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BOULDER, Colo. — Despite miserable snow conditions, Utah took care of business and closed out Pac-12 play with a 30-7 win over the Colorado Buffaloes in a Saturday morning road game.
Utah started out slow due to slippery conditions, but then found success in the passing game behind redshirt freshman Jason Shelley, who finished the game throwing for 221 yards on 11-of-23 passing. Shelley added 29 yards rushing in a Utah victory that could potentially clinch the Pac-12 South Division.
Receiver Jaylen Dixon led the Utah receiving corps with 125 receiving yards and one touchdown on four catches, including a 47-yard catch from Shelley to give Utah their first points of the second half and to extend their lead. It would be Dixon’s best receiving game as a Ute. Dixon and Shelley would pace the Utes to 390 total yards of offense against the Buffaloes.
"He’s really fast, so he stretches the defense vertically," Shelley said of Dixon, his former high school teammate in Texas. "We used his speed to our advantage and we connected on a lot of deep balls."
Utah started out slow in the first half and struggled to manage the offense with the snowy conditions. But a refocus and some change to cleats at halftime allowed Utah to build on a single score in the first half. Utah would score 23 points in the second half to close out on 30 unanswered points.
"We came together," Shelley said. "We knew that the first half wasn’t really us and we had to come out with a different mindset because we knew that no team is a slouch, so we had to come out and do our thing."
Utah’s defense would smother Colorado’s offense for much of the game and limited the Buffaloes to only 196 total yards of offense. The defense finished the game with 16 tackles for loss for 65 yards, including six sacks.
"Coach (Morgan) Scalley had a great scheme coming into the game,” linebacker Francis Bernard said of Utah's defensive coordinator. “He knew exactly when to call certain things. I think his play-calling was right on point — to the point where we made tons of plays.”
Bernard, who finished with a team-high 10 tackles and three tackles for loss, was instrumental in the defense holding Colorado to under 200 yards after replacing senior linebacker Chase Hansen to a targeting penalty. Hansen was ejected from the game in the first quarter after sacking Colorado quarterback Steven Montez.
Colorado was the first to get on the board on a 13-yard rushing touchdown by running back Trav McMillian, capping off a seven-play, 70-yard drive in the first quarter. The drive was helped by a confirmed targeting penalty to Utah’s Chase Hansen and later a pass interference call to put the Buffaloes in the red zone.
Utah would equalize early in the second quarter on a four-play, 80-yard drive. Shelley would connect with a streaking Dixon for a 61-yard pickup and then a sideline catch for a 12-yard pickup. Shelley would then connect with Samson Nacua on a 10-yard toss for a one-handed catch and touchdown.
Colorado has now lost six-straight games after starting the season with five straight wins. They need one more win to become bowl eligible.
Utah awaits to see the winner of the Oregon-Arizona State game Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The Utes need Oregon to beat the Sun Devils for Utah to claim the South. Utah, though, at least claims a share of the South Division regardless of what Arizona State does.
