Hoover rushes for a TD, throws for 263 yards and TCU outlasts Utah 13-7

SALT LAKE CITY — TCU leveraged a suffocating defensive performance, Josh Hoover rushed for a TD and passed for 263 yards and the Horned Frogs outlasted Utah 13-7 on Saturday night.

“So thankful for my team and our defense. That’s one of the best defensive performances I’ve ever seen. They played so hard tonight, and they set the tone,” Hoover said.

The Horned Frog defense stopped Utah on fourth down with 2:35 to play and then Savion Williams got a first down on fourth-and-1 with 2:11 to play after TCU (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) went 0-for-7 on third downs in the second half.

“We’re in the huddle and as soon as they said we’re running that play, I had full confidence he'd get it. That guy is the ultimate teammate and ultimate player,” Hoover said of Williams, who had 72 yards on a variety of handoffs and direct snaps.

Utah’s seventh-year senior Cam Rising -- playing hurt -- turned in his worst game as a Ute in last week’s loss to Arizona State and then was declared out for the season with a lower leg injury.

The Utes (4-3, 1-3 Big 12) then became freshamn Isaac Wilson’s team. Some players lamented the loss of their captain but expressed relief that the team would have just one game plan instead of dual tracks depending on if Rising could play or not.

But Wilson missed open receivers and held the ball too long while facing constant TCU pressure until he launched a perfect 71-yard TD pass to Money Parks in the third quarter to get Utah within a score.

“We had to sell out to stop the run, and that’s what we did. We tackled exceptionally well ... and it's a huge thing for us as it’s the first time this year we played complimentary football where both sides played well together,” TCU Sonny Dykes said.

The Horned Frogs have struggled to stop the run and get to passers this season, but they were consistently in Utah’s backfield until the Utes changed protection and Wilson made a couple of plays.

“We felt like people been trying to run the ball on us. But if we can get them into those passing situations, we get to go eat and we’re more dangerous,” said Devin Deal, who had two sacks.

Early in the game, Hoover moved the ball easily but the TCU offense bogged down in the red zone, recording just 3 points in three first-half trips inside Utah’s 10-yard line because of a lost fumble and a blocked field goal.

Hoover, who was 22 of 41, came into the game third nationally in passing yardage with a best-in-the-country streak of 10 games with at least 20 completed passes and two touchdowns but couldn’t find the end zone against the Utes.

Hoover snuck for the game’s first TD with 7:00 until halftime after a couple of pinpoint passes to Eric McAlister and Drake Dabney.

Kyle Lemmerman’s second field goal with 9:32 left in the third quarter gave TCU a 13-0 lead.

The Horned Frogs held Utah to 68 yards rushing and Wilson to 17-of-33 passing and an interception.

"As a whole offensive unit, we want to apologize to the defense. It’s a team game, but they played their butts off. (The offense) needs to step up with more than seven points a game,” Wilson said.

Utah hasn’t lost three consecutive games since the Utes dropped four straight in the 2017 season, which was also the last time they lost two home games in a season.

“There’s no mystery as to what our issues are," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said as Utah has scored just 17 points over its last two home games, marking the fewest points over two home games for the Utes since 1990. “Everything is up in the air right now and everything is up for evaluation.”

Meanwhile, TCU keeps their Big 12 title hopes alive during this topsy-turvy conference season.

“We've probably played a little tight this year so far, and and I think we’ll gain a lot of confidence from this,” Dykes said.

The Takeaway

TCU: The Horned Frogs played their best defensive game of the season but the offense got bogged down in the second half allowing the Utes some hope. If TCU’s red zone offense was crisper, the game could have become a blowout but the win was important after the upset loss to Houston two weeks ago.

Utah: The defense bowed up to give Utah a chance after the team got booed off the field in the first half with just 86 yards. Wilson looked better after his shaky start but the Utes abandoned their rushing attack after TCU proved determined to make the freshman QB beat them and keyed on the run.

Block that kick!

Utah’s Tao Johnson is the first NCAA player since at least 2012 to have a blocked field goal and a blocked field goal TD return (against Baylor) in the same season.

With a blocked punt in the first half, TCU ranks first in the nation with four blocked kicks of all types.

Up next

TCU hosts Texas Tech next Saturday.

Utah visits Houston next Saturday.