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Utah, TCU clash in Moutain West showdown

Nov 4, 2008 - 7:09 PM (11) TCU (9-1) at (10) Utah (9-0), 8:00 pm EST

SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- The stakes will be high Thursday night when No. 9 Utah hosts 11th-ranked TCU.

The winner will take control of the Mountain West Conference race and keep alive hopes for a BCS bowl berth. The loser won't be eliminated from the Mountain West race but it will fall out of the contention for a BCS game.

Utah has a better chance to play in one of the five BCS games, ranking eighth in the latest BCS standings. TCU is 12th - the cutoff to be eligible - but would move up with a win over the undefeated Utes.

TCU (9-1, 6-0 Mountain West) is in first place in the conference - one-half game ahead of Utah (9-0, 5-0). A victory by the Horned Frogs would put them in position to clinch the Mountain West title with a win against Air Force on November 22.

TCU heads to Utah on a roll, having routed Nevada-Las Vegas, 44-14, last week. Andy Dalton passed for three touchdowns, giving him nine in the last three games.

The Horned Frogs out-gained UNLV, 410-176, holding the Rebels to a season low in total offense.

Utah brings a rugged defense to the Beehive State, holding its opponents to just 10.8 points per game, the third-lowest total in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

In addition, the Horned Frogs boast the second-best overall defense in the FBS (214.5 ypg) and rank first against the run, yielding just 38.9 yards per game. TCU's only loss was a 35-10 defeat at then-No. 1 Oklahoma.

Utah have may been guilty of looking ahead to Thursday's showdown as it struggled to get past New Mexico,13-10, last week.

The Utes overcame two turnovers to extend their winning streak to 10 games - the second-longest active streak in the FBS - and improve to 17-1 in their last 18 games.

Brian Johnson passed for only 195 yards, but won his 22nd game to become the winningest quarterback in school history. He had been tied with Alex Smith, the signal-caller for Utah's team that went 12-0 in 2004.

The Utes intercepted Dalton four times in last season's 27-20 win at TCU.

Utah leads the brief series, 4-1, with the only loss being a 23-20 overtime defeat in 2003.