For anybody who wants to dissect the monumental matchup between Utah and TCU, it might be easiest to just make a Mad Lib.
Tonight, (team name) will face its biggest defensive struggle of the season when it takes on the (appropriate ordinal number)-ranked defense from (name of school).
That little ploy could go on for hours.
“We try to the spread the ball around. There can be as many as 10 guys that touch the ball on any given game…I would imagine that it makes it hard for other teams to prepare for us, because there’s never one common denominator from week to week.”
That quote came from head coach Kyle Whittingham after Tuesday’s practice. It very well could have come from TCU head coach Gary Patterson.
Never have two more similarly matched teams met at Rice-Eccles Stadium with more on the line. Either team could have pitted its first-team offense against its first-team defense and been completely prepared for what it will see on the field from its opponent tonight.
“I think there are some similarities as far as the coverage goes, with what the TCU defense plays opposed to what our defense plays,” said U quarterback Brian Johnson. “You know, just overall similarities in speed in athleticism. It will be a battle and a great matchup.”
Utah and TCU do have their differences. Utah plays more of a power running game and utilizes four-receiver sets more frequently. TCU is better at the speed running game and hits the edge of its offensive line extremely well.
“They get a little more production in the run game than we do,” Whittingham said. “We’re a little more productive in the throw game, but there are a lot of similarities.”
With so many aspects of the game seeming to be equalized, at least on paper, coming up with a hypothesis on which team has the edge basically comes down to opinion.
One thing both teams are hoping is an X-factor, and it’s fitting that both teams have so many candidates to choose from on offense.
For the Utes, they have their go-to senior receiving corps in Bradon Godfrey, Freddie Brown and Brent Casteel. There’s also the two staples in the running game in Matt Asiata and Darrell Mack. If the Horned Frogs have been watching game tape, they’ll know what to expect from those guys.
From Utah’s defensive perspective, that group can count on zeroing in on receiver Jimmy Young and tailbacks Joseph Turner, Marcus Jackson and Ryan Christian.
Both team’s quarterbacks also have the ability to be dangerous both on the ground and in the air.
The surprise heroes of the game could come from offensive X-factors such as TCU’s Jeremey Kerley and Aaron Brown and Utah’s Jereme Brooks, Eddie Wide and change-up quarterback Corbin Louks.
“All those guys are capable of making big plays with the ball in their hands,” Johnson said. “Jereme Brooks’ production, you know, when he gets the ball is off the charts compared to a lot of players in the country8212;he’s a big-time play maker. So is Eddie Wide and Brent Casteel, so we have a ton of guys that are able to make big plays for us and we’ll get them all involved.”
Brooks isn’t a player who immediately jumps to the top of a team’s scouting report. That hasn’t stopped him from averaging 8.7 yards every time he touches the ball. Louks, who has handled the ball 25 times this season, has an identical average per touch.
Kerley and Chris Smith for TCU are equally as effective when they touch the ball for the Horned Frogs, averaging 6.3 and 6 yards per touch, respectively.
With so many weapons, it might seem hard for each quarterback to give all his options a chance to make an impact. Johnson, however, said he doesn’t care which of his weapons touches the ball.
“We all know that coverage dictates where the ball goes,” Johnson said. “I’m going to get it to the open guy and that guy is going to make a play.”
When asked if Utah had anything special planned for TCU, he smiled and said, “Come on man. We might have a couple of little somethings, but nothing out of the ordinary.”
One thing is for sure, something’s got to give when two extraordinarily good football teams clash tonight.