Nov. 26th – No. 16 Utah – Black Friday (Again)

Quarterback Cameron Rising threw for three touchdown passes, and two Ute running backs had over 100 yards rushing apiece as No. 16 slowly pulled away from Colorado, defeating the Buffs, 28-13. The Buff offense, which ended the season with its lowest total yard average since 1964, had only 148 total yards, with an interception return to the Utah 15 by safety Mark Perry and a 100-yard kickoff return by Nikko Reed supplying 10 of CU’s 13 points.

Buff quarterback Brendon Lewis finished the season with the CU freshman record for consecutive passes without an interception, but completed only 9-of-23 passes for 84 yards. With Jarek Broussard out with an illness, Alex Fontenot was the Buffs’ leading rusher … with 28 yards on ten carries.

The Buffs played short-handed on both sides of the ball. Linebacker Nate Landman missed his sixth game, along with fellow linebackers Jack Lamb, Guy Thomas and Joshka Gustav. Defensive backs Mekhi Blackmon and Kaylin Moore were also out. On offense, receivers Brenden Rice and Montana Lemonious-Craig, along with Broussard, didn’t see the field in CU’s final game of the 2021 season.

“Everybody feels that we have that foundation to build from moving forward,” Dorrell said. “It’s unfortunate — I would love to have started the offseason with a win, winning this game and using that as juice to get some things going for us in a positive way into the offseason, but there’s enough of a good feel on this team. We feel like we’re close.”

Once upon a time, CU was relegated to secondary status on Thanksgiving weekend (remember all of those exciting CU/K-State finales?) … But since leaving the Big Eight, the Buffs are 6-21 in year-end rivalry games, including 2-9 against Utah … The 28-13 score this year was better than expected, but yet another loss …

CU/Utah scouting report: Team with the most rushing yards wins … Dorrell hopes to have the chance to build what Utah has: “That’s what we all aspire to do” … Neill Woelk’s Five Keys to Utah Game … Dimitri Stanley: “Right now I plan on coming back” …

CU hasn’t scored over 35 points in regulation since Labor Day, while Utah is averaging 35 points per game … Buffs poised to set school all-time red zone record … Lost games to injury: Highest since 1987 … Stat you are guaranteed to hear on Friday’s telecast …

NCAA to allow coach-to-player electronic communication in Bayou Classic … Has Iowa State’s Matt Campbell emerged as the favorite to coach USC? … ESPN Bottom Ten: Mel Tucker’s MSU Gets Coveted No. 5 Spot … CBS Bottom 25: Five Power Five Teams Left …

Utah has a running back (Tavion Thomas) with 17 touchdowns (CU has 22 total offensive scores all season) … Will the three-way race for the Pac-12 North title give the Utes enough of a distraction to help the Buffs? … Did Arizona give CU a blueprint for how to upset Utah? …

Buffs find a way to win a game without posting at least 200 yards of total offense for the first time since 2004 (four turnovers didn’t hurt) … Can the Buffs catch the Utes looking forward to the Pac-12 title game, and looking past the Buffs? Or will it be a Ute rout of epic proportions? … Let’s find out …