SALT LAKE CITY — And it all comes down to this.
Despite winning 10 games and spending weeks in the top eight of the College Football Playoff rankings, the Utah Utes need a victory over Colorado in the final week of the regular season just to win the Pac-12 South outright.
Simply put, if the Utes defeat the Buffaloes Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium, they’ll advance to the Pac-12 Championship Game against Oregon Dec. 6 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. If they don’t prevail, USC will take on the Ducks by virtue of a tiebreaker — a 30-23 decision over the Utes on Sept. 20.
“It speaks to the competitiveness of the league,” said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. “It has been a very good season so far, but we’re not losing focus. We’ve got more work ahead of us; we know that — and not just this game. That’s the only game we’re focusing on right now, but there’s things that we’ve got to take care of.”
Whittingham added that it speaks to the balance and depth of the Pac-12 that things have come down to the wire.
Utah has been in this position before. The Utes were upset at home by Colorado in 2011. The 17-14 setback cost them a trip to the conference title game because division champion USC was ineligible. UCLA, a team Utah defeated 31-6 two weeks earlier, went instead.
“We’ve got more work ahead of us; we know that — and not just this game. That’s the only game we’re focusing on right now, but there’s things that we’ve got to take care of.” — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham
In 2015, Utah needed a season-ending victory over Colorado to grab a share of the Pac-12 South crown with USC. The Utes topped the Buffaloes 20-14 but lost the tiebreaker with the Trojans thanks to a 42-24 loss in Los Angeles that October.
Last season, Utah avoided what would have been a losing tiebreaker with Arizona State by overpowering Colorado 30-7 in Boulder. The outcome locked up an outright division title for the Utes and sent them to their first Pac-12 championship appearance.
The Utes also faced must-win finales in the Fiesta and Sugar bowl championship seasons. They defeated BYU 52-21 in 2004 and 48-24 in 2008.
Whittingham noted that there’s “nothing different” in the approach, despite the heavy implications involved with ending seasons like this one on a positive note.
“I would say it’s the same as every week. There’s no change in preparation from week-to-week unless there’s a short week or a long week,” Whittingham said. “The time frame could alter things, but as far as a Saturday-to-Saturday contest, there really is no difference in the way we structure things, the way we prepare. Our mindset is all consistent, and I think that’s how you need to be. You need to be consistent.”
Otherwise, Whittingham explained, the players wonder why they’re doing something this week and not another week.
“Every game is an important game, and every game has the same value,” Whittingham said. “And so this game wouldn’t be as important if we had slipped up somewhere earlier, so every game is equally important.”
Both Utah (10-1, 7-1) and Colorado (5-6, 3-5) have things to achieve on Saturday. For the Utes, a trip to the Pac-12 finale and CFP rankings — released Tuesday, 5 p.m., on ESPN — are on the line. The Buffaloes need a win to become bowl eligible.
“We have to be ready to play just like always, and they are obviously motivated with bowl implications for them, and we have our own implications that we are dealing with,” Whittingham said. “Two motivated teams should be squaring off on late Saturday afternoon.”
UTES ON THE AIR
Colorado (5-6, 3-5) at No. 7 UTAH (10-1, 7-1)
Rice-Eccles Stadium
Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
TV: ABC, Ch. 4
Radio: ESPN 700AM