Bleacher Report Puts Utah on Upset Watch Against Deion Sanders' Colorado Squad in 2024

Bleacher Report just released their Way-Too-Early College Football Upset Picks for 2024, and Utah is one of the teams picked to be upset by none other than former Pac-12 opponent and current Big-12 opponent Colorado. 

BR's Morgan Moriarty picked the Buffaloes to triumph over the Utes in their November 16th matchup in Boulder this upcoming season. Moriarty said, "The Utes enter the Big 12 looking to rebound from a down 8-5 year last season. Quarterback Cam Rising returns, but he's a bit of a question mark after missing the entire 2023 season because of an injury he suffered last January in the Rose Bowl."

The two teams faced off in the Pac-12 finale last season and the Luke Bottari-led Utes came out on top 23-17 over Colorado, who had Ryan Staub under center. Since both teams were reeling from injuries in crucial positions, the matchup isn't the best indication of how their 2024 matchup will pan out. 

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With Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter healthy, the Prime-led Buffs are electric and hard to keep up with in an offensive shootout. However defensively, Colorado has a lot of holes, and despite the question mark hanging over Cam Rising's head of whether he can get back to his peak form, the Utes have improved arguably every position of need and filled the gaps left by transfers or pro-ready players such as Sione Vaki, Jonah Elliss, and Cole Bishop. 

While an away game is never easy, it's hard to see how Utah can get upset when fully healthy. The defense is good enough to slow down the Colorado air attack, and the offense is talented enough to engage in a shootout with the Buffs and come out on top.