TCU Football Stymies Utah in 13-7 Victory

The Horned Frogs found a way to win in a tough atmosphere behind strong defensive play.

Oct 19, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; TCU Horned Frogs safety Bud Clark (21) celebrates an interception against the Utah Utes with teammates during the fourth quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

When the schedule released for this TCU football season, the road game in Salt Lake City was circled on everyone's calendar. Utah had high expectations coming in and Rice-Eccles Stadium is a tough place to win in. Along the path to this game, the Frogs hit several bumps including an embarrassing loss to Houston. Yet, this TCU team wasn't ready to lay over and picked up a nice road win.

The winning effort was spearheaded by the defense. TCU allowed a season-low 267 yards and made freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson uncomfortable all night long. They recorded four sacks including two from Devean Deal, one from Kaleb Elarms-Orr and one from Marcel Brooks. The secondary also stepped up late as Bud Clark came up with a huge interception in the fourth quarter.

The TCU offense had its struggles against a stout Utah defense particularly in the red zone. A costly fumble on their first drive and a blocked kick prevented TCU from scoring in the early going. Early in the second quarter, a 23-yard field goal put the Frogs up 3-0. Their lone touchdown drive was eight plays for 79 yards capped off by a sneak from Josh Hoover to make it 10-0.

Utah was finally able to break through in the third quarter as Wilson connected with Money Parks for a 71-yard touchdown to make it 13-7. However, the Utes were unable to capitalize on the momentum and continued to struggle offensively. On their final drive, they turned it over on downs and TCU effectively ran out the clock.

One of the biggest surprises in this game was the emergence of Trent Battle and Savion Williams in the running game. In his return from injury, Battle ran it eight times for 45 yards and added two catches for 19 yards. We all know how incredible Williams is as a receiver but on Saturday he had seven carries for 72 yards including a critical first down to ice the game.

The win was not pretty. There were still some critical mistakes throughout whether it was the tough sledding in the red zone or questionable coaching decisions. A strange scenario involving a timeout followed by a delay of game certainly had fans scratching their heads. However, this win had to feel good for TCU and hopefully some positive momentum can be built off this.

The Frogs move to 4-3 and 2-2 in conference play. They will return home next Saturday as they'll host Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are coming off a surprising loss to Baylor. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. on FOX.

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