This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Arlington, Texas

In the latest episode, BYU was not overwhelmed by Texas Christian.

That qualifies as news, although not completely good news for the Cougars.

If anything, the fact BYU matched up reasonably well for once with the Horned Frogs made Friday night's 38-28 defeat at Cowboys Stadium more of a missed opportunity than anything else.

"It hurts," said BYU safety Travis Uale, "but the way we played is not displayed on the scoreboard."

Actually, that's why it should hurt even more.

BYU is good enough to have won this game, which explains why coach Bronco Mendenhall said, "I'm as frustrated as I've ever been in coaching, because of that."

This was BYU's chance to produce some substance in a season that will appear successful in the end, but will lack anything resembling a signature victory over a quality opponent. This result was cosmetically much better than anything BYU produced against TCU the previous three seasons, but no more satisfying than usual.

A meaningful win was there for the taking, except the Cougars lost three turnovers and bungled two snaps, among other punting misadventures.

For a moment in the fourth quarter, the Cougars (6-3) showed signs of a comeback that would have topped their miraculous rally against Utah State. Having once trailed 35-10, BYU scored 10 straight points and was driving for a potential touchdown.

This is the play BYU would love to have back, the one that will haunt the Cougars long after Halloween:

BYU had driven to the TCU 17-yard line with a chance to get within a touchdown of the Horned Frogs. The Cougars called a screen pass to tight end Austin Holt, and everything was set up just as designed to create a big play, maybe even a touchdown. But quarterback Riley Nelson was pressured and threw behind Holt. The play was ruled a lateral, with TCU recovering.

Nelson was supposed to hold onto the ball as long as he could to make that play work, but his timing was off just enough to turn it into a disaster. That's what you get with this guy. The same stuff that makes him so endearing to Mendenhall is not always successful.

So if this game was supposed to be the ultimate Riley Referendum, the results were inconclusive. Considering the level of competition that's ahead, Nelson definitely played well enough to keep his job for the remaining three games of the regular season — plus the Armed Forces Bowl in Dallas. That basically makes Jake Heaps obsolete.

Then again, it also leaves some doubts about how Nelson and the offense would fare next season against the likes of Boise State, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame on the road.

Nelson ran more successfully than anyone could have imagined against TCU's fast defenders, and he delivered a perfectly thrown pass to running back Mike Alisa for a first-quarter touchdown.

At other times, he struggled, forcing passes into coverage and missing some receivers. Nelson rushed for 84 yards (once four sacks were subtracted) and passed for 215 yards, with two interceptions.

"I don't question Riley at all," Mendenhall said.

BYU recorded 354 yards (to TCU's 283), more than Max Hall or Heaps could deliver in the previous three meetings as the Frogs won by an average of 34-6.

So this showing was much better — which, in a way, made it worse.

Near the end of his postgame news conference, having effusively praised his team, Mendenhall caught himself.

"I'm talking like we won the game," he said, almost to his bemusement.

It was that kind of night, one that should stick with BYU for a while.