Colorado (4-7, 1-7 Pac-12) at Utah (7-4, 4-4)
When/where: 1 p.m. Saturday/Rice-Eccles Stadium
TV/Radio: Pac-12 Network/850 AM, 94.1 FM
: Utah -21.5, 52.5 over/under
Weather: Sunshine with a high of 37 degrees, slight wind
Five storylines
Shedeur’s status: After Shedeur Sanders suffered multiple injuries in last week’s pummeling at Wazzu, one to his hand and another to his ankle, CU’s quarterback had to leave the game. That exposed the Buffs’ lack of depth behind him, as neither Ryan Staub nor Gavin Kuld looked like they had command of the offense. Sanders was sacked four times before he departed in the first half, continuing a season-long trend of the Buffs’ QB getting battered. He’ll be a game-time decision Saturday.
A season spiraling: The Buffs’ 3-0 start featuring an upset of TCU on the road and then emotional victories over rivals Nebraska and CSU at home feels like eons ago. Since then, CU’s lone win came against a bad ASU team. They’ve found every way to lose: by blowout (Oregon and Wazzu), by squandering a 29-point halftime lead in the worst collapse in program history (vs. Stanford on Oct. 13), by last-second field goal (vs. Arizona on Nov. 11), and a few others where they came up just short.
Who will respond?: After getting embarrassed on the Palouse last week, when WSU’s D and special teams alone outscored CU’s offense 21-14 in the 56-14 battering, the Buffs have to find a way to get up off the mat for their season finale. Utah is also reeling. After playing Washington tough in a loss two weeks ago, the Utes no-showed in Tucson in a 42-18 romp by Arizona. Will it be Coach Prime or Kyle Whittingham who gets his squad to bounce back?
The Buffs’ trajectory: As Deion Sanders noted in his Tuesday presser when asked to evaluate his first season at CU, “We might not be where we want to be, but we sure aren’t where we used to be.” That much is true, as there’s no denying the overwhelming hype and revenue that 2023’s brought the university, in addition to the fact that this year’s team is leaps-and-bounds better than the one-win 2022 team. But if the Buffs finish 4-8, does Coach Prime have more recruiting tricks up his sleeve to get the Buffs to take another leap in 2024? That’s the big question going forward, and it starts with re-tooling the O-line.
Series History: Utah leads the series 34-32-3 dating back to the first matchup in Boulder in 1903, two decades before Folsom Field was built. The Buffs have been utterly owned in the series lately, losers of six straight, including a 63-21 blowout in Boulder last year. The last time CU won in Salt Lake City was 2011, a 17-14 triumph highlighted by QB Tyler Hansen’s two TDs.
Predictions
Kyle Newman, sportswriter: Utah 45, CU 17
Last week’s performance against Wazzu was embarrassing, uninspiring and downright ugly. With their star QB hobbled, the Buffs are a shell of the team they were in September. The going-in-reverse trend continues this Saturday, when Kyle Whittingham’s Utes come out on fire after suffering their own letdown at the hands of Arizona. This one’s never close, and the Buffs end the season with just one conference win and a lot of doubt about how they’ll be able to contend in the Big 12 next year.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist: Utah 34, CU 17
Coach Prime loves cold weather about as much as he loves the idea of visiting South Dakota. The forecast for mid-day Saturday in Salt Lake City? Partly cloudy and 37 degrees. Throw in a wounded Utes defense that’s been licking its chops for months to get a crack at the Sanders family, and this one could get ugly in a hurry. Shedeur Sanders shouldn’t play, but probably will. Just expect a quick hook for No. 2 if this one starts the way Wazzu did. For his sake.
Matt Schubert, sports editor: Utah 30, CU 13
Consider this a two-part prediction: 1. It’s hard to see Coach Prime subjecting Shedeur Sanders to more unnecessary punishment behind CU’s leaky offensive line; and 2. It’s even more difficult to envision whoever replaces him faring well against a Utah defense that wants to show last week’s blowout loss at Arizona was an aberration. Of course, Shedeur could always insist on playing… and the Buffs will still lose.
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