You’d be excused for not realizing Colorado has improved from last season to this year. The Buffaloes are already guaranteed to finish with a worse record than 2013’s 4-8 mark, but second-year coach Mike MacIntyre has made Colorado more competitive in conference play this season. Will that finally turn into a conference win? Colorado’s last chance this season comes Saturday when it hosts Utah.
How to watch Utah vs. Colorado: Game guide, TV schedule, streaming, odds
Can the Buffaloes end their conference woes with their first Pac-12 victory in 2014?
The Buffaloes ranked 95th in the nation in F/+ last season, and have moved steadily up to No. 79 this year. Their only wins have come against UMass and Hawaii, but they kept games against Cal, Oregon State and UCLA close, taking the Bears and Bruins to double overtime. Sefo Liufau will start at quarterback for the Buffaloes again after throwing Jordan Gehrke out there against Oregon.
Utah opened the season as a fringe playoff contender with a 6-1 record, with a stunning loss to Washington State balanced by wins over UCLA, USC and Michigan. Since then, they’ve lost three of four, falling to Arizona State, Oregon and Arizona while beating Stanford. The Utes have a strong defense that has occasionally fallen prey to up-tempo offenses, and the Buffaloes will look to test that Saturday.
How to watch, listen, and stream
Game time: 1 p.m. ET.
TV: Pac-12 Network.
Online streaming: Pac12.com.
The numbers
Rankings and records: Utah is ranked No. 25 in the Playoff rankings, but not ranked in either poll. Colorado is not ranked anywhere. The Utes are 7-4 with a 4-4 conference record. The Buffaloes are 2-9 with an 0-8 record in Pac-12 play.
Vegas: Utah opened as 10-point favorites. The line has since dropped to 9. The over/under is 59 points, per OddsShark.
Weather forecast: High of 66 and partly cloudy.
Two things at stake
A win for Colorado would show at least some tangible improvement for the Buffaloes.
An 8-4 regular season for Utah seems more accurate for how the year has gone than 7-5.
One big matchup
Utah’s defensive line vs. Colorado’s offensive line. Utah has three different players with at least 10 tackles for a loss this season: Nate Orchard, Hunter Dimick and Jared Norris. The senior Orchard leads the way, with 20 tackles for a loss and an astonishing 17.5 sacks. Colorado fans are hopeful about the offensive line’s improvement, but they will need their strongest performance yet when faced with Orchard and the rest of the Utes.
Further reading
For more on Utah, check out Block U. For Colorado coverage, head over to Ralphie Report.
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