Utah-TCU: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

And was it ever ugly as the Utes are punished by the Horned Frogs...

The Good

Sean Sellwood
For the first time all year, Sellwood was called on for extensive duty and didn’t disappoint including a 67 yarder that pinned TCU at their 7 yard line in the first quarter.

DeVonte Christopher
6 catches for 73 yards and the only consistent threat for the Utes the whole game. He would have had 10+ catches if Jordan Wynn had any sort of accuracy. May have replaced Jereme Brooks as the best receiver on the team.

The Bad

The Running Game
Not that they had a lot of chances with the Utes forced to throw, but the running game couldn’t get going with only 51 yards on 17 carries. 24 of those yards came on two carries.

The Receivers (other than DeVonte)
The receiving group outside of DeVonte Christopher combined for 18 yards on 3 catches. Jereme Brooks disappeared after the first quarter. Shaky Smithson had only one catch. Luke Matthews, Dexter Ranson, Fatu Moala, Griff McNabb, and Reggie Dunn combined for ZERO catches.

The Offensive Line
We all knew that TCU had a very strong defensive line coming in, but did anyone think they’d manhandle the Utes O-line like they did? Utah couldn’t run the ball at all, and Jordan Wynn was constantly under pressure from only four man rushes. Huge surprise.

The Ugly

Jordan Wynn
16 of 35 for 148 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs, but it was much worse than that. Wynn looked scared out there, and panicked when he faced a decent pass rush for the first time all year. He was overthrowing receivers, making bad reads, and was overmatched.

The Pass Defense
Andy Dalton really had a field day as the corners and safeties couldn’t cover, tackle, or catch their breath. The TCU receivers were very fast, but this was ridiculous. How many times was TCU going to turn a wide receiver screen into a 12 yard gain? 22 of 27 for 381 yards out of TCU through the air is unacceptable.

The Defensive Line
By far their worst performance to date. Dalton had all day to throw and the running backs were able to be patient and pick their spots. TCU was bigger, stronger, more physical, and out-schemed the Utes. There were few plays where a single defensive lineman on Utah beat his opposing lineman.

The Coaching
Unprepared, outworked, and out-schemed. The Utes were not ready to play in this game and that is on the coaches. The play calling, especially defensively, was very poor.