Thursday, November 6, 2008 - 8:00 EST
Rice Eccles Stadium - Salt Lake City, Utah
TCU -3
Summary
Last season Utah beat TCU 27-20...despite only rushing for 107 yards, the Utes pounded the ball on the ground 50 times...turnovers were the key as TCU turned it over 4 times while the Utes did not have a miscue...
Coming into this year's game, TCU's only loss was 35-10 to Oklahoma...they pounded then-undefeated BYU on October 16 by the score of 32-7...
The Horned Frogs have the top rated rushing defense in the country as they only allow 39 yards per game...their pass defense is rated 22nd overall...over the last 29 games, TCU is 28-1 when allowing less than 333 yards of offense...the defense is led by DE Jerry Hughes who leads the nation with 14 sacks...
The TCU offense is led by QB Andy Dalton who has tossed 9 TDs...five of the 9 TDs have gone to Jimmy Young (photo, below) who has 43 receptions...Joseph Turner leads the team with 444 yards rushing...the Achilles heel of this team is penalties as they are the second most penalized team in the country...
Utah made a big splash with their opening game win at Michigan...Utah has won four games this season by 7 points or less including last week's 13-10 squeaker at New Mexico...the most dangerous player is kicker/punter Louie Sakoda (photo, below)...he has made 17 of 19 field goals...he has the leg to hit them from 50 yards plus...
The offense is lead by QB Brian Johnson who has tossed 14 TDs and 8 INTs...the running game is shared by Matt Asiata (102 rushes, 531 yards) and Darrell Mack (101-465)...Freddie Braxton and Bradon Godfrey are the top receivers with 37 receptions each...
The Utah defense has allowed only 19 points in the third quarter this year...that number shoots up to 55 points in the fourth quarter...
Utah is asking its fans to wear black for a "Blackout"...
Quick Numbers
Offensive Numbers
TCU - Rushing per game - 224 yards
Uta - Rushing per game - 183 yards
TCU - Passing per game - 303 yards
Uta - Passing per game - 418 yards
Defensive Numbers
TCU - Rushing allowed - 39 yards
Uta - Rushing allowed - 89 yards
TCU - Passing allowed - 175 yards
Uta - Passing allowed - 177 yards
Over the last 3 years, TCU is 1-5 straight up when playing on Thursday
What the experts say
The Gold Sheet - TCU 20-15
Pointwise - TCU 30-20
TCU Horned Frogs (9-1) - Head Coach Gary Patterson
Here are the TCU game notes for the Utah game...
Mercedes Mayer of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes about TCU's good defense and sometimes too aggressive play... "The Horned
Frogs are the most penalized team in the country with 83.7 penalty yards a game, but the Horned Frogs also have the No. 2 total defense in the country." ... Mayer writes how TCU's Robert Henson draws strength from a family tragedy... "But the front of the house was engulfed in flames. That’s where his 10-year-old brother, Nicholas Sterling, slept. Henson couldn’t reach him. Eleven years later, he often relives the day his little brother died." ...
Gil Lebreton of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes TCU head coach Gary Patterson has kept his team focused on the big prize... "The season is long. The road too bumpy, even down a remote highway like the Mountain West Conference. But thanks in large part to their head coach, the TCU Horned Frogs took the journey one pothole at a time." ...
Utah Utes (9-0) - Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Here is the Utah game notes for the TCU game...
Lya Wodraska of the Salt Lake Tribune writes about how Utah must cut down on mistakes against TCU... "Utah coach Kyle Whittingham stressed Monday th
e Utes must cut down on penalties and turnovers against the Horned Frogs. Utah was penalized nine times for 79 yards and turned the ball over twice, once on a punt return and once on an interception in the end zone." ...Wodraska writes about Utah's bookend defensive ends... "Misi and Kruger, Utah's defensive ends, have been putting that kind of squeeze on quarterbacks all season, as they've distinguished themselves as two of the best linemen in the Mountain West Conference." ...
Wodraska writes don't be surprised if Utah and TCU bring the bag of tricks on Thursday... "Thursday's game between Utah and TCU at Rice-Eccles Stadium features two teams that like the trickery. Utah uses running back Matt Asiata in the "Asiata formation" while TCU uses receivers Jeremy Kerley or Antoine Hicks in the Wild Frog." ...
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