Colorado’s comeback made Folsom Field buzz, but Utah still walked out with the win Saturday night, holding off the Buffaloes 27-24 before a sell-out Family Weekend crowd of 52,489.
The loss leaves Colorado at 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the Big 12. Utah moves to 6-0 and 3-0 in conference play.
For one half, the Buffs couldn’t get anything going. They were blanked 13-0 before flipping the script after halftime, ripping off 17 straight points and briefly seizing control. Even with the final result, Deion Sanders made it clear he saw plenty of fight in his team.
"Just the way we fought to the end, there was no give-up," Head Coach Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders said. "And not only the players, but the coaches, the support staff, there was no give-up whatsoever."
Colorado’s defense delivered its best work of the season against Utah’s offense, becoming the first team to hold the Utes below 30 points this year. Gideon ESPN Lampron was everywhere, finishing with 11 total tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.
"It felt good. We just put together a full game as a defense," Lampron said.
"I'm really proud of the guys. It's nice that the stats could show it."
The Buffs’ rally started fast out of the break. After trailing 13-0 at halftime, Colorado got on the board just 1:30 into the third quarter when Isaac Wilson hit JaQuail Smith on a short pass, and Smith turned it into a 68-yard touchdown. A quick stop by the defense set up the next surge, and DeKalon Taylor finished a five-play, 76-yard drive with an 18-yard option run that put Colorado ahead 14-13.
The momentum kept leaning Colorado’s way for a stretch. Santana Hopper forced Devon Dampier into a hurried throw, and Naeten Mitchell picked it off. That takeaway led to Elliott Arnold’s 32-yard field goal, stretching the Buffs’ lead to 17-13 with four minutes left in the third quarter.
But Utah answered before the quarter ended. Dampier found Creed Whittemore for 43 yards down the left sideline, then hit Braden Pegan for a 16-yard touchdown to push the Utes back in front 20-17.
Colorado was still alive deep into the fourth quarter, but a costly interception turned the game again. James Chenault Jr. picked off Wilson and returned it to the CU 22, and Utah capitalized when Dampier connected with Pegan again, this time for a 6-yard touchdown and a 27-17 lead.
The Buffs refused to fold. Wilson later found DeAndre Moore, Jr. for a 2-yard touchdown with 1:21 remaining, finishing off a drive sparked by a 48-yard completion to Moore and cutting the deficit to 27-24.
Colorado got one last crack after its defense forced a punt. Wilson scrambled for 17 yards and then pitched a lateral to Quanell Farrakhan Jr. for another 15, but the play was wiped out after review when officials ruled it an illegal forward pass. The Buffs then launched a Hail Mary that fell incomplete, ending the comeback bid.
The first half belonged to Utah. Devon Dampier opened the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Andrews after a 75-yard first drive, and Dillon Curtis added a 27-yard field goal after Utah used a 17-play march that took nearly nine minutes off the clock.
Colorado finally forced a big stop at the goal line when Naeten Mitchell dropped Wayshawn Parker for a 2-yard loss, and Dylan Manuel intercepted a shovel pass on the next snap. But Wilson later threw an interception to Rabbit Evans, and Utah added a 29-yard field goal to take a 13-0 edge into halftime.
Sanders said he still believes in what his team showed, even with the record sitting where it is.
"I got a lot of love and respect for these young men," Sanders added. "I really hate that the record tells a different story than who they really are. And prayerfully, they understand how good they could be, because you had two undefeated teams in a position that you could have won that game and easily defeated them, making a play here and there."
Colorado heads on the road next week to face Oklahoma State.
"I know we're gonna practice our butts off," Sanders said. "We're not gonna have a pity party because ain't nobody care, and we're gonna fight to the end.
I mean, the fans deserve it. Everybody deserves it.
The kids deserve it. And before we departed, we talked about playing for two entities: the name on the front and the name on the back.
And that's who they're playing for."
In Other News...
Colorado Fans Just Got A Clearer Picture Of This Seasons Spotlight
Colorado mens basketball has a much clearer national footprint for the 2026-27 season after the program announced its television schedule and tipoff times. ESPN platforms are set to carry a heavy share of the Buffaloes regular-season slate, giving fans a better sense of when and where they will be able to follow a team that will again be in the spotlight for both nonconference play and Big 12 matchups.
The rest of the schedule is spread across a wide range of outlets, including CBS Sports Network, FS1, USA Network, Peacock and others, which should make for plenty of accessible viewing once the season begins. One of the early marquee dates also stands out on the calendar, with Colorado State set to be part of the broadcast mix in a game that will draw plenty of attention from Colorado fans looking for an early measuring stick. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Faces A Utah Twist That Could Complicate Saturday
Saturday brings more than just a ranked opponent for Colorado. Utah comes to Boulder with Morgan Scalley in his first year as head coach, a familiar face who spent a decade as Kyle Whittinghams defensive coordinator and helped shape the programs identity from the back end as a former Utah safety. The Utes are 5-0 and sitting at No. 11, and their defense remains the kind of calling card that can make life difficult for any offense.
For Colorado, the matchup gets even trickier because Scalley knows Isaac Wilson well from their time together at Utah. That familiarity adds another layer to a game that already asks the Buffaloes to solve one of the nations better defenses while preparing for a coach who knows the personnel, the system and the quarterback hes now trying to stop. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Defense Faces Its Biggest Test Yet Against Unbeaten Utah
A bye week gave Colorados defense a chance to reset, but the challenge waiting at Folsom Field is the kind that can expose every weakness. No. 11 Utah arrives unbeaten and rolling with one of the nations most efficient attacks, sitting ninth nationally in total offense and bringing a backfield-driven offense that has made life difficult for every opponent so far. Devon Dampier has steered the Utes with command, while Wayshawn Parker gives Utah another layer of explosiveness for a Buffaloes defense that will need to be sharp from the start.
For Colorado, the task is less about simply slowing Utah down than finding a way to disrupt the rhythm before it gets established. Santana Hopper will be central to that effort, and the Buffs could use another key presence if the defense is at full strength. Lamont Lester Jr. is still in question, leaving a bit of uncertainty on the back end as Colorado prepares for an 8:15 p.m. MT kickoff on ESPN in what feels like its biggest defensive test of the season. [Read more 🡒]