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Show Thursday, November 6, 2008 DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 10 TCU continued from Page 1 running back, leads the nation in sacks (14), tackles for loss (17) and forced fumbles (5). "(Hughes) is a game changer and we have to account for him," Whittingham said. "We have to devise a plan to handle him." Offensively, Utah has not been able to hit fifth gear all season. Aside from the notable 49-16 victory over Colorado State, the Utes have yet to channel the immensity of weapons and talent on offense into pure success. How will the Utes handle potentially the best defense in the nation? "I think you just gotta run right at them," Johnson said. "It's just going to be a battle of who wants it more." The Utes and Horned Frogs are on a quick turnaround for Thursday's game. Last week, TCU was on the road at UNLV while Utah played at New Mexico. However, Utah does have one advantage in that it gets to return to its friendly confines. "Being at home is a huge advantage for us whether we are in a short week or not," Whittingham said. "We have a great fan base and it will be standing room only. That place will be packed." The TCU offense, though less notable than the defense, is still stellar and as talented as any in the Mountain West Conference. Averaging 36.6 points per game and well over 400 yards of total offense, the impressive Utah defense will have its hands full Thursday night as well. "Their offense looks pretty good," Johnson said. "Their offense plays against their defense and their defense is No. 1 right now. We just have to be to where we can show we can be the No. 1 defense." This will be the first ranked team the Utes have faced all season. This will be TCU's third after the team took on former No. 1 Oklahoma and former No. 9 BYU. There has not been a game this season outside of the Big 12 or SEC with so many BCS implications. "Everything is on the line every week of the season," Whittingham said. The words of Utah's coach continue to echo the team's motto this season, but the "Blackout" brings a heightened sense of anticipation. While a blackout is described in the dictionary as "a temporary loss of consciousness," Utah fans can only hope the frigid, black-themed night induces the Horned Frogs into a deep sleep of calamity. c.kamrani@ chronicle.utah.edu Ronchetti said thanks to the MUSS, since the "Blackout" is becoming a reality and a successful, exciting one at that. "We worked very closely with the MUSS," Ronchetti said. "We cannot make Utah football successful without the MUSS." The marketing department has made black rally towels that will be handed out to the first 35,000 fans to show up to Rice-Eccles Stadium. As for whether the Ute players themselves will storm onto the field sheathed in black, Ronchetti said, "I think everyone needs to come to the game to see what they're wearing." c.kamrani@ chronicle.utah.edu LINEUPS ->•'&OFFENSE '& QUARTERBACK | 4 And i : V ' DustinHensel RIGHTTACKLE Nic Richmond Robert Conley RIGHT GUARD Giles Montgomery Brian Johnson 3 continued from Page 2 theme. Yesterday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., members of the board stood at the intersection of Wakara Way and Foothill Boulevard holding a large sign saying, "Wear Black Tomorrow!" continued from Page 2 and Utah's Jereme Brooks, Eddie Wide and change-up quarterback Corbin Louies. "All those guys are capable of making big plays with the ball in their hands," Johnson said. "Jereme Brooks' production, you know, when he gets the ball is off the charts compared to a lot of players in the country— he's a big-time play maker. So is Eddie Wide and Brent Casteel, so we have a ton of guys that are able to make big plays for us and we'll get them all involved." Brooks isn't a player who immediately jumps to the top of a team's scouting report. That hasn't stopped him from averaging 8.7 yards every time he touches the ball. Louks, who has handled the ball 25 times this season, has an identical average per touch. Kerley and Chris Smith for TCU are equally as effective when they touch the ball for the Horned Frogs, averaging 6.3 and 6 yards per touch, respectively. With so many weapons, it might seem hard for each quarterback to give all his options a chance to make an im- pact. Johnson, however, said he doesn't care which of his weapons touches the ball. "We all know that coverage dictates where the ball goes," Johnson said. "I'm going to get it to the open guy and that guy is going to make a play." When asked if Utah had anything special planned for TCU, he smiled and said, "Come on man. We might have a couple of little somethings, but nothing out of the ordinary." One thing is for sure, something's got to give when two extraordinarily good football teams clash tonight. t.pizza@chronicle.utah.edu " Caleb Schlauderhoff i LT3 Zane Beadles d i l l ! Matt Asiata I 7 2 Kyle Dooley LEFTTACKLE. 7 ( 1 Marshall I Darrell Mack ;£! RUNNING BACK IQ.Ryan.Christta'h Bradon Godfrey 8 1 WIDE RECEIVER 8 8 Jimmy Young I-. - , ' • ' . > • ' v LEFT GUARD <% RUNNING BACK 2 ^ 1 . Joseph Turner Freddie Brown ;, Blake Schlueterttfj v CENTER •• . WIDE RECEIVER I Walter Bryant WIDE RECEIVER \% Jeremy Kerley ; >•-• • Colt Sampson TIGHT END (S Shae R e a g a n ^ ^ V ^ DEFENSE Jerry Hughes DEFENSIVE END •it James Vess X-FACTOR Dalto •-•••? Zane Taylor Brent Casteel BLACKOUT y DEFENSIVE TACKLE Cody Moore DEFENSIVE TACKLE. MattPanfil DEFENSIVE END. t • 41N a^mMM iF6tu 42 • < Robert Henson OUTSIDE LINEBACKER Jason Phillips MIDDLE LINEBACKER Mike Wright ^ ^ OUTSIDE LINEBACKER \\J Stevenson Sylvester Daryl Washington - • • * - • > " . . 3 Q Derrick Shelby Rafael Priest CORNERBACK Steve Coleman FREE SAFETY Robert Johnson Steven Hodge STRONG SAFETY JoeDaie. ,, ; . Nick Sanders %fO CORNERBACK Brice McCain TCU Blackout 2008 <s ;SLP(FP FREE fiddlerselbowslc.com • 8O1.463-9393 • IO63 E 21OO S • saltlakepizzaandpasta.com • 484.1804 |
