Utah Utes football: Black magic

So much for 10th-ranked Utah's "blackout."

After a dramatic 13-10 come-from-behind win over No. 11 TCU, things brightened up considerably at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Fans, most dressed in black, stormed the field as the Utes improved to 10-0 and took sole possession of the Mountain West Conference lead.

And then there's the whole Bowl Championship Series thing. Utah is closing in on its second invitation in four years.

"We've still got two football games to go," quarterback Brian Johnson said after engineering a late, game-winning two-minute drive.

"This is nice to be 10-0, obviously, but I think the thing that we have to realize is there's a lot of work left to be done. It starts with beating San Diego State next week."

Johnson completed 7-of-9 passes in a final drive that lifted the Utes to victory Thursday night. A 9-yard scoring strike to Freddie Brown with 48 seconds remaining proved to be the difference.

It capped a drive that started with 2:48 remaining after TCU kicker Ross Evans missed the second of two field-goal attempts he had in the final 5:49. The freshman hit the left upright on a 26-yard kick three minutes before going wide right on a 36-yard try.

The latter gave Utah the ball and time to do something with it.

"We were very confident," Johnson said. "There was no panic when we got the ball back with a chance now to win it."

Even so, the Utes needed to convert on fourth down once along the way. They did so when Johnson teamed with Brown on a 15-yard reception with 1:24 to go.

Two plays later, the duo hooked up on the only touchdown Utah needed.

"You have to give Utah credit. They found a way to win the ball game," said TCU coach Gary Patterson. "Not taking anything away from Utah, (but) we missed two field goals and it's just one of those things. Utah plays well as a unit. They have guys who make plays."

While Johnson headlined the effort with his second successful two-minute drive for victory this season (Oregon State was the other), the Utes benefited from several key contributions.