Colorado spent the first half against Utah producing a number that said plenty about its night: penalties.
The Buffaloes went into Oct. 17 hoping the bye week would help wake up an offense that had been stuck in neutral. Instead, No.
11 Utah kept them pinned down early and built a 10-0 lead before halftime in the Big 12 primetime matchup at Folsom Field. By the break, Colorado’s most productive “offense” had actually come from yellow flags.
At one point, the Buffaloes had 62 penalty yards and only 42 offensive yards midway through the second quarter. By halftime, Colorado had 78 total yards, eight penalty markers and just 70 yards of actual offense. The ground game never got going, and the passing attack didn’t do much better.
Utah, meanwhile, controlled the game almost from the start. The Utes held the ball for 22:03, while Colorado managed only 7:57.
They also piled up 19 first downs to Colorado’s three and put together 28 plays inside Buffaloes territory. The result was only 13 points, but that number could have been much larger if not for one huge play by Colorado’s defense.
That moment came when defensive lineman Dylan Manuel intercepted a pass inside Colorado’s own 5-yard line. It was the Buffaloes’ lone trip into Utah territory in the half, and it kept the deficit from growing even more lopsided.
Utah’s first touchdown came on Devon Dampier’s 8-yard pass, and the Utes have now stretched their winning streak to 11 straight, the longest in the country. Colorado, for its part, was still searching for answers after a first half that featured 49 passing yards and 21 rushing yards.
The contrast with last year was impossible to miss. Utah had beaten Colorado 53-7 a season ago, and even with the Buffaloes trailing by only 13 at halftime this time, the offensive struggles were impossible to ignore.
Elsewhere around the country, the weekend had already turned chaotic, with No. 1 Georgia and No.
2 Notre Dame both going down. Indiana’s 22-game winning streak also ended in a 19-15 loss to No.
4 Ohio State in Bloomington.
Colorado still had a chance to be part of the upset-heavy weekend, but only if it could find a way to finally spark an offense that had been nearly invisible through two quarters.
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Utah Faces A Colorado Formula That Could Make This Uncomfortable
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The Utes will have to be ready for Colorados best defensive and offensive answers, with Santana Hopper expected to help set the tone on one side and Welch positioned to matter on the other. Wilsons recent struggles have put the spotlight on Colorados ability to stay on schedule and avoid mistakes, but the larger challenge for Utah is simple enough: a desperate team with something to prove can still make a game uncomfortable if the favorite is not sharp from the start. [Read more 🡒]