TCU at Utah

Written by Jack Jones

For the first time in Mountain West history, two top-10 teams meet up Saturday when the Utah Utes host the TC Horned Frogs in a crucial conference game. The winner of this one will likely not only win the MWC, but will also go on to play in a BCS Bowl game. According to the college football lines, we find odds of TCU -4.5 over Utah with a total set of 51 points. This line should come as no surprise considering the public has felt that the fourth-ranked Horned Frogs have been the superior team all season.

The sixth-ranked Utes have been getting overlooked all year, but they continue taking care of business. They have been so focused leading up to this game that they even put in a gag order not to talk about TCU (9-0, 5-0) until their 28-23 win over Air Force was decided last Saturday. “I’ve been taking it one game at a time, but honestly we all knew when the day was,” Utes quarterback Jordan Wynn said. “It’s going to be a showdown.”

Though there was also a lot of anticipation for last year’s meeting, the Frogs rolled to a 55-28 victory down in Fort Worth. But this is a different Utes team, one that is fully capable of pulling off the upset, especially at home. TCU took care of business last week as well, dismantling UNLV 48-6 behind QB Andy Dalton’s 252 passing yards and two touchdowns. Both teams managed not to overlook anyone, and as a result they’re each undefeated with a chance to make some serious noise come season’s end.

What the Utes have going for them is that they are 3-0 in three all-time meetings with TCU in Salt Lake City. Their 13-10 win over the Frogs back in 2008 led to Utah making a BSC bowl game where they shocked Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. It wasn’t easy last week for the Utes in what should have been a blowout. Utah took a 28-10 lead over the Falcons while forcing 5 turnovers, but had to hold on in the closing minutes and it wasn’t until linebacker Chaz Walker sacked Air Force’s Tim Jefferson that the game was finally over.

TCU owns the top-ranked defense in the land, and they’ve allowed a total of just 16 points in their last 5 games. The Frogs allow 217.3 total yards per game, while also sporting the 11th-ranked offense in the land at 485.7 yards per contest. Dalton has thrown for 1,887 yards and 16 touchdowns to 5 interceptions, while Ed Wesley has rushed for 938 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Utah allows 277.8 total yards per game to rank 6th in the nation in total defense. Offensively they rank 20th in the land, compiling 449.6 yards per contest. Jordan Wynn is the leader of the offense with 1,431 passing yards and 13 touchdowns to 6 interceptions. Eddie Wide has rushed for 491 yards and 9 touchdowns, while Matt Asiata has chipped in 488 rushing yards and 6 scores.

BetUS Projected Score: TCU 28 – Utah 23

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