Utah vs. Colorado: Everything You Need To Know

What makes Saturday morning special for this young Utah team as it's the first time they'll be playing in a game where the words "underdog" and "spoiler" will be synonymous with who they are. The Utes are also hoping that a victory against the Buffaloes will be the last time those words are are associated with the program.

It's not going to be easy for the Utes as the game will be at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado. With temperatures hovering around freezing and snow flurries expected, it's going to be a battle in the trenches as both teams feature prominent running games with subpar passing capabilities.

Saturdays are for the #UBoyz

10am MT on FOX pic.twitter.com/Mo95KFyVFf
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) December 9, 2020

Here's everything you need to know ahead of kickoff...

Utah (1-2) vs. Colorado (4-0, 3-0 Pac-12)

When: Saturday, December 12 — 10 a.m. MT

Where: Folsom Field, Boulder, CO

Broadcast Information
TV: ESPN
Play-By-Play: Gus Johnson
Analyst: Joel Klatt
Sideline Reporter: Jenny Taft

Radio: KALL ESPN 700 AM
Play-By-Play: Bill Riley
Analyst: Scott Mitchell

Sirius: 108
XM: 198
Internet: 960

Betting Line: Utah (+3) — Over/Under = 47.5

SERIES HISTORY
32-31-3 Colorado / Utah will have the chance to pick up its fourth consecutive against Colorado to even the series with a victory. Since the teams joined the Pac-12 back in 2011, the Utes are 7-2 in those competitions.

Utah blasted Colorado 45-15 last season behind Kuithe's HUGE game. He finished with three catches for 63 yards and two touchdowns, while adding two carries for 59 yards and a score. The Utes dominated in every aspect of the game.

QUOTE TO NOTE
“Just kind of got too vanilla and not imaginative and we knew we want to milk the clock, that makes sense to milk the clock in that situation but when you’re milking the clock there’s no reason for you to not stay creative and get some production,” Utah head coach Whittingham said postgame against Oregon State regarding their fourth quarter play-calling. “That was awful to have three three-and-outs in a row at the end of the game when we could have put the game on ice and we couldn’t do it which is unacceptable. That’s us as coaches and we got to get better. There’s not a coach, myself or the offensive staff that’s that’s pleased with what happened at the end of the game so we got to do better but credit our players again for hanging in there and doing the best they could.”

Utah Storyline
The biggest unknown for Utah entering on Saturday is which Utah team will show up. Will it be the team who led Washington 21-0 at the half and Oregon State 30-10 early in the fourth quarter? Or is it the team that was outscored 24-0 in the second half against Washington and gave up 14 straight points late in the fourth quarter to the Beavers?

While it may appear that the Utes have struggled on defense during that time by being outscored 38-14 in the second half the past two games, Whittingham has a different idea as to what went wrong.

“Just kind of got too vanilla and not imaginative and we knew we want to milk the clock,” Whittingham said postgame against Oregon State. “That was awful to have three three-and-outs in a row at the end of the game when we could have put the game on ice and we couldn’t do it which is unacceptable. That’s us as coaches and we got to get better. There’s not a coach, myself or the offensive staff that’s that’s pleased with what happened at the end of the game so we got to do better."

Freshman running back Ty Jordan is coming off a breakout game in which he ran for 167 yards and score on 27 carries, being named the Pac-12 freshman of the week. Also, tight end Brant Kuithe and wide receiver Britain Covey emerged last week as the playmakers they're known for, making Utah's offense dynamic.

But the question remains, how does the Utes defense deal with Colorado star running back Jarek Broussard, the nation's No. 2 rusher? If the Utes can contain him, they should reach .500 on the season. If not, it could be long and unpleasant day in the snow

Colorado Storyline
Are the Buffaloes worthy of the hype and being the No. 21 ranked team in the nation?

That's the big question because as of now, their strength of schedule isn't exactly intimidating considering their opponents combined record is 9-10. Their four wins have come by an average scoring margin of +7, including a less-than-impressive victory last week against Arizona after falling behind 13-0 early in the second quarter.

For Colorado, they will go as far as Broussard and quarterback Sam Noyer's legs take them. Broussard is No. 2 in the country with 183.3 rushing yards per game, and coming off last weeks performance where he ran for 301 yards on 25 carries. Noyer is no slouch either, doing most of his damage in the red zone with five rushing touchdowns on the season.

Things got more interesting for the Buffaloes with the recent cancelation of the Washington-Oregon game due to an outbreak of COVID-19 within the Huskies program, Saturday's game against the Utes got a lot more intriguing. It's highly likely that Washington won't be able to field a team in next week's conference title game, so a potential possibility is pitting an undefeated Colorado team against an undefeated USC squad.

Shockingly, the defense has been a strength rather than a weakness, thanks to the play of linebackers Nate Landman and Carson Wells, one of the best duos in the country.

Landman has been dominant all season by averaging 11.8 tackles per game (7th in the nation). He has been sensational the last two weeks, racking up 27 tackles, 7 tackles for loss and four sacks. In Wells' last two games, he's racked up 8 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He also finished with 11 tackles last week against the Wildcats.

Utah Players To Watch: Jake Bentley, QB, Senior; Brant Kuithe, TE, Junior; Viane Moala, DT, Senior; Vonte Davis, S, Senior

Colorado Players To Watch: Jarek Broussard. RB, Sophomore; Dimitri Stanley, WR, Sophomore; Nate Landman, LB, Senior; Carson Wells, LB, Junior

Matchup To Watch: Utah Rush Defense vs. Colorado Rush Offense

Weather: 27 degrees with possible snow flurries at kickoff. Ten percent chance of rain with winds expected at 1 mph from the east.

Prediction: This is a tough choice due to the inconsistent nature of both teams...

Utah has been dominant in the first half the past two games while Colorado has been a second half team for much of the year, not giving up any points after the break the past two games.

This may be my gut but I think the Utes are better than their record while the Buffaloes are just waiting to be exposed by a better team.

This is going to be a close game but in big games, Utah quarterback Jake Bentley has risen to the occasion and I think he does again. He accounts for three total touchdowns as the Buffaloes load up to stop the run game and this time, the Utes don't take their foot off the pedal in the second half.

Colorado keeps it close with some big runs by Broussard and play-action passes, but this time Utah's defense gets a huge fourth quarter turnover and capitalizes with a touchdown to seal the victory.

Prediction: Utah 24 — Colorado 20

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Twitter — @UtahUtes_SI and Ryan Kostecka at @Ryan_Kostecka