When you complete the greatest season in school history, you’re guaranteed to have some memories that stand out, and in 2008 the Utah football team had no shortage of special moments.
All the last-minute Brian Johnson touchdown passes, the Louie Sakoda field goals with time expiring, the five interceptions and one forced fumble from Max Hall, the three straight scoring drives against Alabama, the eight sacks and the clinching final forced fumble of Alabama’s John Parker Wilson have given Ute fans enough mental bliss to keep them satisfied through head coach Kyle Whittingham’s new contract extension.
But there was one Utah play that was the best8212;and by best I mean the single most crucial conversion under the direst of circumstances8212;the play that kept the perfect season intact, set the tone and defined the entire season.
In my humble opinion, the linchpin of Utah’s incredible run toward its championship-worthy season didn’t result in six, or even three points. It wasn’t a turnover, a sack or a brutal hit by Paul Kruger or linebackers Stevenson Sylvester and Nai Fotu. It was a simple 11-yard play on a fourth down that all hinged on trust and execution.
Up until the final three minutes of Utah’s blackout game against TCU on Nov. 6, Utah’s offense had gained a total of 195 yards against arguably the best defense in the country. The defense had done everything it could, and even benefitted from lottery-winner luck when Ross Evans missed two makeable field goals late in the fourth quarter to keep Utah’s offense within striking range. With less than three minutes to play in the game, it was do-or-die for Utah and its Bowl Championship Series hopes.
It started small. A 5-yard dump to Brent Casteel here and a 7-yard pickup by Freddie Brown there and Utah picked up only its 13th first down of the night. Utah’s momentum then picked up with a 22-yard gain by Casteel followed by a yellow flag good for 15 yards because of pass interference against the TCU defense. Utah held the ball on TCU’s 31-yard line, and then seemed to stall.
Brian Johnson threw an incomplete pass to Darrell Mack. Second-and-10. A 5-yard pickup by Bradon Godfrey made it third-and-5. An incomplete pass to Casteel set up fourth-and-5.
Utah wouldn’t be getting another chance. Were two improbable comebacks really in the cards after the Utes had already cheated death against Oregon State? The undefeated, BCS-busting season hung on a weak thread, and it looked like it would snap until the very millisecond that Freddie Brown put his hands around a fourth-down pass reception.
Johnson snapped the ball and immediately went into instinct mode. He barely looked at how close TCU’s Tejay Johnson was shadowing the Utah quarterback’s emerging go-to target. By the time Johnson had launched the pass in Brown’s direction, No. 88 hadn’t even looked back at the ball. In fact, he was still sprinting up the field with seemingly no clue that the ball was just 3 yards behind him. At the very last moment, Brown broke off his route, stopped on a dime, rolled back and caught a season-saving pass without having seen the ball once before it was securely between his gray Under Armor receiving gloves.
I’ll never forget the horror I felt when I saw Johnson launch football’s version of the no-look pass. The precision and timing made Rolex jealous and sent fans into a nervous pandemonium. Brown eventually went on to catch the game-winning touchdown on a shallow slant route, but no catch or play was bigger than the critical one he caught on fourth down with the BCS champagne glasses balancing on his slender yet spry shoulders.