Utah Utes football: U. and TCU field outstanding defenses

Saturday's game in Fort Worth will pit two of the top defenses in the Mountain West Conference. Both TCU and Utah rank among the leaders in passing defense, rushing defense, scoring defense and total defense.

The Horned Frogs, however, are in the top seven nationally in each category. There's clearly something special about them.

"I think that TCU has one of the best defenses that I've gone against in my coaching career. I think Utah has the next best defense in the conference," said UNLV coach Mike Sanford. "But I think TCU is clearly the best defense in our conference and one of the best I've ever gone against in my career."

Led by All-American defensive lineman Jerry Hughes, the Horned Frogs are hopping around with great efficiency.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said they "have one of the best — if not the best — defenses in the nation."

In turn, TCU coach Gary Patterson expressed his respect for Utah's defense. He compared the Utes to Clemson.

"They are both big, physical, very fast and aggressive. They will come at you," he said. "They're not going to give you anything. You have to go take it. They're going to come at you like every other Kyle Whittingham defense that I have had to face."

Utah enters the game ranked third in the MWC in passing, rushing, scoring and total defense.

"They're both outstanding," Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said of the battle between highly touted defenses. "They're physical. They're fast. They're older. They're well-prepared.

"They were last year and they are again this year," he added.

UNDERDOGS: Whittingham acknowledged that some of his players have taken note that the Utes are a decided underdog at TCU.

"That was a topic of discussion (on Monday)," he said during this week's MWC teleconference. "Once the ball is in the air on Saturday, all the hype and discussion ... that really goes out the window."

"It's good to be underdogs," said running back Sausan Shakerin. "We were underdogs against Alabama."

EXTRA POINTS: A sellout crowd of 44,358 is expected at Amon G. Carter Stadium. ... Fans are invited to watch the game on a big-screen television at Scaddy's restaurant (1846 S. 300 West) in Salt Lake. Attendees are encouraged to RSVP at Utefans.net.

e-mail: dirk@desnews.com