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DATE & TIME: Thursday, September 15th, 7:30 p.m. (et).
FACTS & STATS: Site: Amon G. Carter Stadium (44,008) -- Fort Worth, Texas. Television: ESPN. Home Record: Utah 2-0, TCU 0-0. Away Record: Utah 0-0, TCU 1-1. Neutral Record: Utah 0-0, TCU 0-0. Conference Record: Utah 0-0, TCU 0-0. Series Record: Utah leads, 2-0.
GAME NOTES: As the favorite to win the Mountain West Conference title yet again this season, the Utah Utes put their school-record 18-game winning streak on the line Thursday night as they hit the road for a meeting with newest league member TCU at Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. Last season the Utes ran the table in the MWC and went undefeated for the first time since 1930 as they finished ranked fourth in the nation according to the AP. This year Utah has continued the winning tradition with a season-opening decision over Arizona at home (27-24) and an easier triumph versus Utah State (31-7) last weekend. Meanwhile the ride for the Horned Frogs has been much more bumpy as they settle into their new surroundings in the MWC. In their opener the Frogs stunned the nationally-ranked Oklahoma Sooners, on the road no less, in a 17-10 decision in Norman. The victory propelled TCU into the national rankings last week, but a devastating 21-10 loss to SMU in Dallas on Saturday dropped the squad back out. Aside from a homecoming date with Army in the middle of October, the rest of the schedule has the Horned Frogs contending against fellow MWC institutions. Utah leads the all-time series with the Horned Frogs by a count of 2-0 entering this contest.
Trying to fill the shoes left by number one draft pick Alex Smith can't be that easy, but it appears as though Brian Johnson is making a pretty good run at the issue. Against the Aggies Johnson scored the first touchdown of the game for Utah on a two-yard run late in the second quarter and then hit John Madsen with a 30-yard TD pass just a minute and a half later to leave the visitors in the dust. Johnson finished the contest 18-of-21 for 268 yards and a pair of touchdowns, adding another 70 yards rushing on 18 attempts. Quinton Ganther recorded a game-high 104 yards on 15 carries as well. Despite scoring 29 ppg so far, Utah has been getting off to a slow start, failing to score in the first quarter of either game. Johnson is flourishing in the offense that made Smith a star, converting 72.5 percent of his passes for 488 yards and three scores and still without an interception. Ganther heads the rushing attack with 231 yards on 39 attempts, while Madsen is the top receiver with 11 catches for 169 yards and two scores.
Aside from the first touchdown in the game early in the second quarter on Saturday, the Aggies posed little threat to Utah in Salt Lake City. Utah State was held to just 258 yards of total offense in the contest, of that just 95 yards through the air. Steve Fifita and Casey Evans both recorded sacks for the Utes, while Eric Weddle continued to make passing offenses think twice before heading his way as he picked off a pass in the lopsided win. Spencer Toone was the top tackler for the Utes with seven assisted tackles and five solo takedowns. Last year Utah had one of the strongest scoring defenses in the MWC and this season is no different, tied for second with TCU in allowing 15.5 ppg. The pass defense is third in the league, giving up 191 ypg, has permitted just two touchdowns and is tied for the conference lead with three interceptions. Weddle has two of those picks, returning one for a touchdown. Toone is first with 21 tackles, with Weddle checking second with 14 stops and 2.5 TFLs.
In their loss to SMU, the Frogs scored the first points of the game on a late field goal in the first quarter, but from there on out the team had trouble getting anywhere close to the end zone. TCU's only touchdown of the night came on an 87-yard kickoff return to start the second half. Again, from that point forward in the third and fourth quarters the Horned Frogs looked nothing like the team that defeated Oklahoma in Norman a week earlier. Robert Merrill did finish with 99 yards, but the rest of the unit accounted for a combined 20 yards after that. Tye Gunn, who was being praised for his efforts versus the Sooners, hit on only 16-of-36 for 134 yards, was sacked once and intercepted three times. Needless to say, after two games TCU has the lowest ranked passing attack in the MWC, gaining just 180 ypg. As a result, the scoring for the program is way down on the list as well, with their 13.5 ppg coming in dead last out of nine teams. Already Gunn has four interceptions against just a single passing score. His favorite target by far is Cory Rodgers who has 16 catches for 120 yards. Clearly, with Lonta Hobbs still on the shelf with an injury, the Horned Frogs are just getting by on offense.
SMU was nothing special heading into the meeting with the Horned Frogs, but the team somehow put all the pieces in the right places and managed to produce both the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week in Conference USA for how well they handled TCU. Its been quite some time since SMU has been an aerial threat, so TCU's allowing only 101 yards passing was nothing special, but the fact that the Frogs couldn't stop running back DeMyron Martin was crucial because he scored three touchdowns against them. Jason Phillips finished the contest with a team-high seven tackles while Marvin White posted six solo stops as well. TCU's pass defense is currently ranked first in the Mountain West, giving up only 114.5 ypg, but again most of that has to do with SMU being a team that runs the ball almost exclusively. The team's total defense, giving up 249 ypg, is also tops in the league. Drew Coleman has the team's only interception so far and David Hawthorne has accounted for two fumble recoveries.
Everyone knew that Utah was not going to be the same team this year that it was in 2004, but the opposition is having trouble showing that to be true on the actual field. Until someone figures out how to get to the Utes, they'll still be the guys to chase in the MWC.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Utah 24, TCU 14
DATE & TIME: Thursday, September 15th, 7:30 p.m. (et).
FACTS & STATS: Site: Amon G. Carter Stadium (44,008) -- Fort Worth, Texas. Television: ESPN. Home Record: Utah 2-0, TCU 0-0. Away Record: Utah 0-0, TCU 1-1. Neutral Record: Utah 0-0, TCU 0-0. Conference Record: Utah 0-0, TCU 0-0. Series Record: Utah leads, 2-0.
GAME NOTES: As the favorite to win the Mountain West Conference title yet again this season, the Utah Utes put their school-record 18-game winning streak on the line Thursday night as they hit the road for a meeting with newest league member TCU at Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. Last season the Utes ran the table in the MWC and went undefeated for the first time since 1930 as they finished ranked fourth in the nation according to the AP. This year Utah has continued the winning tradition with a season-opening decision over Arizona at home (27-24) and an easier triumph versus Utah State (31-7) last weekend. Meanwhile the ride for the Horned Frogs has been much more bumpy as they settle into their new surroundings in the MWC. In their opener the Frogs stunned the nationally-ranked Oklahoma Sooners, on the road no less, in a 17-10 decision in Norman. The victory propelled TCU into the national rankings last week, but a devastating 21-10 loss to SMU in Dallas on Saturday dropped the squad back out. Aside from a homecoming date with Army in the middle of October, the rest of the schedule has the Horned Frogs contending against fellow MWC institutions. Utah leads the all-time series with the Horned Frogs by a count of 2-0 entering this contest.
Trying to fill the shoes left by number one draft pick Alex Smith can't be that easy, but it appears as though Brian Johnson is making a pretty good run at the issue. Against the Aggies Johnson scored the first touchdown of the game for Utah on a two-yard run late in the second quarter and then hit John Madsen with a 30-yard TD pass just a minute and a half later to leave the visitors in the dust. Johnson finished the contest 18-of-21 for 268 yards and a pair of touchdowns, adding another 70 yards rushing on 18 attempts. Quinton Ganther recorded a game-high 104 yards on 15 carries as well. Despite scoring 29 ppg so far, Utah has been getting off to a slow start, failing to score in the first quarter of either game. Johnson is flourishing in the offense that made Smith a star, converting 72.5 percent of his passes for 488 yards and three scores and still without an interception. Ganther heads the rushing attack with 231 yards on 39 attempts, while Madsen is the top receiver with 11 catches for 169 yards and two scores.
Aside from the first touchdown in the game early in the second quarter on Saturday, the Aggies posed little threat to Utah in Salt Lake City. Utah State was held to just 258 yards of total offense in the contest, of that just 95 yards through the air. Steve Fifita and Casey Evans both recorded sacks for the Utes, while Eric Weddle continued to make passing offenses think twice before heading his way as he picked off a pass in the lopsided win. Spencer Toone was the top tackler for the Utes with seven assisted tackles and five solo takedowns. Last year Utah had one of the strongest scoring defenses in the MWC and this season is no different, tied for second with TCU in allowing 15.5 ppg. The pass defense is third in the league, giving up 191 ypg, has permitted just two touchdowns and is tied for the conference lead with three interceptions. Weddle has two of those picks, returning one for a touchdown. Toone is first with 21 tackles, with Weddle checking second with 14 stops and 2.5 TFLs.
In their loss to SMU, the Frogs scored the first points of the game on a late field goal in the first quarter, but from there on out the team had trouble getting anywhere close to the end zone. TCU's only touchdown of the night came on an 87-yard kickoff return to start the second half. Again, from that point forward in the third and fourth quarters the Horned Frogs looked nothing like the team that defeated Oklahoma in Norman a week earlier. Robert Merrill did finish with 99 yards, but the rest of the unit accounted for a combined 20 yards after that. Tye Gunn, who was being praised for his efforts versus the Sooners, hit on only 16-of-36 for 134 yards, was sacked once and intercepted three times. Needless to say, after two games TCU has the lowest ranked passing attack in the MWC, gaining just 180 ypg. As a result, the scoring for the program is way down on the list as well, with their 13.5 ppg coming in dead last out of nine teams. Already Gunn has four interceptions against just a single passing score. His favorite target by far is Cory Rodgers who has 16 catches for 120 yards. Clearly, with Lonta Hobbs still on the shelf with an injury, the Horned Frogs are just getting by on offense.
SMU was nothing special heading into the meeting with the Horned Frogs, but the team somehow put all the pieces in the right places and managed to produce both the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week in Conference USA for how well they handled TCU. Its been quite some time since SMU has been an aerial threat, so TCU's allowing only 101 yards passing was nothing special, but the fact that the Frogs couldn't stop running back DeMyron Martin was crucial because he scored three touchdowns against them. Jason Phillips finished the contest with a team-high seven tackles while Marvin White posted six solo stops as well. TCU's pass defense is currently ranked first in the Mountain West, giving up only 114.5 ypg, but again most of that has to do with SMU being a team that runs the ball almost exclusively. The team's total defense, giving up 249 ypg, is also tops in the league. Drew Coleman has the team's only interception so far and David Hawthorne has accounted for two fumble recoveries.
Everyone knew that Utah was not going to be the same team this year that it was in 2004, but the opposition is having trouble showing that to be true on the actual field. Until someone figures out how to get to the Utes, they'll still be the guys to chase in the MWC.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Utah 24, TCU 14