Texas Christian Horned Frogs vs. Utah Utes Pick & Prediction OCTOBER 19th 2024

Preview and Prediction

Star quarterback Cameron Rising has faced more misfortune, and the Utes' season is on the brink of decline.

Isaac Wilson will now take the reins for the foreseeable future as Utah looks to break a two-game losing streak on Saturday night against TCU in Big 12 action in Salt Lake City.

Rising suffered a season-ending injury to his lower right leg in last week's 27-19 loss to Arizona State. His absence comes at a time when the Utes (4-2, 1-2) have slim chances of making it to the postseason playoffs.

According to Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, his team must be resilient and willing to overcome adversity. He also noted that the Utes are not accustomed to losing two consecutive games.

Rising missed the entire previous season due to a major knee injury sustained in the 2023 Rose Bowl. This year, the seventh-year player sat out three games with a hand injury before going down against the Sun Devils.

"During his time at Utah, Cam has been a standout player and leader for our program, and his absence will certainly be felt," Whittingham said.

Wilson has thrown for 830 yards and six touchdowns this season. However, the freshman has also been picked off seven times and has only completed 55.7 percent of his passes.

Running back Micah Bernard is coming off a 129-yard rushing performance, his fourth 100-yard game of the season. Bernard currently has 676 yards and an impressive 6.6 yards per carry average.

TCU (3-3, 1-2) is coming off a bye week. In their last game two weeks ago, they fell 30-19 to Houston, a team that had been shut out in their previous two games.

Head coach Sonny Dykes said his team focused on the basics during their break.

"We really emphasized fundamentals," Dykes said on Tuesday. "Playing with a lower stance, taking care of the ball, and tackling better. We had plenty of opportunities last week to work on these things, and I thought we had some great practices and made improvements."

TCU boasts a top receiver in Jack Bech, who is tied for fifth in the nation with 702 receiving yards and has seven touchdowns on 39 receptions.

Bech has recorded four 100-yard games this season, including a 200-yard performance against UCF on September 14th.

Quarterback Josh Hoover has completed 68.6 percent of his passes for 2,007 yards and 16 touchdowns, ranking fifth in the nation in passing yards.

Utah currently leads the series 5-3. The two teams have previously faced off in the Western Athletic and Mountain West conferences.

PREDICTION

Texas Christian Horned Frogs

Utah Utes