Despite turning the ball over three times, No. 20 BYU defeated Utah State 35-17 on Friday night to improve to 4-1 on the season. A 48-yard touchdown reception by Luke Ashworth from Max Hall broke a 7-7 tie in the second quarter, then Manase Tonga scored on a three-yard touchdown to give BYU a 21-7 halftime lead. The Cougars never looked back.

Junior running back Harvey Unga rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries to lead BYU, but BYU’s offense struggled on a whole.

The Cougars were held under 300 yards for the second straight game and Hall continues to struggle under center. He’s now thrown two or more interceptions in four of his last five games and has 10 interceptions to 11 touchdowns on the season.

Thanks to Unga’s second straight 100-yard rushing game, BYU was able to overcome Hall’s issues moving the ball in the passing game. But what happens when the Cougars have to play TCU in a couple of weeks? The Horned Frogs have one of the fastest defenses in the nation and BYU isn’t going to be able to turn the ball over three times against TCU and survive.

The good thing for Hall and head coach Bronco Mendenhall is that the Cougars have UNLV and San Diego State over the next two weeks to figure things out. But the Mountain West Conference is going to come down to that October 24 matchup with TCU, so BYU needs to iron out its issues soon.

Top 25 vs. Top 25:

No. 2 Texas Tech at No. 5 Oklahoma, 8:00 PM ET ABC
Raise your hand if you don’t appreciate what the Big 12 has given us this year and I’ll come over and punch you square in the mouth. The Big 12 has handed us game of the year matchups virtually every week this season and this week is no exception. Many college football pundits have had this Saturday circled on their calendars as the day when Texas Tech finally falls. Oklahoma has stumbled only once this year (vs. previously top ranked Texas on October 11), but outside of that no other team has come close to knocking them off. The Sooners have averaged over 50 points a game, but they’ll take on a much-improved Red Raider defense this week in Norman. OU is going to score points, but can they stop Heisman hopefuls Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree? No defense in the nation (not even Texas) has slowed down the dynamic duo yet and it’s hard to believe that anyone will at this point. Still, the Sooners will be looking to avenge last year’s 34-27 loss to Tech in Lubbock. In that game, No. 4 ranked OU lost Sam Bradford early in the first half and allowed Crabtree to haul in 12 passes for 154 yards and one touchdown. Oddsmakers have established Oklahoma as a 7-point favorite, but one has to believe that this is going to go down to the wire.

No. 14 Brigham Young at No. 7 Utah, 6:00 PM ET
No love for the Mountain West – this one won’t even be shown on national TV despite huge ramifications for the Utes. A MWC title and a possible BCS at-large bid is on the line in this game as Utah has another opportunity to justify their high ranking. Before being upset by TCU, BYU expected to be where Utah currently is – ranked in the top 10. The Cougars will have to overcome a stingy Utes defense that is damn near impossible to run against, yielding just 3.0 yards per carry. The onus for BYU in this game will be on quarterback Max Hall to carry the offense, while the Cougar defense will have its hands full with Brian Johnson. Considering this will be yet another tightly contested game, the Utes should be prepared. They’ve got five wins this year by seven or fewer points, including their nail biting 13-10 win over TCU three weeks ago. Oddsmakers have made BYU a 6.5-point underdog.

No. 15 Michigan State at No. 8 Penn State, 3:30 PM ET ABC
How sad is it that in the same week of Ohio State-Michigan, this is the best matchup in the Big Ten. Penn State’s win over Indiana may have looked like a blowout, but the Lions struggled with Hoosiers in the first half. Truth be told, PSU’s offense hasn’t looked that impressive in weeks. After reaching the end zone 12 times threw the air in their first fives games, the Lions have managed just five touchdown passes in their last six contests. The Spartans struggled in their last Big Ten statement game (a 45-7 drubbing at the hands of Ohio State on October 18), but Brian Hoyer (548 yards, 5 TDs in two games vs. PSU) has really stepped up of late and is putting together a nice season. Of course, all eyes will be on RB Javon Ringer. Ringer is third in the nation in rushing and if MSU’s massive offensive line can open up holes for the small back, Sparty will have an opportunity to keep PSU’s spread offense off the field and possibly walk away with an upset. Penn State is a 14.5-point favorite at home.

No. 20 Pittsburgh at No. 19 Cincinnati, 7:00 PM ET ESPN2
The job head coach Brian Kelly (who I suggested should be a candidate to replace Phillip Fulmer at Tennessee) has done this year in Cincinnati despite losing three quarterbacks has been remarkable. To keep the Bearcats afloat in the Big East is outstanding it speaks volumes about Kelly being a true winner. Speaking of the Big East, first place is on the line in this game as Cincy will try to avenge its 24-17 loss to PITT last year by throwing early and often. The Panthers have struggled against teams with like to attack downfield and Tony Pike has played very well lately in Kelly’s offense. The mission is clear for Cincinnati: Win the next two games at home and claim the Big East title. PITT is a 5-point underdog.

Upset Watch:

No. 2 Texas Tech at No. 5 Oklahoma, 8:00 PM ET ABC
As previously mentioned, there’s a ton of folks waiting for the Red Raiders to fall this year, but I’ve already bought into the hype. No defense has even remotely slowed down Harrell or Crabtree and while Bradford and the OU offense can go toe to toe with anyone, I say Tech walks away with a straight up upset. Of course, they may need to score 60 points to win.

Other Notable Games:

Michigan at No. 10 Ohio State, 12:00 PM ET ABC
This could be the worst Michigan-Ohio State matchup in the history of this rivalry. If the Buckeyes don’t beat the Wolverines by more than four touchdowns, Jim Tressel should resign. Michigan has never found a way to stop a mobile quarterback, so Terrelle Pryor should find life pretty easy this week at the Horse Shoe.

Florida State at No. 25 Maryland, 7:45 PM ET
Does any team want to win the ACC? The Terps have provided some great upsets this season, but they don’t seem to fare well when favored. Still, their rushing attack matches up well against a solid Seminole front seven and this is one of the more underrated matchups of the week.

No. 21 Oregon State at Arizona, 7:00 PM ET
The Beavers can still punch a ticket to Pasadena this year, but they’ll need to get past a Wildcat team that gave USC fits a couple weeks ago.

TCU absolutely hammered No. 9 BYU Thursday night, 32-7 in what was a route from the very beginning. And as Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake City Tribune writes, even though TCU’s victory provided a major upset, the Mountain West loses out on a whole with BYU falling from the rankings.

We’ll know more when the first BCS standings of the season are published Sunday, but BYU obviously is the big loser at the moment – and so, potentially, is the Mountain West. The winner might be Boise State. It could become a case where the MWC schools – with Utah hosting both the Frogs and Cougars next month – knock each other out and push Boise State into the one BCS slot promised to an outsider that finishes in the top 12.

Clearly, BYU did not even belong on the same field with TCU. The Frogs confused, rattled and frustrated the Cougars. Quarterback Andy Dalton picked on BYU’s cornerbacks with sideline patterns, a direct snap to receiver Jeremy Kerley worked nearly every time, and TCU sustained long drives.

That was a complete smack down, but the Cougars had their opportunities. Multiple times BYU drove into the red zone only to come away with one touchdown. Max Hall threw two interceptions in TCU territory and fumbled once more. On a night where the Horned Frogs played their best game of the season, BYU couldn’t afford to make any mistakes and that’s exactly what happened.

Top 25 vs. Top 25

No. 11 Missouri at No. 1 Texas, 8:00 PM ET
For their first game after being crowned number one in the land, surely the Longhorns would rather face a Big 12 cupcake than a pissed off Tigers team reeling from suffering their first loss of the season. But at least Colt McCoy and Co. don’t have to worry about suffering a letdown after their thrilling win over top rival Oklahoma last weekend. Speaking of McCoy, he’s been nearly perfect this season, completing 79.4% of his passes and compiling 17 touchdowns to just three interceptions. He’ll get the chance to light up a suspect MIZZOU defense, although don’t expect Heisman candidate Chase Daniel to have back to back bad games, especially against a UT defensive unit that was destroyed by Sam Bradford and the Sooners. Remarkably, Daniel and the Tigers have scored in 23 of 24 quarters this season. Oddsmakers have made MIZZOU a 7-point underdog.

No. 16 Kansas at No. 4 Oklahoma, 3:30 PM ET
Despite walking away with victories, the Jayhawks have not played very sharp the past two weeks. In their 12-1 campaign last season, KU didn’t have to face the powerhouse programs of the Big 12, but they’re not as fortunate this year. Neither team is running the ball as well as they would like, but the Sooners will be looking to make a statement after losing to Texas last week. If sophomore QB Sam Bradford could hang 35 points on the Longhorns, imagine what he’ll do to the Jayhawks. Still, Kansas isn’t a pushover and is looking to make a statement in the polls as well.

No. 22 Vanderbilt at No. 10 Georgia, 12:30 PM ET
One might assume that since the Commodores suffered a crushing blow last week to Mississippi that they’d roll over and play dead this week in Athens. But Vandy has enough speed and athleticism to contain UGA’s explosive offense and they should be able to keep things close. The hard part will be containing QB Matthew Stafford and RB Knowshon Moreno for four quarters, however. And if the ‘Dores can’t come up with a turnover or two, the Dogs should pull away in the end. Still, expect a bounce back week for Vandy, who could expose a young UGA secondary ranked 11th in the SEC.

No. 12 Ohio State at No. 20 Michigan State, 3:30 PM ET
It’ll be interesting to see if the Spartans can catch the Buckeyes looking ahead to their date next week with No. 3 Penn State. OSU has had a tough time moving anywhere in the rankings since being blown out by USC in mid-September, but they could use the next two weeks to make a huge statement to voters. MSU is playing awfully well right now, especially on offense where QB Brian Hoyer has provided balance with the dynamic running style of Javon Ringer. Since making a splash against Troy, Buckeye freshman QB Terrelle Pryor has leveled off in recent weeks, throwing for just 104 yards per game and one touchdown in his last three outings. RB Beanie Wells also seems to still be suffering lingering effects from an early-season toe injury as he rushed for only 94 yards on 22 carries last week against Purdue. Next Saturday’s PSU-OSU matchup should be great, but Sparty isn’t going to be a pushover this week in East Lansing.

Upset Watch:No. 9 BYU at TCU, Thursday, October 16
The Cougars arguably get their first test of the season against a Horned Frogs team that has already faced the likes of Oklahoma. TCU’s defense will provide a challenge BYU QB Max Hall and the high-powered Cougar passing attack and even though he’s a backup, Frog’s QB Marcus Jackson has led the team to back-to-back wins. TCU is also incredibly tough to beat in Fort Worth, so beware a major upset on Thursday night. (Of course the last time I suggested that BYU could be upset, they beat UCLA 59-0.)