Jeremy Payne’s 25-yard run moved TCU from its own 34 to the BYU 41, turning second-and-3 into a fresh first down. It was the kind of efficient, explosive play that should make an offense easier to operate.
Instead, the possession eventually ended with Jaden Craig’s interception, and BYU turned the sudden change into the first touchdown of a 17-10 victory at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth.
The sequence shows how quickly productive rushing could lose its value. Payne was productive. The offense surrounding him kept allowing useful work to be erased.
The drive began late in the first quarter with TCU backed up at its own 10. Payne gained 8 yards, Craig connected with Ka’Morreun Pimpton for 9, and Kari Ashley ran for 7 yards from the TCU 27 to the 34, creating second-and-3. Payne followed with the 25-yard gain. Craig then found Ed Small for 9 yards, putting TCU at the BYU 32 with second-and-1.
Payne gained nothing on the next carry. A false-start penalty changed third-and-1 into third-and-6, Craig gained 2 yards, and TCU faced fourth-and-4 from the BYU 35. The pass was intercepted by Faletau Satuala, who returned it 59 yards to the TCU 16. Six plays later, Bear Bachmeier ran 9 yards for a touchdown.
The mistake was Craig’s interception, and it deserves its share of the blame. But it happened after TCU had created a manageable drive with Payne’s running and needed one more clean sequence to finish it. TCU had reached scoring territory. The return carried BYU into a much shorter scoring opportunity.
Payne finished with 14 carries for 77 yards, a 5.5-yard average, and four catches for 23 yards. His 15-yard run opened the second half. In the fourth quarter, he gained 8 yards and then 13 on consecutive carries after a BYU offside penalty moved TCU from its own 45 to midfield.
Those runs carried the ball from the 50 to the BYU 29. They were meaningful plays, even though the drive ended without points.
The team’s 72 net rushing yards can obscure that contribution. Craig’s minus-27 rushing total includes the four sacks he absorbed. Major Everhart lost 4 yards, Jon Denman gained 19 and Ashley gained 7. Add those individual figures to Payne’s 77 and TCU arrives at 72. The sacks are already included in Craig’s number; subtracting them again would count the same damage twice.
The sharper criticism belongs to TCU’s protection and its handling of negative plays. In the first quarter, a third-down completion moved the Horned Frogs from their 35 to the 45. Everhart then lost 4 yards, and a Craig sack on third-and-15 cost another 8, forcing fourth-and-23.
On another first-quarter possession, TCU reached its 40 before a 7-yard sack turned third-and-8 into fourth-and-15. Those setbacks made ordinary drives require heroic repairs.
