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BOULDER, Colo. — In a snowy Saturday morning, it was two athletes from Texas that led the Utah offense to a 30-7 win over the struggling Colorado Buffaloes Saturday.
Quarterback Jason Shelley and his former high school teammate Jaylen Dixon paced the Utes to 390 yards of total offense and a vital South Division win to close out Pac-12 play with a 6-3 conference record and at least a share of the South Division title.
Utah still has one game left to the regular season, but closing out conference play strong was the biggest goal of the season.
Here are some takeaways from Utah’s win over Colorado.
Utah’s defense is filthy
Talk about an obvious statement.
Utah’s defense, minus a few miscues this season, has been an incredible asset in the team’s pursuit for a South Division title. All season, there has been talk about this defense being arguably the best in school history. Following its performance Saturday against the Buffaloes, there’s no question this is, in fact, the best defense in school history.
Utah held Colorado to under 200 yards of total offense, had 16 tackles for loss and six sacks in an absolutely dominant performance. From Bradlee Anae to Maxs Tupai, the defensive front lived in the backfield and forced Colorado into bad field position. Add to that the play of Utah’s linebackers and secondary, and Colorado had little ability to move the ball downfield.
Colorado’s most successful drive and only score came after Utah picked up a targeting penalty by Chase Hansen and a pass interference call to put the Buffs inside the red zone. Other than that, Colorado really struggled to cross the 50-yard line for the rest of the game.
And to show how deep Utah’s defense can be, backup linebacker Francis Bernard led the team in tackles with 10, including three tackles for loss. Bernard was inserted into the game after Hansen was ejected and immediately stepped up and made his impact known.
In year’s past, losing a player like Hansen would be detrimental in a vital game. And while there’s no replacing the talent and impact of Hansen, Bernard almost made people forget about a nonsensical targeting call that precluded the team’s best defensive player.
Shelley doesn’t care about a little snow
Having never played football in snow, it would be reasonable to think that the redshirt freshman quarterback would struggle with the nuances that come with a slippery ball. But after a few early drives to set the tone, Shelley went to work and picked apart the Colorado defense.
Shelley wasn’t convinced that running the ball was the best strategy to win in a snowy game. Instead, the Texas native threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns on 11-of-23 passing. His passing percentage was a measly 47.8 percent, but Shelley was effective on the balls he connected on and put the offense in a position to take over the game.
Incompletion stats can be a bit misleading, particularly in a game with severe weather. Shelley is still learning how to manage an offense, but his ability to pick up the offense and look composed and calm in the pocket is an incredibly good sign for Utah’s future. Even with poor weather conditions, Utah has a backup quarterback that doesn’t miss a beat and keeps the offense moving.
Utah is going green
Channeling Gordon Bombay and the '90s era "Mighty Ducks" trilogy: “Quack, quack, quack.”
For at least one week, Utah is the biggest fan of the Oregon Ducks. A Ducks win over the Arizona State Sun Devils Saturday night will finally give Utah the South Division title. All is not lost should the Sun Devils win, as the same scenario applies when Arizona State travels to Arizona in the final game of the regular season. But why wait until the final week of the season?
Utah may have lost to Arizona State, but the program swept the rest of the South schools — a challenging feat in a wacky division race — and has nearly done everything it needed to earn the division title. Now it’s time for the South to finally give Utah a chance to play in the Pac-12 Championship game.
Nothing is guaranteed in football, but Utah will certainly hope the so-called “November curse” falls on a different team in the desert. Utah has certainly done it’s part this season and has rebounded exceptionally well through some adversity.
