TCU’s defense leads the way in road upset over Utah
Despite numerous miscues, TCU was able to make enough plays to pull off a road upset, 13-7, over Utah late Saturday night.
“It wasn’t really pretty, we had some struggles offensively in the second half,” coach Sonny Dykes said postgame. “But I thought our whole team played hard, I thought we played complementary football. I thought the guys were really determined to get back on track.”
The Horned Frogs had multiple opportunities in the second half to put the game away after taking a 13-0 lead, but the lack of offensive execution caused TCU (4-3 overall, 2-2 in Big 12) to go scoreless on its final five drives. During the drought Utah made a small comeback as Isaac Wilson threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Money Parks to make it 13-7 late in the third quarter.
With the pressure mounting, TCU’s defense stepped up and held Utah without points on the Utes’ final four drives. That included making two straight stops on fourth down. Savion Williams would then ice the game for TCU with 2:17 remaining as he converted a 4th-and-1 off a direct snap.
With Utah out of timeout, the Horned Frogs were able to run off the remaining clock and escape from Utah with a much needed win which brings the program closer to bowl eligibility.
“Not too many teams come here and win, we appreciate it and we’re excited about it,” Dykes said.
Receivers come up big
In our three reasons why, we listed that one of the few advantages TCU would have over Utah would be at the receiver spot and the Horned Frogs’ receivers didn’t disappoint. TCU’s depth was a problem for Utah early as the Horned Frogs had three different receivers with at least a 20-yard reception. Savion Williams wasn’t among them, but he made up for it by being TCU’s leading rusher with 72 yards on seven carries, including the game-clinching carry in the fourth quarter.
“He’s super versatile and he can do so many different things,” Josh Hoover said. “The most important thing is getting him the football. Whether it’s catching it, handing it to him, all kinds of stuff. That 4th-and-1 to go win the game, we’re all in the huddle and as soon as he said we were running that play I had full confidence that he was going to go get it and he did.”
Baylor transfer tight end Drake Dabney had his best game as a Horned Frog and set up TCU’s lone touchdown of the first half when he beat his defender on a wheel route for a 20-yard gain. Dabney’s catch was initially ruled a touchdown, but he was stopped at the 1-yard line which led to a Josh Hoover rushing touchdown. The running backs also got involved as Cam Cook and Trent Battle converted numerous third downs off short passes.
As the game continued Utah decided to not let Hoover stand in the pocket and find his receivers as the Utes increased the defensive pressure in the second half to slow TCU’s passing attack down. The Utes were successful, but the damage had already been done. Hoover finished the game 22-of-41 for 263 yards. Williams finished with a combined 99 yards (72 rushing, 27 receiving) while JP Richardson and Eric McAlister had over 50 yards.
Defense dominates
It’s been weeks since TCU’s defense has played quality football, but facing a limited offense the Horned Frogs’ defense was able to generate some confidence. It should be noted that Utah was without starting quarterback Cam Rising and leading rusher Micah Bernard exited the game briefly in the second quarter, but TCU’s defense still deserves credit for paving the way to a victory.
The pass rush in particular was dominant when Utah was in obvious passing situations as three different Horned Frogs came up with sacks in the first half. The biggest came from Kaleb Elarms-Orr during Utah’s two-minute drill at the end of the first half. Utah had managed to finally cross the 50-yard line and was driving for a late score, but Elarms-Orr shot through the line and sacked Isaac Wilson for a 10-yard loss that stalled out the Utes’ best offensive drive of the half.
After the offense failed to extend the lead, the defense did allow a huge play as Isaac Wilson connected with Money Parks for a 71-yard touchdown with 6:12 remaining in the third quarter to cut TCU’s lead to 13-7. The defense stood tall after that moment with Bud Clark intercepting a pass on fourth down and players like Devean Deal coming up with clutch sacks when Utah was driving. It was the defense’s best performance of the season. The Horned Frogs held Utah to just 68 yards on the ground and 2-of-15 on third down.
Battle’s return
Trent Battle has missed most of the regular season after suffering an injury late in fall camp. After slowly working his way back, Battle had his most snaps of the season against the Utes and provided a big impact that went beyond the stat sheet. The veteran running back, who was also part of the rotation during the 2022 playoff run, led all of TCU’s running backs with eight carries for 45 yards. He also added 19 yards on two catches.
The numbers are modest on paper, but the impact wasn’t. When he wasn’t trying to make something out of nothing against Utah’s stout run defense, Battle was also providing value as a blocker. As Utah dialed up more pressure, Battle matched their intensity as he met the hard charging linebackers in the hole to keep Hoover clean.
Utah had no sacks in the game despite sending so much pressure in the second half and Battle deserves a lot of credit for helping to stave off the Utes’ pass rush.
“Bad intentions,” Battle said of his mindset as a blocker. “You don’t want to go in there soft, you don’t want to be hesitant. Hoover is one of the best quarterbacks in the country, if I can keep him clean we’re going to have big plays. He’s going to make big throws and the right reads. If I can keep him healthy, keep him protected then I did my job.”
Overcoming a rough start
Early on it appeared TCU hadn’t learned lessons from previous defeats as the Horned Frogs squandered multiple opportunities to take a commanding lead over the Utes. On TCU’s first drive of the game, the offense averaged seven yards per play and made it all the way down to the Utah 9. However, that drive didn’t lead to points as Hoover fumbled the handoff exchange with Trent Battle and Utah quickly recovered.
TCU’s second drive started in the Utah red zone after Shad Banks blocked a punt, but that drive also resulted in no points as Kyle Lemmerman’s field goal attempt was blocked by the Utes. At one point TCU outgained Utah 151-20, but only had a 3-0 lead after another drive stalled at the Utah 5.
If it wasn’t for the defense, TCU could have easily found itself in a tough situation. However, the offense finally was able to generate some breathing room when Hoover capped a 8-play, 79-yard drive with a touchdown from the 1-yard line to make it 10-0 with seven minutes remaining in the first half. TCU would take the 10-0 lead into halftime despite out-gaining Utah 242-86.
This story was originally published October 20, 2024 at 1:10 AM.
