BOULDER — After an 49-24 thrashing of the Utah Utes for the fourth straight win for Deion Sanders and company — a performance that looked uneven throughout — CU has its sights set on a trip to the Big 12 Championship game and maybe a trip to the College Football Playoff.
Meanwhile, Utah exits Saturday needing to win its final two games just to make a bowl in the 20th season under coach Kyle Whittingham.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday at Folsom Field:
Big plays overshadow disjointed offensive performance
For all the progress CU’s offensive line has made in recent weeks, that unit took a step backward against a physical Utah defense.
The Buffs couldn’t get the run game going and Shedeur Sanders couldn’t find many receivers open downfield for much of the day.
But even when things look out of sync for the CU offense, a few big plays make the difference. A jump ball to Will Sheppard on a play in which Utah jumped offside resulted in a 40-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
In the second half, Isaiah Augustave took the ball 37 yards into the end zone on the team’s first offensive play of the third quarter. Later, Shedeur connected with true freshman Drelon Miller for a 37-yard score on a third-and-12.
Pat Shumur’s offense hasn’t put together a complete performance in a few weeks, and that unit may need one vs. Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium.
Defense capitalizes on inexperienced QB
The much-improved Buffs defense wasn’t going to let a previously benched true freshman quarterback beat them.
The Buffs offense didn’t help, giving Utah favorable field position on multiple occasions, but the defense did its job, getting enough stops and forcing a few turnovers to pave the way for a double-digit win.
The Utes were forced to turn back to QB Isaac Wilson after Brandon Rose’s season-ending injury suffered last week and while the younger brother of Broncos QB Zach Wilson showed some promise on a handful of throws in the second half, he made one too many bonehead mistakes to really threaten the Buffs.
DJ McKinney’s fourth-quarter interception sealed the deal, and he joined Travis Hunter and linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green with picks in the game.
On the whole, the CU defense only allowed seven points on drives that didn’t start on the wrong side of the 50-yard line.
Splash special teams plays
LaJohntay Wester was one of the best punt returners in the country at Florida Atlantic. He’s been waiting all season for even a decent chance to return a kick. He got one Saturday.
The senior wideout returned a punt 76 yards to the end zone for a touchdown in the first quarter that gave the Buffs an early 14-3 lead. It was Wester’s second-career punt return for a touchdown and it made an otherwise so-so first-half performance look a little bit better.
