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 nine-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Brown with 48 seconds left in a 13-10 victory against No. 11 TCU on Thursday 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 victory 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, and after Johnson took a knee, the Utes were swarmed as the fans rushed the field.

“This was just magical,” said defensive end Paul Kruger, who had one of two third-down sacks that knocked the Horned Frogs (9-2, 6-1) out of field-goal range.

TCU missed two field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter, either of which would have put the Frogs up by seven.

Ross Evans bounced one kick off the left upright, then with 2:48 left he was wide-right on a 35-yard attempt. Utah got the ball back on the 20, and Johnson led the Utes from there.

“We missed two field goals. It was just one of those things,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said.

TCU gave Utah 15 yards with a pass-interference penalty, but still nearly had the drive stopped as Utah faced a fourth-and-five. Johnson converted it with an 11-yard pass to Brown to the Frogs’ 15, then two plays later, Johnson found Brown again for the winning score.

Virginia Tech 23, No. 23 Maryland 13

Blacksburg, Va. – Darren Evans ran for a school-record 253 yards and a touchdown, and Virginia Tech continued its Thursday night mastery, beating Maryland to stay in the thick of a wide-open Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Hokies (6-3, 3-2) improved to 15-3 on Thursday night and ended a two-game losing streak while remaining 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.

Maryland (6-3, 3-2) came into the game as the only ACC team with one league loss, but dropped into a tie for the Atlantic Division lead with Florida State and Wake Forest.

Evans, who ripped off runs of 50 and 45 yards, had 32 carries and broke the record of 243 yards set by Mike Imoh in 2004.

His effort was a much-needed breakout for an offense that has struggled all season.