Utah game day

UTAH (4-3, 1-2) at TCU (4-3, 1-2)
Sunny and warm during the day and clear at night.
Today, 6 p.m. — Amon G. Carter Stadium (44,008/grass) — Fort Worth, Texas
TV: Versus (DirecTV Ch. 603, Dish Network Ch. 151, Comcast Ch. 34)
Radio: 700AM

PLAYER TO WATCH

CHASE ORTIZ, TCU: The senior defensive end leads the Mountain West Conference in sacks (0.71 per game) and tackles-for-loss (1.50 per game). Ortiz is a two-time, first-team all-conference honoree.

KEY MATCHUP

UTAH'S OFFENSE vs. TCU'S DEFENSE: The Utes may need to put plenty of points on the board to hop past the Horned Frogs. TCU has won 53 consecutive games when holding opponents to 17 points or less.

THE STAKES

For Utah ... The Utes are seeking their fourth consecutive victory — the longest in Kyle Whittingham's tenure as head coach. A win would also even Utah's conference record at 2-2 with four games.

For TCU ... The Horned Frogs are also trying to keep their conference hopes alive. A victory would put them at .500 in league play at the midway point. Another loss could be too much to overcome.

THE TRENDS

For Utah ... The Utes have dominated the ground game in their four wins this season. They've outrushed the opposition by an average of 202-71 yards per game. Tailback Darrell Mack has topped 100 yards in each outing.

For TCU ... The Horned Frogs are 37-5 at Amon G. Carter Stadium since 2000. Six of the past 11 teams to visit Fort Worth have failed to score a touchdown.

THE EDGE

Utah will win if ... the Utes can maintain the consistency they've built in recent weeks. Offense, defense and special teams have got to stay on the same page for the injury riddled program to continue its win streak.

TCU will win if ... the Horned Frogs can jump out to an early lead. They've outscored the competition 287-54 over the first half of their last 15 outings.

SCHEDULE

Date . . . . Opponent . . . . Result/Time (TV)

Aug. 30 . . . . at Oregon St. . . . . L, 24-7
Sept. 8 . . . . Air Force . . . . L, 20-12
Sept. 15 . . . . UCLA . . . . W, 44-6
Sept. 22 . . . . at UNLV . . . . L, 27-0
Sept. 29 . . . . Utah St. . . . . W, 34-18
Oct. 5 . . . . at Louisville . . . . W, 44-35
Oct. 13 . . . . San Diego St. . . . . W, 23-7
Oct. 18 . . . . at TCU . . . . 6 p.m. (VS)
Oct. 27 . . . . at Colorado St. . . . . 3:30 p.m. (MTN)
Nov. 10 . . . . Wyoming . . . . 1:30 p.m. (CSTV)
Nov. 17 . . . . New Mexico . . . . 3:30 p.m. (MTN)
Nov. 24 . . . . at BYU . . . . Noon (CSTV/MTN)

All times Mountain

NEXT UP: Winless Colorado State (0-6, 0-3) is on the road at UNLV on Saturday.

UTAH

OFFENSE

WR . . . . DERREK RICHARDS, SR. . . . . 26
. . . . Freddie Brown, Jr. . . . . 88
WR . . . . MARQUIS WILSON, JR. . . . . 2
. . . . Jereme Brooks, Fr. . . . . 85