Murphy: Utes' comeback win a big blow to Broncos' BCS hopes

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah had the slimmest path to victory you could imagine.Needing to go 80 yards in less than three minutes against the nation's second-stingiest defense to keep its Bowl Championship Series hopes alive, Utah found a way behind quarterback Brian Johnson.

Now it is Boise State's BCS hopes that hang by a thread.

The Utes' dramatic come-from-behind 13-10 victory against TCU at a frenzied Rice-Eccles Stadium means the undefeated Broncos are a whole lot closer to being left out of one of college football's five biggest bowls.

And to think that for 57 minutes Thursday night, the game couldn't have gone any better for a Boise State fan.

Utah, ranked No. 8 in the BCS standings, was on the ropes, its offense staggering and trailing from the first minutes on. TCU, ranked No. 12 in the BCS standings, was winning, but it wasn't impressive enough to envision the Horned Frogs jumping the Broncos.

It was an ideal scenario for Bronco fans, coaches and players.

Then it was gone. Poof.

The Broncos' dream scenario collapsed under the weight of two short missed field goals by TCU freshman kicker Ross Evans (now officially an expletive in Boise) and another comeback by Johnson, who as a true freshman in 2004 played a few snaps in the Utes' Fiesta Bowl victory against Pittsburgh.

Thursday night he pushed his Utes one step closer to earning another BCS spot, the one the Broncos covet.

Johnson completed 7-of-9 passes for 65 yards, including an 11-yard pass on fourth-and-5 and a 9-yard scoring strike with 48 seconds left, in popping TCU's dreams.

Johnson is making this a habit. He led the Utes to 10 points in the final 2 minutes, 11 seconds against Oregon State, a game the Utes won 31-28.

"This team has a blue-collar attitude and we were able to grind it out as a team and get the win," said Johnson, who finished 24-of-39 for 230 yards. "We have been poised all season long and that last drive was no exception. We knew we could execute and come out on top."

It is because of those two come-from-behind victories that Utah (10-0) is ranked ahead of Boise State, which is 8-0 and No. 10 in the BCS standings.

Well, those two wins and the superiority of the Mountain West Conference this year. That the league has three teams ranked in the top 15 of the BCS standings is surely helping Utah.

Only the highest-ranked team from a non-BCS conference is guaranteed a spot in the BCS, provided it is ranked in the top 12, which both Utah and Boise State would be if they won out. A second non-BCS team likely would be eligible to be picked as an at-large.

But no one should hold their breath waiting for that to happen, unless they plan on being as blue as the Bronco Stadium turf.

It seems nothing the Broncos do between now and the end of the season is going to push them past the Utes without some help from San Diego State or, more likely, BYU.

Utah visits San Diego State next week and hosts archrival BYU, 8-1 and No. 15 in the BCS, on Nov. 22. Bronco Nation will be cheering for the Cougars - perhaps for the first time - in that tilt.

"They won and they still got another ranked team in BYU in two weeks, so I would say yes, they are (the most deserving non-BCS team)," TCU coach Gary Patterson said. "The other team that's ranked high is Boise and they don't have anybody really left on their schedule that will make a difference."

Patterson's analysis is spot on. Boise State's opponents - Utah State, Idaho, Nevada and Fresno State - are a combined 13-22. So they won't be much help. Just one (Fresno State) has a winning record and that might not be the case when the Broncos host the Bulldogs on Nov. 28.

By then, Boise State will know its fate.

Unfortunately for the Broncos, it might have been sealed by a three-minute stretch Thursday night in a game they were watching on television.

Brian Murphy: 377-6444