Nov. 16th – Utah – Exorcising Demons

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.”

They dressed in their familiar red.

The logo and uniforms were the same. Many of the players were the same.

The coach was most definitely the same.

The Utah Utes came to Boulder looking to do what they had pretty much always done every time when they entered Folsom Field to take on the Buffs over the past 13 years.

They came not to praise the Buffs, but to bury them.

Game Day! … Daily Camera: Utah Players to Watch … Neill Woelk’s Keys to the Utah game … (It took until Friday, but) CU/Utah a sell out! … ESPN: Coach Prime was right about Robert Livingston …

Utah may be down to its fourth-string quarterback … “He’s a real-life ironman” – CBS Sports checks out Travis Hunter’s workload … CU moves up to No. 18 in latest AP poll …

CU already a record-setter on the Big Noon Kickoff … Will the game sell out, or fall a few tickets sales short? (Answer: Sell out!) … Utah a “typical” CU opponent, at least according to the stats … CU v. Utah (historical) …

The Athletic: Heisman is “Travis Hunter’s to Lose” … CU moves up to No. 17 (from No. 20) in latest College Football Playoff Rankings … Jon Wilner has CU heading to the College Football Playoff …

Rashaan Salaam goes for 232 yards in a 51-26 rout of Kansas, putting him in sight (needing 204) of the magical total of 2,000 with one game to play … The Buffalo Sports News makes an eerily prescient prediction …

Who will start at quarterback for Utah (could it be a “CU killer”)? … Can the Buffs shift from all offense/no defense Texas Tech to all defense/no offense Utah? … In what three categories does the CU defense lead the Big 12? … Let’s find out …

Utah limps into Boulder with missing stars and missing wins … The Utes have lost five straight, including a heart-breaking loss to BYU … Have the Utes folded their tents for the season, or will they rise up and dominate CU as they have for years? … Let’s find out …