College Football Predictions – #3 TCU To Beat #5 Utah

One college football prediction is a guarantee this weekend: either the TCU Horned Frogs or the Utah Utes will see their slim BCS Championship hopes dashed in the coming weekend. But which team will it be? The biggest matchup in the MWC schedule is perhaps the most difficult game to grade on the board, especially with the both teams boasting two of the best defenses in the country.

TCU holds the edge in terms of defense, since they only give up 8.7 points per game as the top-ranked point stoppers in the league. They’ve posted two shutouts, and allowed only 3-of-9 opponents to reach double-digits in their last 9 games. If Utah stands any chance of matching up against TCU, they have to get on the board early.

That’s much easier said than done. Not only does TCU suffocate offenses to death, they also boast one of the country’s best rushing game. It was a simple college football prediction this year that the Horned Frogs would have one of the best rushing games across the land. TCU has averaged 269.7 yards per game away from home this season, ranking them 7th in road rushing.

[Off topic: by the way, do you want to get a 55% bonus on your first deposit here at BetOnline? If so JOIN NOW.]

The clock will be Utah second-biggest enemy this weekend.

#3 TCU Horned Frogs (9-0) vs. #5 Utah Utes (8-0)

Saturday, November 6th — Rice-Eccles Stadium — 3:30pm EST

College Football Line: TCU -4.5 (51.0)

Not to be outdone is Utah’s stiff rushing defense, which has given up just 76.5 yards when at home this season. The Utes have also given up just 14.1 points against defensively, making them the 6th best defense in the country. Of course, the thrill of playing at home in a definitive matchup that could very well send them further in to BCS territory is a huge pressure cooker for them.

In terms of offense, both teams have done a great job of thrashing the MWC to inflate their rankings. TCU sits at 9th with 40.8 points per game and the balanced attack of Utah has averaged a whopping 45.3 points per game, putting them 3rd overall in the country.

I can’t emphasize how hard this college football prediction is to make. The trends do me no favors, especially because I consider TCU to be one of the better teams around right now on both sides of the ball. They may be 5-0 SU in their last 5 roadies, but they’re also just 2-4 ATS in their past 6 against Utah. They’ve also won just 2-of-7 when playing the Utes.

Utah is a stalwart at home. Undefeated in their past 5 games at Rice-Eccles Stadium, as well as 5-0-1 ATS in their past 6 home games, and been a consistent pick in college football predictions when playing in their own house.

My biggest issue with Utah, however, is that I don’t think they can stop the TCU Horned Frogs on the ground. Utah is designed as a speed defense, with gang tackles galore forming the brunt of their defensive stops. TCU is exceptional at picking up blocks and taking would-be tacklers out of the equation.

And while Utah will try to keep TCU’s defense off balance, they’ve also had some vulnerabilities in protecting quarterback Jordan Wynn. TCU has a huge defensive line, and at just 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, Wynn will have trouble seeing his receivers as TCU haunts him all day long.

As much as I’m touting the TCU Horned Frogs in this game, I can’t ignore that this is a very hard college football prediction to make. Air Force was able to almost run Utah out of the top-10 in the BCS Standings, and TCU is a much more complete team.

TCU can devour time on the clock and rely on a stout passing defense to take Wynn out of the game as they barely cover this line (I have TCU -6.0 in my projections) in a brutal slug fest that won’t be as high scoring as other college football predictions are making it out to be.

Furious College Football Prediction: TCU -4.5 (UNDER)