Hope is Alive as Savion Surges.  

With a tremendous defensive showing, the Horned Frogs held on for a 13-7 road win over Utah to improve to 4-3. 

“That’s one of the best defensive performances I’ve ever seen,” said sophomore signal-caller Josh Hoover after the game. “They played hard tonight and set the tone. Offensively, we scored some points but should have been a little bit better in the red zone.”  

Two games back of conference leaders BYU and Iowa State — both nearly upset last week — with five Big 12 contests still to go, the Frogs could make things interesting heading into November if they make it two in a row with a victory against Texas Tech on Saturday.  

Here are five takeaways from TCU’s Week 8 win as we look ahead to the all-important weekend matchup at Amon G. Carter Stadium. 

Savion Williams (left) celebrates his second touchdown catch from TCU’s Sept. 14 home game against UCF. Photo by Percise Windom

Savion’s Stellar Rushing Night 

Facing a 4th and 1 near midfield, with 2:17 to go in the fourth quarter and the game in the balance, offensive coordinator Kendal Briles called Savion Williams’ number — not for a quick slant or a go route, but for a 2-yard run that sliced through the left side of Utah’s defensive front.  

With the Utes out of timeouts, the run sealed TCU’s second Big 12 win. 

The game-clincher counted for the fifth-year senior receiver’s seventh rush of the night. He finished with a game-high 72 yards on the ground.  

He may have posted only 27 receiving yards, but Williams’ five catches were also a team high. 

“Savion running the football for us was huge tonight,” said head coach Sonny Dykes in his postgame press conference. “To be able to get that fourth down — I thought he was a big part of winning this football game. … He ran the ball well in critical situations when we needed him to.” 

The star wideout’s 12 touches equaled a career high.  

Williams’ other 12-touch games? Last November’s home tilt against Texas, in which he recorded 11 receptions and one carry, and TCU’s season-opening 34-27 win over Stanford in August. 

The Frogs need to get the ball in Williams’ hands early and often in a crucial Big 12 clash with the Red Raiders on Saturday afternoon. That may include getting him more carries. 

Williams has averaged 7.0 yards per rush on 21 carries for his career and 8.4 yards per attempt on 10 rushes this season, compared to 3.9 yards per tote for the team’s running back committee. 

Sophomore safety Jamel Johnson (left) logged his second career tackle for loss in last Saturday’s win. Photo by Percise Windom

Frog Defense Dominates

The defense held Utah to 2-for-15 on third down, 0-for-2 on fourth, 68 rushing yards, and, most importantly, seven points, by far the fewest TCU has allowed against an FBS opponent this season. 

“It’s the best we’ve played on defense. I thought Andy [Avalos] and the defensive staff had a great game plan,” Dykes said. “We had to sell out to stop the run, and that’s what we did.”  

Linebacker Devean Deal, starting in place of the injured Cooper McDonald, notched a pair of sacks to push his total to 2.5 for the year. 

Fellow linebackers Kaleb Elarms-Orr and Marcel Brooks added first-half sacks, and safety Bud Clark collected his first interception of 2024. 

Despite its loss to Baylor in Lubbock, Texas Tech remains potent on offense, with 28-plus points scored in all but one game this season. Even still, a repeat of TCU’s defensive performance would put the Frogs in prime position for their first consecutive conference wins since November 19 and 26, 2022. 

Trent Battle (No. 17) more than doubled his previous career high with 45 rushing yards last Saturday night. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

Prepare for Battle

Trent Battle was impactful in his second appearance of the season. The junior running back had been hurt much of the year and only made his season debut two and a half weeks ago, fielding four snaps against Houston.  

“Watching those guys from the sidelines for six weeks hurt … you want to be out there with your guys, and you see that they’re fighting,” said Battle after his Week 8 breakout. “It was tough. It meant a lot to go out tonight and be able to contribute.”  

Battle’s eight carries were second on the team to Cam Cook’s nine, while his 45 rushing yards were second to Williams. He added two catches for 19 yards. 

TCU has been struggling to find consistent production from the position, its rush offense ranking 123rd out of 134 FBS teams now past the midpoint of the regular season. 

Different backs have inspired hope throughout the year — Cook with his three-TD effort versus Long Island University in Week 2, Jeremy Payne with his 75-yard day against the Jayhawks at Arrowhead Stadium. Battle, too, can earn significant playing time down the stretch if he continues to average more than five yards per carry as he did against the Utes.

Ex-Baylor Bear Drake Dabney had a season-best receiving night in Salt Lake City. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

Tight End Turnaround

Drake Dabney, who holds the Baylor single-season program record for tight end receiving yards (552), had six catches for 29 yards in his first six games as a Horned Frog.

He pulled in three passes against Utah, finishing fourth on the team with 39 receiving yards behind Eric McAlister (57), JP Richardson (53) and Jack Bech (46).

Getting Dabney more involved could help the Frogs — already equipped with dynamic wide receivers — take another step offensively. 

The 6-foot-5 senior, who had five TDs in 12 games at Baylor last season, provides yet another veteran target for an offense that ranks in the nation’s top 25 with 3.7 red-zone scores per game.

Snapper Brent Matiscik downed a punt at Utah’s 2-yard line in the fourth quarter of last Saturday’s win. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

Special Teams Step Up

After forcing a three-and-out on Utah’s opening offensive drive, TCU linebacker Shad Banks Jr. blocked a punt to land the Frogs in the red zone.  

Though he drew a running into the kicker penalty, fellow linebacker Hudson Hooper dove within a hair of blocking another in the third quarter.   

Punter Ethan Craw had an excellent outing, booting five punts inside the 20-yard line to equal his total from the previous six games. He also conceded just a single return, which went for minus-7 yards.  

First-year kicker Kyle Lemmermann, meanwhile, knocked down his seventh and eighth field goals of the season while converting his only point-after attempt.  

Special teams success may very well play a role in a TCU-Texas Tech head-to-head that’s seen the winning team prevail by one possession in five of the last nine meetings. 

 — Corey Smith