No. 18 Colorado 49, Utah 24

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November 16th – Boulder           No. 18 Colorado 49, Utah 24

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Shedeur Sanders overcame a shaky start to throw three touchdown passes, LaJohntay Wester returned a punt 76 yards for a score and No. 18 Colorado pulled away late to beat Utah 49-24.

The win was the fourth straight for the Buffs, raising the season record to 8-2, 6-1. With two games remaining in the regular season, the Buffs continued to control their own destiny for a berth in the Big 12 championship game.

Sanders threw an interception on his first pass of the game and later lost a fumble. But he settled down and finished 30 of 41 for 340 yards. He connected twice on touchdown passes with Will Sheppard, with freshman Drelon Miller posting the third receiving touchdown. Sanders upped his touchdown pass count for the season to 27, one short of the single-season school record set by Sefo Liufau in 2014.

Leading 35-16 early in the fourth quarter, the Buffaloes saw the Utes stage a late rally to make things interesting down the stretch. The comeback was thwarted, however, by D.J. McKinney’s interception and then a sack from Shilo Sanders that resulted in a fumble that Colorado covered.

On the afternoon, the Buffs generated 405 total yards of offense, while holding the Utes to 272. Utah, which had made a habit of running the ball straight at the Colorado defense over the years, finished with 31 yards rushing on 30 carries.

“We’re happy with where we are and we know where we could be,” Coach Prime said. “That’s the thing. We’re not even where we could be right now. You see the mistakes, you see the little things that we could clean up, but when you look at the statistics, you say, dang, that was phenomenal.”

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Game Story … The Colorado offense took the field to start the game, and immediately gave Buff fans a sick feeling of Utah games past, with quarterback Shedeur Sanders throwing an interception on the first play from scrimmage.

Taking over at the CU 21, the Utah offense did post a first down at the Buff ten-yard line, but on third-and-goal at the three, Utah quarterback Isaac Wilson was sacked by CU defensive lineman Arden Walker, ending the drive. The Buff defense had held, but, after former Buff kicker Cole Becker put through a 32-yard field goal, it was 3-0, Utah.

Isaiah Augustave started the next drive off right, but a holding and a sack left the Buffs with a third-and-23 at their 42-yard line. An 18-yard completion from Sanders to LaJohntay Wester gave the Buffs the opportunity to go for a first down, with a fourth-and-five at the Utah 40. Going for a first down instead of a field goal, the Buffs converted, with Shedeur Sanders connecting with Will Sheppard for a 40-yard touchdown. Colorado 7, Utah 3, midway through the first quarter.

The CU defense then forced its first three-and-out of the game on Utah’s next possession. A 41-yard punt was caught by Lajohntay Wester at the Buff 24, with Wester going untouched for a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown. Just like that, it was 14-3, Colorado.

After the teams traded three-and-out possessions, Utah took over at their 29-yard line. A 16-yard completion from Isaac Wilson to wide receiver Dorian Singer gave the Utes their second first down of the game. But, two plays later, Isaac Wilson’s pass was intercepted by Travis Hunter on a deflection. Hunter returned the pick 21 yards, but gave 15 of those yards back on an unsportsmanlike penalty (throwing the ball into the stands).

The Buffs then went backwards, punting the ball away after three plays, which included a 14-yard loss on a sack.

Three more punts ensued, with the only first down coming on a pass interference penalty against the Utes.

Midway the second quarter, and the score holding at 14-3, Colorado, Shedeur Sanders was unable to handle a bad snap, with the fumble recovered by Utah at the CU 23-yard line.

With momentum and the ball in scoring position, the Utes failed to pick up a first down, gaining seven yards in three plays. Cole Becker came in once again, making it a 14-6 game with a 34-yard field goal.

Taking over at the CU 15-yard line after a short kickoff return, the Buffs set off on their longest drive of the game, a 14-play, 85-yard drive, taking almost five minutes off the clock. A 14-yard completion from Sanders to Wester got the drive off to a good start, with a ten-yard completion from Sanders to Travis Hunter on third-and-nine keeping the drive alive. Next, on third-and-four, Sanders connected with Wester for four yards and a fresh set of downs.

A sack of Sanders pushed the ball back, but, on fourth-and-eight at the Utah 34, Sanders connected with Hunter, who made an acrobatic catch at the Utah six yard line. On the next play, Sanders found Sheppard for six yards and a touchdown. With 49 seconds remaining before the break, the Buff lead was up to 21-6.

Utah quarterback Isaac Wilson almost threw an interception on Utah’s first play from scrimmage, but was undeterred, leading the Utes on a seven-play, 36-yard drive, with Cole Becker hitting his third field goal of the half, this one from 47 yards out, as time expired.

Halftime score: No. 18 Colorado 21, Utah 9

On Utah’s first possession of the second half, the Utes converted a third-and-eight to maintain possession, but, two plays later Utah quarterback Isaac Wilson was intercepted by CU linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green. Hill-Green returned the ball back 11 yards to the Utah 37, setting the Buff offense up with a golden opportunity.

And the Buffs took advantage. On CU’s first play from scrimmage, Buff running back Isaiah Augustave went up the middle for a 37-yard touchdown. Just over three minutes into the second half, the Buffs were up, 28-9.

Utah advanced the ball near midfield on its next possession, but was forced to punt. CU’s offense, though, went three-and-out, giving the Utes the ball at the CU 40 after an 18-yard punt return by Dorian Singer.

One play later, it was a game again. Quarterback Isaac Wilson connected with Singer for a 40-yard touchdown, with Singer becoming the first wide receiver to beat Travis Hunter for a touchdown all season. With 6:10 to play in the third quarter, it was a game again, at 28-16, Colorado.

The Buff offense got one first down on their next drive, thanks to a Shedeur Sanders scramble for eight yards and a six-yard run by Isaiah Augustave. The next three plays, though, netted only one yard, with the Buffs punting the ball back to the Utes.

After the Buff defense stood up to the challenge with another three-and-out, the CU offense took over at the 25-yard line. Two first downs, including completions to Augustave and Hunter, got the Buffs to their 45-yard line. On what appeared to be the final play of the third quarter, Shedeur Sanders hit Hunter for 30 yards … but the officials then decided that the play occurred after the third quarter clock had expired.

It appeared that the non-play would hurt the Buffs, but, two plays later, on third-and-12, Sanders found Dre’lon Miller for 47 yards and a touchdown, with Miller dragging several Ute defenders with him into the end zone. Colorado 35, Utah 16, one minute into the fourth quarter.

That should have been enough to defeat a team struggling on offense, but the Utes would not go quietly. Eight plays and 75 yards later, the Utes were back on the board. A three-yard touchdowns pass from Wilson to Caleb Lohner, followed by a two-point conversion, made in an 11-point game again, at 35-24, with 8:34 left to play.

Four plays later, the Utes had the ball back again. A 14-yard completion from Sanders to LaJohntay Wester turned into a turnover, with Wester fumbling the ball back to the Utes at the CU 45-yard line.

With the game in the balance, the Buff defense came through … again.

After a sack of Wilson put the Utes behind the sticks, but a 21-yard completion from Wilson to Carsen Ryan gave Utah a first down at the Buff 42. On second down, though, Wilson was intercepted by CU cornerback D.J. McKinney at the Buff 37.

Five plays later, the Buffs put the game away. On the second play of the drive, Shedeur Sanders found a wide open Drelon Miller, with Miller going 49 yards to the Utah 14-yard line. After the Buffs went backwards on the next two plays, Sanders hit Wester for 14 yards and a first-and-goal at the four. On the next play, running back Charlie Offerdahl scored up the middle, and the game was officially the Buffs, with CU now up, 42-24, with less than five minutes remaining.

In desperation mode, the Utah offense was easy fodder for the Buff defense. A sack of Wilson by defensive lineman Tawfiq Thomas for a loss of 7 yards on first down was followed a few plays later by a sack and forced fumble by safety Shilo Sanders on fourth down.

Taking over at the Utah 19, the Buff offense quickly scored. A 14-yard completion from Sanders to Wester was followed on the next play by a five-yard touchdown run by Travis Hunter, a five-yard run which covered about 30 yards by Hunter on a reverse, with the Heisman favorite leaping into the end zone with 2:22 to play.

The Utes gained some yards on their final drive, but never left their side of the field.

Final score: No. 18 Colorado 49, Utah 24 

“Our expectations are our expectations, and we expect a lot out of ourselves”, said Coach Prime of CU’s win and 8-2 record. “We practice with the type of intensity and passion and love and effort that you can help but be successful in what we do. When we don’t do things properly, it shows. We’re beating ourselves at times, and nobody is beating us. We’re beating ourselves. We just have got to focus on those little things and correct them so we can be flawless. That’s the goal. To come out here and be dominant offensively, defensively as well as in special teams. I think two phases we dominated today are special teams as well as the defensive side of the ball. We’ve just got to get the offense. It is hard to critique them. Like I said, I was on Shedeur’s [Sanders], but all day today, and I look up, and he’s 30 for 41. I think any coach in the country would accept that.”

Colorado vs Utah pic.twitter.com/E4If3ETtv3

— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) November 20, 2024

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Game Notes … 

— The win left Utah with a 35-33-3 lead in in the all-time series;

— The win was CU’s first against Utah since 2016 and just the third win over the Utes since the 1958 season, snapping a seven-game losing streak to the Utes;

— The announced attendance was 54,646, the largest crowd in 19 years, the fourth-most in CU history, and the 20th sellout in 2022 games in the Coach Prime era;

— CU’s 8-2 record was the best for the Buffs since starting the 2016 season 8-2, and only the second-eight win season in the past 20 seasons;

— Travis Hunter … played 132 snaps, with five catches for 55 yards, one five-yard rushing touchdown, with an interception and three tackles. Hunter became the first player in either the NFL or FBS to have 50 receiving yards, a rushing touchdown and interception in the same game in the past 24 years since Champ Bailey did it in the NFL for Washington against Arizona on Dec. 24, 2000;

— Shedeur Sanders (30-of-41 passing, 340 yards, three touchdowns; one interception), set numerous records:

• With his sixth 300-yard passing game of the season, he broke his own CU record of five such games from last season;
• He surpassed the 3,000-yard plateau and was now 280-of-384 for 3,222 yards with 27 TDs and 7 INTs. Sanders became the first quarterback with multiple 3,000-yard passing seasons in CU history;
• Sanders’ 27 passing touchdowns on the season tied his total from the 2023 as the second-most in a season in CU history, one behind the record of 28 from Sefo Liufau in 2014;
• His 31 total touchdowns this season (four rushing) tied his own CU season record for most touchdowns responsible for in a season;
• Sanders threw for a touchdown in his 21st straight game, setting a new CU record and breaking Sefo Liufau’s record of 20 from 2013-14;
• Sanders finished his 10th game completing 70 percent or more of his passes, all with 30-plus attempts, the most in program history;
• Sanders also completed 60-percent of his passes in all 10 games of the 2024 season, not going more than one straight game completing fewer than 70 percent;
• Sanders finished his eighth straight game with 250-plus yards of total offense and multiple touchdowns, also a new CU record.

— Beyond Hunter’s interception, Nakhai Hill-Green had his second interception in as many games while D.J. McKinney got his first career interception;

— Isaiah Augustave scored on a 37-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter, the longest scoring run for the Buffaloes since 2018. He finished the game with 7 rushes for 59 yards and one touchdown;

— Charlie Offerdahl scored his first career touchdown in the fourth quarter on a four-yard run;

— Wide receiver Dre’Lon Miller had 6 catches for 108 yards, becoming the fifth different CU receiver to have a 100-yard game this season;

— LaJohntay Wester scored on a 76-yard punt return touchdown and added 10 catches for 77 yards for 153 all-purpose yards.  He scored his ninth touchdown of the season, with 55 catches for 660 yards and eight receiving touchdowns;

— Safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig led CU with six tackles, including five solo.  He led the FBS for safeties in solo tackles coming into the Utah game, with 51.

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This post, about the Utah game, from the 2024 Season, is filed under Article.
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