Utah (4-5, 1-5) at No. 17 Colorado (7-2, 5-1)
- Kickoff: Saturday, 10 a.m. MST
- Venue: Folsom Field
- TV: Fox
- Livestream: foxsports.com/live
- Radio: ESPN 700 AM/92.1 FM
- Series: Utah leads 35-32-3
- Weather: Mostly sunny with temperatures in the mid 40s at kickoff, rising to low 50s by end of game.
The trends
For Utah: The Utes have lost five consecutive games, losing last Saturday to rival BYU on a last-second field goal by Will Ferrin. Since then, quarterback Brandon Rose and tight end Brant Kuithe have been lost for the season and running back Jaylon Glover announced he is redshirting the rest of the season and entering the transfer portal.
For Colorado: After losing to Kansas State on Oct. 12, the Buffaloes have finished three straight games in the win column, defeating Arizona 34-7, Cincinnati 34-23 and Texas Tech 41-27. For Colorado, it’s simple — win out and it’s in the Big 12 title game.
What to watch for
Led by quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Colorado’s offense has been clicking this season, averaging 32.4 points per game and scoring at least 34 points in the Buffaloes’ last three victories.
Sanders will be one of the top picks in next year’s NFL draft, and it’s easy to see why. He’s thrown for 2,882 yards, 24 touchdowns and had only six interceptions, and he’s been one of the nation’s most accurate quarterbacks with a 72.9% completion percentage. He can make pretty much every throw you ask him to and he’s not running for his life as frequently as he did last season, when he was one of the most-sacked players in the FBS.
“The quarterback has a quick release; he’s a terrific quarterback. He’ll be one of the, most likely, the top players taken in the draft next year,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.
Another thing to watch for — how does Utah’s offensive line hold up against a revamped Colorado defensive front that has turned into one of the nation’s best. The Buffaloes have sacked opposing quarterbacks 29 times this season — No. 6 nationally and the best in the Big 12.
The Utes have just two quarterbacks left that have not suffered a season-ending injury — Isaac Wilson and Luke Bottari — and they will have their work cut out for them Saturday.
Key player
Travis Hunter, Colorado WR/DB: A two-way player in college is pretty rare, and a player that’s been not just good, but great playing both ways is even rarer. There’s a reason why Colorado wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter will be a Heisman finalist and might win the award — he’s been excellent this year.
“Arguably have one of the best players in college football, maybe the best in the Hunter kid,” Utah coach Whittingham said.
Hunter has been one of the nation’s premier threats when targeted through the air as a wide receiver (856 yards, nine TDs) and also has 20 tackles, two interceptions, seven pass deflections and a forced fumble as a cornerback.
Hunter should draw the assignment of covering the Utes’ best receiver, Dorian Singer.
“Coach Sanders is doing a great job and his staff. They have made a lot of adjustments and improvements over last year. Much better at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, so got our work cut out for us.” — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham
“I respect the head coach that we’re getting ready to go up against so darn much. It’s unbelievable. He is one of the pillars of the Big 12, of course he was like that with the Pac-12. He’s a legend. He’s a legend. He’s a true legend. What he’s done consistently at Utah is unbelievable.” — Colorado coach Deion Sanders
Next up
- Utah: vs. Iowa State
- Colorado: at Kansas
Utah schedule/results
- Aug. 29: Utah 49, Southern Utah 0
- Sept. 7: Utah 23, Baylor 12
- Sept. 14: Utah 38, Utah State 21
- Sept. 21: Utah 22, Oklahoma State 19
- Sept. 28: Arizona 23, Utah 10.
- Oct. 5: Bye
- Oct. 11: Arizona State 27, Utah 19.
- Oct. 19: TCU 13, Utah 7.
- Oct. 26: at Houston (5 p.m., ESPN+)
- Nov. 2: Bye
- Nov. 9: BYU, 22, Utah 21
- Nov. 16: at Colorado, 10 a.m. Fox
- Nov. 23: Iowa State
- Nov. 29: at UCF (6 p.m., Fox)