Colorado’s loss to Utah left enough good tape to calm the panic and enough bad news to keep the alarm bells from going quiet.
The Buffaloes came up short against the then-No. 11 Utes on Saturday, but the game still had the feel of a missed opportunity rather than a total step backward.
Colorado was a Hail Mary away from the biggest win of the Coach Prime Era, and that chance came after the Buffs controlled the second half. At the same time, the defeat was Colorado’s fourth straight, so the questions that followed were unavoidable.
One of the biggest involved the run game and, specifically, Welch. Against Utah’s tough defense, he was barely involved, finishing with one carry for two yards.
That’s a notable drop for the back who earlier this season posted the first 100-yard rushing game of the Coach Prime Era against Weber State. Still, calling him anything other than RB1 is premature.
Colorado leaned on JaQuail Smith instead, and that was tied largely to the burst he showed on his 68-yard touchdown reception. Isaac Wilson created that play out of nothing, and without it, Welch would almost certainly have had a much larger role.
If Colorado can spend more time playing with the lead, or at least not chasing games so often, Welch should be back in a feature role before long.
The bigger problem is the calendar. Colorado is still trying to reach a bowl game and end a drought that goes back to 2004, when it beat UTEP in the Houston Bowl.
Since then, the Buffaloes have gone to five bowl games and lost all five. Hiring Deion Sanders was supposed to change that, but the path is tight now.
Colorado needs an upset over either Oklahoma State or Kansas State in the next two weeks just to stay in the hunt.
Even that may not be enough to suddenly make the road smooth. The Buffs likely still wouldn’t be favored in any of their remaining games, though the matchups would be more manageable. Losing a game they could have taken from Utah is what created this mess in the first place.
The defense, meanwhile, looks worse in the box score than it did on the field. Colorado has now allowed three or more touchdowns in five straight games, and that number is easy to overreact to if you only look at the final line.
But the unit did plenty against Devon Dampier. The Buffaloes intercepted him twice, sacked him three times, took away his rushing impact, and had Utah’s offense off balance for most of the game.
A couple of late quick strikes made the final impression uglier than the performance itself. Based on what happened Saturday, this defense is still holding up better than the numbers might suggest.
In Other News...
Utah Still Has Something To Prove After Staying Unbeaten
Utah left its matchup with Colorado still unbeaten, but the mood around the program was hardly celebratory. Players and coaches have spent the days since focusing on the offensive cleanup work that showed up in that game, where missed assignments and communication issues kept the unit from feeling as sharp as it needs to be heading into the tougher stretch of the schedule.
Creed Whittemore, Jordan Gross, Noah Bennee and Wayshawn Parker all pointed to the same theme: the Utes need cleaner execution and more consistent play before facing Houston. The standard is higher now, and with quality opponents waiting in the second half of the season, Utah knows it cannot lean on being undefeated alone if the offense is still sorting out its rhythm. [Read more 🡒]
Utahs Unbeaten Start Suddenly Feels Much More Fragile In Big 12 Race
Utahs unbeaten start still has the Utes in the thick of the Big 12 picture, but the league race no longer looks quite as clean as it did a week ago. The latest conference power rankings show how crowded the top has become, with three of the six remaining undefeated teams in the Big 12 and BYU climbing after its win over Notre Dame, a reminder that there is very little margin for anyone near the top.
For Utah, the bigger concern is how quickly a close call can reshape perception. The Utes slipped from No. 2 to No. 4 in the composite rankings after the 27-24 win at Colorado, and the schedule does not give them much time to settle in. Houston comes next in a Saturday night home matchup, another chance to prove the unbeaten start is still built to last rather than just survive. [Read more 🡒]
Which Utah Icon Gets The GameDay Spotlight This Time
ESPNs College GameDay is headed back to the University of Utah, giving the Utes another big-stage Saturday in front of a national audience. Rece Davis will be back on the desk alongside Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban and Kirk Herbstreit, with the usual GameDay mix of energy, signs and the kind of campus buzz that has made the show such a staple on college football mornings.
Utah has already hosted the show six times, and the tradition has included some memorable guest pickers along the way, from Ty Burrell and John Stockton to Frank Caliendo, Steve Smith and Alex Smith. The next question, naturally, is which former Ute gets the call this time, with Eric Weddle and Dalton Kincaid among the names in the conversation as GameDay prepares for another stop in Salt Lake City. [Read more 🡒]