All Utes

Recap, analysis from Utah football's dominant win over Colorado

Utes ran for 422 yards against the Buffaloes in 53-7 victory
Cole Forsman|
Utah Utes quarterback Byrd Ficklin (15) is pressured by Colorado Buffaloes linebacker Jeremiah Brown (42) during the third quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Utah Utes quarterback Byrd Ficklin (15) is pressured by Colorado Buffaloes linebacker Jeremiah Brown (42) during the third quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

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Utah Utes

From quarterback uncertainties to flushing away a disappointing loss to an in-state rival, Utah went into its Week 9 matchup against Colorado with several questions needing answered.

How would the Utes respond from their defeat at the hands of BYU the week prior? Was Devon Dampier healthy? And even if he was, would he get the start against a Buffaloes team that was coming in with some momentum following its first win in league play?

Dampier's status before kickoff indicated the dual-threat quarterback was able to play Saturday, though Utah still turned to true freshman Byrd Ficklin to lead the offense under center while Dampier served in an emergency backup role.

As for that first question, it really only took 37 seconds to find an answer.

Ficklin, making his first career start, broke free for a 63-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage, setting the tone for what would be a dominant performance in all three phases of the game from the Utes to get back in the win column in a big way.

Rushing for the second-most yards in the Kyle Whittingham era, Utah racked up 422 yards on the ground while its defense stifled Colorado all night in a 53-7 drubbing from Rice-Eccles Stadium.

The Buffaloes couldn't find any sort of rhythm early on, finishing with -18 total yards of offense in the first half as the offensive line struggled to keep Utah's pass rushers out of Kaidon Salter's face. The Utes brought down Salter five times in the first half and tacked on 2 points to their total with a safety after Salter was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone. Utah also had an interception and blocked a punt to take a 43-0 lead into halftime.

With the win, the Utes secured a bowl game berth for the fourth time in the last six seasons. It also marked Utah's 17th season of at least six wins under Whittingham.

The Utes' seventh consecutive win over the Buffaloes in Salt Lake City, and their eighth victory in the last nine meetings overall, improved them to 3-2 in Big 12 action this season, surpassing last season's win total in league play.

Here is the live updates recap from Saturday's game.

4TH QUARTER

Utah touchdown!: Nate Johnson took the direct snap and raced away from Colorado's defense for a 56-yard touchdown, putting Utah over 400 yards rushing on the night. The last time the Utes crossed the 400-yard threshold on the ground was 2021 in a 52-7 win over Stanford (53-7, 2:28).

Utah gets fourth down stop: Ryan Staub misfired on a couple of deep balls to the end zone, including one on fourth-and-8 to turn the ball over on downs. Utah started its next drive on its own 30-yard line (46-7, 4:05).

Colorado prevents shutout: Ryan Staub's second quarterback sneak was successful, putting the Buffaloes on the scoreboard for the first time (46-7, 9:03).

Colorado deep in the red zone: Ryan Staub zipped a pass to Omarion Miller for a 23-yard gain, setting the Buffaloes up on the Utes' 1-yard line after JC Hart made a touchdown-saving tackle. Colorado had to burn a timeout the ensuing play following some confusion between Staub and his teammates (46-0, 10:21).

Colorado makes QB change: Buffaloes inserted sophomore signal-caller Ryan Staub into the game for Kaidon Salter (46-0, 12:55).

Deep field goal attempt falls short: Dillon Curtis' 59-yard attempt landed in the end zone, giving the Buffaloes the ball at their own 49-yard line (46-0, 12:55).

Wayshawn breaks another run: Wayshawn Parker took a direct snap, broke past the line of scrimmage and bursted down the sideline for a 49-yard gain (46-0, 14:40).

Utah makes QB change: Isaac Wilson checked into the game for the Utes to start the fourth quarter, ending Byrd Ficklin's night as Utah looked to close out a wire-to-wire win over Colorado (46-0, 15:00).

3RD QUARTER

Utah puts up three: Dillon Curtis drilled a 45-yard field goal attempt to cap off a 27-yard scoring drive for the Utes (46-0, 1:42).

Buffaloes go three-and-out: Another empty possession from Colorado resulted its eighth punt of the night, setting Utah up on its own 46-yard line (43-0, 5:30).

Colorado brings Ficklin down: Buffaloes brought pressure and got to Ficklin on third-and-8, stalling the Utes near midfield and forcing a punt (43-0, 6:32).

Utah gets fourth down stop: Kaidon Salter fought hard on a third down run to set up fourth-and-1 from the Utes-26-yard line, but his ensuing quarterback sneak wasn't enough to move the chains and keep the Buffaloes' drive alive. Utah took over at its own 26-yard line (43-0, 10:57).

Kaidon Salter chunk play: Colorado had its biggest play of the night on a 24-yard scamper from Kaidon Salter, advancing the ball into Utah territory for the first time (43-0, 13:13).

HALFTIME RECAP

Utes send a statement: Utah dominated all three phases of the game, scoring its most points in a first half (43) since 2022 while completely stifling Colorado's offense. The Buffaloes had -18 total yards of offense going into the break, including -41 on the ground. Utah had 5 sacks and 8 tackles for loss, plus an interception, safety on an intentional grounding call and blocked punt.

Byrd Ficklin shines: Aside from a rocky start throwing the ball, the true freshman was effective on the ground and had his moments through the air to finish his first half as a starter with 276 total yards and 3 touchdowns.

More nuggets: Utah punter Orion Phillips had more passing yards (25) than Colorado quarterback Kaidon Salter (23); Tao Johnson's interception in the first quarter snapped Utah's three-game streak without forcing a turnover, just the second stretch of its kind in the Whittingham era; Utah crossed the 40-point threshold for the fifth time this season, it's most since the 2022 campaign (seven).

2ND QUARTER

Utes add three before the half: Dillon Curtis drilled a 23-yarder at the end of the half, putting Utah up by 43 points going into the break.

A Bennee block!: Utah's do-it-all sophomore came up big once again, blocking a punt attempt from Damon Greaves to set up the Utes on the Buffaloes' 7-yard line (0:36).

Utes punt it away: Byrd Ficklin couldn't connect with Ryan Davis on third-and-5, bringing Utah's punt team on late in the first half (40-0, 1:17).

Hall monitor, again: Johnathan Hall shut down another Colorado drive, wrapping up Kaidon Salter for a loss of 8 yards on third-and-5 (40-0, 1:55).

Utah finds pay dirt again: The statement first half from Utah continued, as Byrd Ficklin delivered a perfect ball to Larry Simmons for the Utes' fifth touchdown of the night following the errant punt from the Buffaloes (40-0, 2:18).

Another sack!: Johnathan Hall was credited with Utah's third sack of the night after wrapping up Kaidon Salter on his own 7-yard line, resulting in a loss of 18 yards and bringing up fourth down. Damon Greaves shanked the ensuing punt, giving the Utes prime field position on the Buffaloes' 21-yard line (33-0, 2:48).

Utes touchdown!: Keeping its foot on the gas, Utah punched in its fourth touchdown of the night on a 2-yard rush from NaQuari Rogers, capping off a 16-play, 60-yard drive that consumed over 7 minutes of game time (33-0, 3:42).

Toe-tapper moves the chains: Byrd Ficklin zipped a pass for Larry Simmons to bring down while tapping his foot in bounds, picking up 19 yards on third-and-12 (26-0, 5:58).

Ficklin on the move: Utah's true freshman took advantage of a light box from Colorado, converting a third-and-11 situation with his legs to get the Utes to the Buffaloes' 31-yard line. That scamper put Ficklin well over 100 yards rushing on the night (26-0, 7:42).

Utes move the chains: Utah hadn't been on-par with its normal third down consistency, but a 13-yard strike from Byrd Ficklin to JJ Buchanan on third-and-6 moved the chains and advanced the ball to Colorado's 43-yard line (26-0, 10:28).

Buffaloes have to punt again: Whether it was Logan Fano or John Henry Daley, Colorado's offense couldn't get into any sort of rhythm with Utah's defensive ends bearing down on Kaidon Salter every other play. Buffaloes picked up their third first down of the night but stalled after that, bringing on the punt team again (26-0, 11:03).

Utah touchdown!: It was all Utah in the first half. JJ Buchanan found pay dirt after breaking a tackle inside the 5-yard line to cap off a 72-yard scoring drive for the Utes. Utah had 275 total yards of offense to Colorado's -2 total yards of offense (26-0, 12:50).

Utes nearing red zone: Following a 20-yard scamper from Byrd Ficklin, the true freshman connected with Ryan Davis for a 28-yard gain (19-0, 13:23).

Safety!: All Kaidon Salter could do to avoid an all-out blitz from the Utes was launch a pass into no man's land, resulting in an intentional grounding penalty and a safety (19-0, 14:29).

1ST QUARTER

Utah can't capitalize off turnover: An unsportsmanlike penalty against Wayshawn Parker on first down put the Utes well behind schedule after getting the ball to Colorado's 37-yard line, effectively stalling the drive and forcing the punt team to take the field on fourth-and-24 from Utah's 49-yard line (17-0, end of quarter).

Interception!: Tao Johnson continued the Utes' hot start with his second interception of the year, snagging an errant throw from Kaidon Salter to set up Utah's offense on its own 35-yard line. That interception snapped Utah's three-game streak without a forced turnover (17-0, 1:27).

Wayshawn's loose!: Some nice blocks up front, including a nice pull block from Caleb Lomu, cleared a lane for Wayshawn Parker to break away for a 58-yard rush on the Utes' first play of the drive (17-0, 2:53).

Utes defense bottles up another drive: A couple of unsuccessful rushes and short completion on third-and-10 resulted in another three-and-out for the Buffaloes (10-0, 3:25).

Utah adds three to the board: The well-executed fake punt helped the Utes get down to the Buffaloes' 30-yard line, setting up a 53-yard field goal from Dillon Curtis following a couple of shaky pass plays on first and second down. Ficklin, who came into the game a perfect 9-for-9 through the air, began his first career start with five straight incompletions (10-0, 5:01).

It's a fake!: It looked like the Utes were going to punt after failing to convert on third down, only for punter Orion Phillips to fake the kick and instead find Dallen Bentley wide open for a gain of 25 yards, advancing the ball to the Buffaloes' 46-yard line (7-0, 8:06).

Salter goes down: Utah junior linebacker Trey Reynolds came off the edge on a blitz and brought Colorado's signal-caller down for a loss of 12 on third-and-7, ending the Buffaloes' second drive of the game and bringing on their punt team on the field once again. Utah's ensuing drive began on its own 25-yard line following a return of 9 yards from Mana Carvalho (7-0, 9:30).

Utes have to punt: Ficklin threw back-to-back incompletions on second and third down, bringing Utah's punt team on the field for the first time. Colorado's second drive started on its own 39-yard line (7-0, 12:42).

Utah forces three-and-out: Colorado's first drive went backward 6 yards on first down and then stalled following back-to-back incompletions from Kaidon Salter, resulting in the game's first punt. Utah started its next drive on its own 26-yard line (7-0, 13:27).

It's a Byrd!: The true freshman pulled the read option and broke free for a 63 yard touchdown run, putting the Utes on the board just 37 seconds into the game (7-0, 14:38).

Utah will start with the ball: Colorado won the toss and deferred, giving fans an early look at Byrd Ficklin under center.

PREGAME

Byrd Ficklin expected to start: Devon Dampier wasn't on Utah's final availability report, but according to ESPN's Pete Thamel, true freshman Byrd Ficklin will make his first career start against the Buffaloes. Ficklin was seen warming up with Utah's starters prior to kickoff.

Availability updates: Utah quarterback Devon Dampier appears to be good to go after his name wasn't featured on the team's game day availability report. Wide receiver Tobias Merriweather and defensive tackle Dallas Vakalahi were ruled out, while standout linebacker Lander Barton had to miss the first half due to the targeting penalty he picked up during the BYU game.

Quarterbacks getting warmed up: Devon Dampier and Byrd Ficklin took the field early to get in some warm-up tosses in before kickoff. Dampier's status for Saturday was put into question earlier in the week after coming up limp following the Utes' loss to the Cougars last weekend. He was listed as "questionable" earlier in the week before being upgraded to "probable" on Friday.

MORE UTAH NEWS & ANALYSIS

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Cole Forsman
COLE FORSMAN

Cole Forsman has been a contributor with On SI for the past three years, covering college athletics. He holds a degree in Journalism and Sports Management from Gonzaga University.

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