No. 9 Colorado sealed the Pac-12 South title and a berth in next week’s conference championship by beating Utah, 27-22, on Saturday night in Boulder. The Buffs will play No. 5 Washington on Friday in a conference final in Santa Clara, Calif. (9 p.m. ET, FOX).
Colorado stampedes into the Pac-12 Championship vs. Washington, which means USC’s out
The Buffs delivered in their biggest moment in years.
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Both teams spent most of the game trying and failing to finish drives. Colorado had a 13-7 lead at halftime, after a pair of costly first-half drops caused two touchdowns to become field goals. Utah’s only first-half score came on a punt return, with the offense stalling out for punts and field goals. Nothing came easily.
CU pulled ahead, 20-13, on a Sefo Liufau 6-yard touchdown pass to Shay Fields on the last play of the third quarter. Utah got a 93-yard kick return to CU’s 3 after that, but the Utes’ offense couldn’t punch it in and had to kick a field goal. Poor drive finishing never stopped being a thing. It was sort of the theme of the game.
Colorado’s separation came on a defensive touchdown just after the start of the fourth quarter. CU linebacker Rick Gamboa stripped Utah running back Joe Williams, and Kenneth Olugbode scooped and scored to make it a 27-16 game.
Utah scored a touchdown with 94 seconds left in the game, but it wasn’t enough to mount a two-possession comeback. The Buffs finished the job.
This was Colorado’s biggest game in years. The Buffs are a great story, but their loss to USC in October meant they had to win to keep the Trojans at bay in the Pac-12.
Had they lost, USC would’ve tied the Buffs in the conference standings at 7-2, and USC would’ve taken the division on a head-to-head tiebreaker. Colorado was win-and-in for the conference championship game, and the Buffs delivered in a packed house at Folsom Field.
Now, Colorado’s in a Pac-12 Championship against a Washington team that probably – though not definitely – makes the Playoff with a win. The Huskies are terrifying, and they savaged Washington State in a never-close Apple Cup on Friday. UW is well-rounded, but so is CU, and the Buffs’ defense has as good a shot as just about anyone to stand up to Jake Browning and the Husky offense. That game should rule.
No matter what happens, CU’s season is an unqualified, amazing success. The Buffs weren’t supposed to be anywhere near where they are. They’re a win away from the Rose Bowl and likely can’t do worse than a solid non-New Year’s bowl like the Holiday or the Alamo. They’ve done well for themselves.
Utah’s regular season finishes disappointingly, with two losses after an 8-2 start. The Utes’ New Year’s Six aspirations fell apart quickly, and they weren’t able to get a marquee win in their finale. They’re probably ticketed for something like the Sun Bowl or Las Vegas Bowl, where they’d been twice in a row.
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