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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, November 7, 2008

Late touchdown lifts No. 10 Utah over No. 11 TCU, 13-10

Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY — The BCS Busters II are still alive.

Brian Johnson led No. 10 Utah to a thrilling comeback, marching the Utes 80 yards in the final minutes and completing a 9-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Brown with 48 seconds left in a 13-10 victory over No. 11 TCU last night.

The Utes remained unbeaten and in contention for a Bowl Championship Series berth despite getting outgained 416 yards to 275. Utah is 10-0 for just the second time in school history, matching the start of the original BCS Busters in 2004.

"We knew it was there for us," said Johnson, who was 7-of-9 for all 80 yards on the winning drive.

It was the second time this season Johnson has saved the Utes (10-0, 6-0 Mountain West) in the final minutes. He led Utah to an 11-point rally in the final 90 seconds of a 31-28 win over Oregon State on Oct. 2.

"I told the guys, 'Stay in it. We're going to have a chance to win it late,' " Johnson said.

The 45,666 fans were the second-largest crowd to see a game at Rice-Eccles Stadium, which was shaking as thousands jumped up and down when Johnson found Brown on a slant pattern for Utah's only touchdown of the game.

Robert Johnson intercepted a pass from Andy Dalton to seal it with five seconds to go.

TCU (9-2, 6-1) missed two field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter, either of which would have put the Frogs up by seven.

VIRGINIA TECH 23, NO. 23 MARYLAND 13

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Darren Evans ran for a school-record 253 yards and a touchdown as the Hokies (6-3, 3-2) beat the Terrapins (6-3, 3-2) to stay in the thick of a wide-open Atlantic Coast Conference race.

The Hokies ended a two-game losing streak and remained one of five teams in the ACC's Coastal Division with two conference losses. The Hokies, Virginia and North Carolina are a half-game behind Georgia Tech.

"We're tired of hearing about our offense not being good," Evans said. "We just had to show up tonight and that's what we did."

Maryland dropped into a tie for the Atlantic Division lead with Florida State and Wake Forest.