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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Utah hasn't lost three consecutive games since the Utes dropped four straight in the 2017 season, which also the last time they lost two home games in a season.
Meanwhile, TCU keeps their Big 12 title hopes alive during this topsy-turvy conference season.
The Takeaway
TCU: The Horned Frogs played their best defensive game of the season but 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 blow 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.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
