Can Utes get right against TCU?

Utah running back Micah Bernard (2) holds his helmet in the air as the team sings Utah Man after their win against Baylor at Rice-Eccles Stadium on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News

Despite the fact that both teams come into the contest on a downward trend — Utah having lost its last two games and TCU losing three of its last four — Saturday night’s game still carries a lot of intrigue from the Utes’ perspective.

“They’re doing some really good things offensively and really difficult to stop, so got our work cut out for us,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.

Kyle Whittingham on the TCU

When the two old Mountain West foes meet again as conference mates for the first time since 2010, the stakes aren’t nearly as high as they were the last three times the two teams met.

From 2008-10, Utah and TCU were each highly ranked and playing for a spot in a BCS bowl. The Utes got past the Horned Frogs in 2008 en route to an undefeated season capped off with a Sugar Bowl win over Alabama, in one of the most memorable games in Utah history. In 2009 and 2010, it was TCU blowing out Utah to effectively punch its ticket to two consecutive BCS bowl games, including a Rose Bowl win in the 2010 season.

While Saturday’s contest might not carry the importance of the last three times the schools met, it’s still an inflection point in the season for Utah.

With two consecutive losses to the Arizona schools, including a 27-19 defeat at the hands of Arizona State last week, Big 12 championship contention is all but out the window for the Utes, barring miraculously running the table and seeing results from other teams go their way.

What makes this game so interesting, aside from seeing how Utah will respond after losing two straight and holding a…

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Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2024-10-18 22:30:54

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