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TCU hopes to avoid slip before showdown against Utah

Nov 1, 2008 - 10:48 AM (12) TCU (8-1) at UNLV (3-5), 8:00 pm EDT

LAS VEGAS (Ticker) -- Nevada-Las Vegas gave Brigham Young a huge scare last week.

Riding a four-game winning streak, No. 12 TCU hopes to avoid a similar fate Saturday when it visits the Rebels in a Mountain West Conference contest.

The Horned Frogs (8-1, 5-0 Mountain West) are pointing to a November 6 showdown at Utah that could decide the conference title, but they cannot afford to look past UNLV.

Last week, BYU needed Max Hall's 6-yard touchdown pass to Dennis Pitta with 1:46 remaining to rally past the Rebels, 42-35. The Cougars allowed UNLV to gain 463 total yards, with Rebels sophomore quarterback Omar Clayton passing for 321 yards.

The Rebels (3-5, 0-4) have dropped four straight games but have led in the final three minutes of the last three contests. They also have overtime wins over Arizona State and Iowa State.

"They've always been very athletic," TCU coach Gary Patterson said. "Now (coach Mike Sanford) is getting them to play as a team. They just keep getting better."

TCU, which owns a one-half game lead over Utah in the Mountain West, comes into the contest on a roll after crushing Wyoming, 54-7, last week.

The Horned Frogs gave up 113 yards on the ground against Wyoming, the first time they have allowed more than 100 yards in a game this season.

However, TCU still leads the Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing defense, giving up just 31.2 yards per contest. In the second half, Wyoming ran for a mere 10 yards.

TCU also showed that it can play offense as Jimmy Young caught five passes for a school-record 226 yards and three touchdowns. He broke Jimmy Oliver's previous school mark of 206 yards against Texas Tech in 1994.

The Horned Frogs have won their last three games against UNLV by a combined margin of 110-23, including a 34-10 win in Fort Worth last season.