Fast Five: Keys For Buffs Vs. Utah
November 24, 2023 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Neither team in Saturday's Colorado-Utah matchup in Salt Lake City (1 p.m., Pac-12 Network) is rolling into the game with a load of momentum.
Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders' Buffaloes (4-7 overall, 1-7 Pac-12) have lost five in a row and seven of their last eight. There will be no bowl berth for the Buffs in Sanders' first year at the helm, but a win would give the team some "feel good" heading into what is no doubt going to be a very busy offseason.
Meanwhile, the Utes (7-4, 4-4) have lost two in a row. After spending most of the season in the top 25, they have fallen out of the rankings and now need a win to give them a little boost heading into the bowl season.
Colorado is a three-touchdown underdog. As of midweek, the status of injured starting quarterback Shedeur Sanders was still up in the air. If he doesn't play, it will put even a bigger burden on Colorado's defense.
But Coach Prime made it clear this week that he expects his team to compete Saturday in what will be the program's last game as a Pac-12 member.
"We got to finish and I want to finish with an exclamation mark," he said. "You should always play to win. I don't know about pride, you got to play to win. You got to play to the best of your ability, you got to play because this is what you chose. Nobody's forcing you to go out there to play. You gotta want this. You may not have the same amount of handclaps that you had at the beginning, you may not have the same amount of noise and the same amount of fans with the same amount of passion, but you got to figure this thing out. And you got to play."
Utah has struggled all season on offense, averaging just 24.6 points per game (10th in the Pac-12). But as is almost always the case under coach Kyle Whittingham, their defense has been solid, yielding just 20 points per game (3rd in the conference).
No doubt, a win would be a big boost for the Buffs. No team likes to enter the offseason on the heels of a long losing streak.
So how do the Buffs pull off the upset?
Our final Fast Five of the season:
1. Produce a quick start. The Utes will be hoping to administer a knockout punch early. They'll have cold weather and a sold-out home crowd on their side.
But the Buffs have to avoid falling behind early and instead get some points on the board and make the Utes play from behind.
Arizona executed the perfect game plan in last week's 42-18 win over the Utes, producing two big pass plays for touchdowns and a special teams score in the first quarter. The Utes never recovered.
2. Shorten the game. This might seem counter-intuitive to the first goal here, but it's not.
Shortening the game simply means not giving Utah any extra possessions. Colorado has to avoid three-and-outs on offense, keep the clock moving with at least a semblance of a run game and convert some third down opportunities.
None of those will be easy against a Utah defense that is sixth in the nation against the run, giving up less than 90 yards per game. But the Buffs have to find a way to produce some positive yards on first and second down and give themselves manageable third down opportunities.
If they do that, they'll give themselves a chance to be in the game in the fourth quarter.
3. Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. The Buffs have been good at taking care of the ball — they are seventh in the nation in turnover margin at a plus-10 (10 turnovers, 20 takeaways).
Colorado's defense has to create more of those opportunities against the Utes. A statistic of note: CU is among the nation's best red zone offenses, scoring on 97 percent of its chances inside the 20.
If the Buffs can produce a couple of those momentum shifts with some turnovers in Utah territory and give themselves a short field, they can put some points on the board and force Utah to play catchup — something the Utah offense isn't designed to do.
4. Win special teams battles. Colorado punter Mark Vassett has been nothing short of outstanding in recent weeks. He has consistently dropped kicks inside the opponent's 10-yard line, giving CU an edge in field position.
Meanwhile, field goal kicker Alejandro Mata has been reliable and Colorado's return teams have been solid. If the Buffs can play error-free ball on special teams, it will be one more way they can be in this game down the stretch.
5. Regain that "us against the world" mentality. When the Buffs played with a chip on their shoulder early in the year, they made plays on both sides of the ball. The offense hit big gainers and the defense came up with game-changing moments.
They seemed to be back on that track two weeks ago against Arizona before coming up short in a 34-31 loss (the same Arizona team that throttled Utah).
Colorado has to rediscover that mentality in the season finale.
The oddsmakers say this one won't be close.
But this is a perfect time for Coach Prime's team to make a season-ending statement, one that says the Buffs will be a team to reckon with in 2024.
