TCU's visit to Utah Saturday may be the heavyweight showdown of the day – according to the polls, it may be the showdown of the year – but it also has one of the toughest battles for eyeballs on the obscure CBS College network, opposite the weekly SEC showcase between Alabama and LSU on the regular CBS. Before you settle in for the Tigers and Tide, though, consider a few reasons to check your local listings for the big one in Salt Lake City:• Welcome your new Mountain West overlords. TCU is No. 3 in the latest BCS standings, Utah No. 5, making this the first collision of two top-five teams in any poll this season, and one that carries as much long-term BCS and national championship weight as any game save maybe the upcoming Iron Bowl. TCU is blowing out teams by 32 points per game and hasn't won by less than 17 since the opening day win over Oregon State; Utah's winning by 31 per. The winner will have cleared its last significant hurdle to 12-0 and (especially if it's TCU) may be as close as an Oregon loss from playing for the BCS title.
So, you know, these are two teams you might want to familiarize yourself with.
• Immovable object... TCU is always phenomenal on defense – the Frogs lead the nation in total D again after finishing No. 1 in 2008 and 2009 and No. 2 in 2006 – but even by the prevailing standards, the last month was a bloodbath for opposing offenses. The Frogs yielded all of 16 points in five games in October, recording back-to-back shutouts over Colorado State and Wyoming to open the month before moving on to back-to-back-to-back blowouts in which BYU, Air Force and UNLV managed 3, 7 and 6 points, respectively.
For the season, TCU has held seven of nine opponents, including Oregon State and the top-10 attack from Baylor, to their season low in yards and points. At 8.7 points per game allowed, the Frogs have moved in front of the killer 2008 USC defense that sent nine starters to the draft as the best single-season scoring D since 2000.
• ...meet irresistible force. The Utes' third-ranked scoring offense has exploded for at least 56 points in four different games, most notably in a 68-27 massacre at Iowa State on Oct. 9 – two weeks before the Cyclones thoroughly outplayed Texas in Austin. Quarterback Jordan Wynn is the highest-rated and least-sacked passer in the conference.
• Shaky Smithson. And friends:
Besides assuming custody of his teenage brother and sincerely preferring the nickname "Shaky," Señor Smithson leads the nation in punt return average with a pair of runbacks for touchdowns. He'll join TCU receiver/return man Jeremy Kerley for a duel of the Mountain West's two most electric playmakers.
• Because you can. The New York Times is calling this the best game no one will see, which is the same thing I said earlier this week. But CBS College is offering a free preview through Saturday for Time Warner, Charter Communications and Dish Network customers that will put the game in 60 million households nationwide. If you don't get it, someone you know (or a local bar) probably does. It's out there, and it should be worth the effort to find.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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