding open receivers tough for Slovis, who completed only 15-of-34 passes for 152 yards in the game. TCU also contained the BYU rushing attack fairly well, holding running backs LJ Martin and Miles Davis to a combined 103 rushing yards on 24 carries. The Horned Frogs generated five tackles for loss and three sacks on defense, with cornerback Avery Helm as well as linebackers Namdi Obiazor and Jamoi Hodge each recording one sack. Banks had a team-high seven total tackles and Obiazor followed with six total tackles in the TCU victory.

Hoover’s fourth and final touchdown pass of the game came during the third quarter, where the redshirt freshman delivered a dart to wide receiver Warren Thompson for a 14-yard score. Kell also added two second-half field goals to finish 3-for-3 on field-goal attempts and 5-for-5 on extra points in the win, with the senior hitting on 35-yard and 47-yarders.