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Read KSL's Take here -- By DOUG ALDEN AP Sports Writer SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah needed to go 80 yards in less than three minutes -- and had very little reason to feel optimistic.
But after No. 11 TCU's defense dominated for 45 minutes, Brian Johnson threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Brown with 48 seconds left to rally the No. 10 Utes to a 13-10 win over the Horned Frogs on Thursday night.
The thrilling comeback kept Utah unbeaten and in line for a Bowl Championship Series berth.
"There was no panic when we got the ball back with a chance to win it," said Johnson, who was 7-for-9 on the winning drive.
Utah (10-0, 6-0 Mountain West) won despite being outgained 416 to 275 by the Horned Frogs, who bungled several chances to put away the game. TCU missed two field goals in the fourth quarter, had 11 penalties and allowed two third-down sacks that took the Frogs out of field goal range.
TCU (9-2, 6-1) scored the game's first 10 points.
"We took their best shots in the first quarter and then we had to just grind it out," said Robert Johnson, who sealed the win for Utah by intercepting a pass from Andy Dalton with five seconds left.
In the only other game involving a ranked team on Thursday, Virginia Tech beat No. 23 Maryland 23-13.
Both teams entered the game in contention for a BCS berth, but only one was going to come out of it still alive in the race. Somehow, it was Utah -- and the 45,666 fans had Rice-Eccles Stadium shaking after Utah's second big comeback of the year.
"This team fought. The defense played unbelievable and the offense put it in when we had to," said Johnson, who led the Utes to an 11-point rally in the final minutes of a 31-28 win over Oregon State on Oct. 2.
It was a stunning loss for TCU despite gaining 202 yards in the first quarter and holding the Utes to 45 rushing yards in the game.
Aaron Brown ran for 106 yards on 15 carries and Dalton passed for 251 yards, but the Frogs hurt themselves with penalties and untimely breakdowns. TCU also allowed four sacks -- two of which cost them possible points.
"I thought the momentum was in our favor and our kids were moving the football," TCU coach Gary Patterson said.
The Frogs couldn't turn yardage into points. Ross Evans bounced one kick off the left upright, then with 2:48 left he was wide right on a 35-yard attempt. Utah got the ball back on the 20 and Johnson led the Utes from there.
"We missed two field goals. It was just one of those things," Patterson said.
TCU gave Utah 15 yards with a pass interference penalty, but still nearly had the drive stopped as Utah faced a fourth-and-5. Johnson converted it with an 11-yard pass to Brown to the Frogs' 15, then two plays later, Johnson found Brown again for the winning score.
Brown had nine catches for 105 yards.
In the third quarter, Dalton threw a pass to Walter Bryant inside the Utah 5-yard line, but Bryant was ruled out of bounds. Paul Kruger sacked Dalton on the next play to knock the Frogs out of field-goal range.
"We got together and we said we need to do something special if we want to come out with a victory," Kruger said. "This is an incredible win."
Utah fans wore black to match the uniforms the Utes broke out for the showcase game.
Evans kicked a 37-yard field goal and Ryan Christian scored on a 3-yard run for TCU in the opening quarter.
The second quarter belonged to the Utes, who held TCU to 6 yards of offense in the period. The Frogs self-destructed with five penalties in the quarter, including three false starts during one possession. Utah sacked Dalton twice and Sean Smith returned an interception 37 yards to set up Louie Sakoda's 37-yard field goal at the end of the half that made it 10-6.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
