Humbled, hungry and 'pissed off': No. 12 BYU still has plenty to play for after blowout loss

PROVO — Perhaps the best summation of No. 12 BYU's first loss of the season came from one of the offensive players whose offense was downright offensive in a 29-7 loss at No. 8 Texas Tech on the weekend.

Asked how he felt about the defeat, tight end Carsen Ryan didn't hold back.

Sometimes the truth can hurt. This time, it was just brazen honesty.

"I'm pissed off," Ryan said. "I hate losing. We had an opportunity to do something special this year and go 12-0, and we lost that chance. ... Our destiny's still in our hands; we've just got to go out and perform, and bounce back as an offense, especially."

The formerly seventh-ranked Cougars (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) were outclassed in nearly every way in the west Texas desert town of Lubbock, where Texas Tech (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) proved itself to be every bit of a College Football Playoff contender that the multi-million dollar roster presumed itself to be.

Those Cougars, meanwhile, still have plenty to prove.

BYU struggled to gain 200 yards of offense for most of the game, amassed just 67 yards on the ground, and lost the turnover battle 3-0 with the aid of a shanked punt, a muffed return, and a struggling 188 yards through the arm of freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier.

BYU's defense fared only marginally better, with a season-high four sacks to hold Texas Tech to a single touchdown until the fourth quarter. But the Cougars allowed five field goals by kicker Stone Harrington, and gave up 121 yards and a touchdown on the ground to Cameron Dickey.

Plenty was exposed in the Cougars' previous unbeaten run, but everything wasn't lost. Depending on how far the College Football Playoff selection committee drops BYU in Tuesday night's second reveal, there's still time to build back a case for CFP inclusion for the first time in program history.

But it starts this week, and those improvements begin now. With three games remaining beginning Saturday against TCU (8:15 p.m. MST, ESPN) and next week at Cincinnati, it's not hyperbole to say that the Cougars' 2025 — at least, what is to be made of it — comes down to the next 14 days.

Is this simply another nice season or a special season to remember?

"We'll circle the wagons, get back to work, and figure this thing out," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. "That's the remedy. We've got to get back to work and figure this thing out."

The Horned Frogs (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) are set to visit Provo for the first time since 2009, when the then-Mountain West rivals throttled the host Cougars 38-7 en route to a perfect 12-0 regular season and Fiesta Bowl berth.

A lot has changed since then, including two separate Big 12 entrances. TCU welcomed BYU to the Big 12 with a 44-11 thumping two years ago, too.

But a win over the Frogs — as well as the Bearcats and struggling UCF in the regular-season finale — could seal a Big 12 championship game berth Dec. 7 in Arlington, Texas.

If both teams win out, a rematch in north Texas is due, even.

As Sitake likes to say: stay humble, stay hungry. Saturday's loss was a less-than-gentle dose of humility — and BYU shouldn't be afraid to stomach it.

"Losing like that really points out where we can be better as a team, and as an offense," Ryan said. "There's a lot to learn from this game, and hopefully we can take the opportunity to learn from the mistakes we made and find a way to be better as a team for the rest of this season."

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