SALT LAKE CITY — Brian Johnson threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Brown with 47 seconds left to cap an 80-yard drive that kept No. 10 Utah’s BCS hopes alive with a 13-10 victory over No. 11 TCU on Thursday night.
The Utes remained unbeaten and in prime contention for a Bowl Championship Series berth despite getting outgained 416 yards to 275. Utah is 10-0 for just the second time in school history, matching the start of the Utes’ original BCS Busters in 2004.
“We knew it was there for us,” said Johnson, who was 7-of-9 for all 80 yards on the winning drive.
It was the second time this season Johnson has saved the Utes (10-0, 6-0 Mountain West) in the final minutes. He led Utah to an 11-point rally in the final 90 seconds of a 31-28 win over Oregon State on Oct. 2.
“I told the guys: ‘Stay in it. We’re going to have a chance to win it late,’ ” Johnson said.
Robert Johnson intercepted a pass from Andy Dalton to seal it with five seconds to go and after Johnson took a knee, the Utes were swarmed as the fans rushed the field.
“This was just magical,” said defensive end Paul Kruger, who had one of two third-down sacks that knocked the Horned Frogs (9-2, 6-1) out of field-goal range.
TCU missed two field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter, either of which would have put the Frogs up by seven. 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,” TCU coach Gary 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.
“It’s like he has no pulse. He just stays calm in those situations,” Johnson said of Brown.
