Around the MWC: Defending champ Utah big underdog vs. TCU
Oddsmakers have made No. 16 Utah a nearly 20-point underdog in Saturday’s showdown with No. 4 TCU in Fort Worth.
The Utes have noticed.
“That was a topic of conversation yesterday,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said Tuesday with a chuckle. “There were some players that took note of that.”
Utah is 8-1, with its lone loss coming by a touchdown at No. 14 Oregon. It is 5-0 in Mountain West Conference play, tied with TCU (9-0, 5-0). And it has won 29 of its last 31 games, including all of them last year en route to the league title.
“We are the defending champs,” Whittingham said. “And that’s something that obviously’s a fact, and you’ve got to take it away.”
The Utes are used to being underdogs, of course – most notably in last season’s Sugar Bowl. Utah was a double-digit underdog to then-No. 4 Alabama and was given little chance by most prognosticators. But the Utes defeated the Crimson Tide, 31-17, to cap a perfect season.
“Once the ball’s in the air on Saturday, all the hype and the discussion, that really goes out the window,” Whittingham said. “It’s your game plan, it’s your players’ execution level, it’s how well you’ve taught them to block and tackle and all that stuff.”
Utah has won three straight games over TCU, including last year’s classic in Salt Lake City. The Horned Frogs dominated that game statistically, picking up 416 yards to Utah’s 275. But TCU missed two makeable field goals, and the Utes drove 80 yards in the final minutes and scored the game-winning touchdown with 48 seconds left for a 13-10 victory.
“I have never been in a locker room that had a hundred people with tears in their eyes,” said TCU coach Gary Patterson, who has a winning record against every team in the MWC, save for the Utes (he’s 1-3). “You understood that this really means something.”
Patterson said the loss helped his team grow.
“It really hasn’t served for motivation, it’s been a learning experience,” Patterson said.
“It helped us in the Boise State game, when we played them in the Poinsettia Bowl (last season) because we understand the difference between winning and losing is a very tight fraction. It’s a very fine line. … It’s helped us grow up. It’s helped us mature.”
A freshman will lead them
Utah true freshman Jordan Wynn replaced junior Terrance Cain in the second half of the Utes’ Oct. 31 victory over Wyoming and then led Utah to a 45-14 blowout of New Mexico last Saturday in his first career start, completing 18-of-28 passes for 297 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Asked if he was worried that Wynn would be making his second career start against a TCU team that ranks third in the country in total defense (240.6 yards allowed per game) and fifth in scoring defense (11.2 points allowed per game), Whittingham said “I think there’s a worry no matter who’s starting against these guys.”
MWC gets ‘GameDay’ again
How’s this for a sign that the MWC has more national clout? For the third time in four weeks, ESPN’s “College GameDay” program will broadcast from an MWC site, as the popular show will be in Fort Worth.
The show was at the academy last Saturday and in Provo two weeks before that for BYU’s game against TCU.
Etc.
Utah running back Eddie Wide broke a school record last Saturday by rushing for more than 100 yards for the sixth straight game. … During the last two seasons, TCU and Utah have gone a combined 41-3. … Things don’t get any easier for 0-9 New Mexico this week, as No. 22 BYU visits Albuquerque. Considering the Lobos finish the season at No. 4 TCU, their lone remaining realistic chance to avoid a winless season seems to come on Nov. 21 when they play host to reeling Colorado State, which has lost seven straight games.
