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Provo • Approached early this year about the possibility of playing TCU again, even though the BYU Cougars thought they were rid of their biggest football nemesis when they left the Mountain West Conference, coach Bronco Mendenhall didn't hesitate.
Perhaps he didn't remember just how badly the Cougars have lost to the Horned Frogs in the past three meetings — by an average score of 34-6 — or maybe he just wanted the opportunity to play again in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, regardless if it was against a team that has outscored BYU 101-17 since 2008.
"It just seemed like it made a lot of sense," Mendenhall said. "TCU is a program that I respect, it is a program that has won a lot of football games. It is a program that is not only a top-20 finisher, but recently a top-10 finisher. ... Eventually, our program will have to, as it once did, two years in a row, be able to compete [with] or beat TCU, or teams like that, at a consistent level, so we can move the program forward."
Kickoff is at 6 p.m. MDT on Friday at the football palace Jerry Jones built in Arlington, Texas. Not surprisingly, given their recent and utter dominance over the Cougars, the Horned Frogs are 13-point favorites.
TCU dominated a lot of teams during its two-year BCS reign of terror, but it could be argued that the Frogs (5-2 this year) began their rampage on the Cougars' confidence in 2008 when they crushed Max Hall-led and undefeated BYU 32-7 in Fort Worth. They followed that with a 38-7 pounding in Provo in 2009 and a 31-3 beatdown last year.
"They have been the better team. They have beat us three years in a row," said BYU center Terence Brown. "Hopefully this year we can come out and execute and we can be the better team."
The Cougars had zero hope last year in Fort Worth, and it showed. With then-freshman quarterback Jake Heaps trying to navigate against one of the best defense's in the country, BYU had just 147 yards.
Team speed is always a big difference between the clubs; the Frogs have forced a lot of turnovers and used a lot of big plays to easily win the past three games.
"We have faced fast teams [before]," Mendenhall said. "This [TCU] offense's approach is different and it is difficult. So we will put that message across to our players, that this challenge is a difficult challenge, and it is done with fast players, and physical players, so that is going to require a very high level of preparation."
The Cougars have turned the ball over eight times in the three games, the Frogs just once. TCU has almost doubled BYU's yardage output (1,203-742).
"We have to be able to run the ball," BYU's Brown said. "I know the coaches will put together a great game plan, and hopefully Friday night we will execute it and come out victorious."
A couple of factors give BYU hope that this game will be different: TCU's four-year starting quarterback, Andy Dalton, is now playing for the Cincinnati Bengals; the Frogs rank just 37th in the country in total defense; and Baylor and SMU showed coach Gary Patterson's team is beatable.
"They have been able to execute the past three years better than we have, so I am really hoping we are able to turn that around this week," BYU linebacker Jameson Frazier said. "We are doing well right now, picking up steam, getting some momentum going with our season. So I think it will be a good game."
At least better than the past three, the Cougars hope.
Twitter: @drewjay —
By the numbers
Past three meetings:
Category TCU BYU
Total points 101 17
First downs 73 47
Turnovers 1 8
Total yards 1,203 742
Rush yards 475 194
Pass yards 728 553 —
BYU vs. TCU
P At Arlington, Texas
Friday, 6 p.m.
TV • ESPN