BCS, NCAA Football NEWS
Utah’s Late TD Keeps BCS Hopes Alive
Published by MoonDog on November 7, 2008
TCU placekicker Ross Evans could only sit on the bench with his head in down as the Utah Utes came from behind to defeat the Horned Frogs 13-10 Thursday night in Salt Lake City.
Evans missed two potential game-winning field goals in the fourth quarter, the last one sailing right from 35 yards out with 2:48 remaining in the game.
The Utes took over on their 20 and marched 80 yards in nine plays, capped off with the winning touchdown on a Brian Johnson pass to Freddie Brown with 48 seconds left. Johnson completed 7-of-9 passes in the drive for all 80 yards.
“I told the guys, ‘Stay in it. We’re going to have a chance to win it late,’” Johnson said.
The Utes remained unbeaten and in contention for a BCS bowl berth and are 10-0 for just the second time in school history
It was the second time this season Johnson has been the hero for Utah (10-0, 6-0 Mountain West). The Utes overcame an 11-point deficit in the final 1:30 for a 31-28 win against Oregon State on October 2.
Despite outgaining Utah 416-275, TCU (9-2, 6-1) couldn’t sustain any drives. The Horned Frogs were penalized 11 times for 70 yards, committed two turnovers and gave up four sacks.
TCU quarterback Andy Dalton completed 16-of-37 passes for 251 yards and running back Aaron Brown gained 106 yards on 15 carries to lead the Horned Frogs.
“We missed two field goals. It was just one of those things,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said.
TCU had a chance to put the game away on their first possession of the third quarter. Leading 10-6, the Horned Frogs drove 45 yards where they faced a second and 9 from the Utah 23.
Dalton threw a pass to Walter Bryant inside the Utah 5-yard line, but Bryant stepped out of bounds and the pass was ruled incomplete. On the next play, Utah sacked Dalton to knock TCU out of field-goal range.
TCU had a chance to stop Utah on their winning drive when the Utes were faced with a fourth-and-5 from the Horned Frogs 26. Johnson completed an 11-yard pass to Brown to the TCU 15, then two plays later, Johnson found Brown again for the winning touchdown.
Johnson finished with 230 yards on 24-of-39 attempts and Brown had nine catches for 105 yards.
“No one panicked. we just hung in there,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “Nothing came easy but the guys toughed it out and they came up with big plays each time we needed them.”
Utah will take on San Diego State on November 15 and closes out their regular season schedule against in-state rival BYU on November 22.
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Tagged with: Aaron Brown, Andy Dalton, Brian Johnson, Freddie Brown, Gary Patterson, Kyle Whittingham, MoonDog, Mountain West Conference, Ross Evans, TCU Horned Frogs, Utah Utes







