Head coach Deion Sanders gives instructions to his team, the Colorado Buffalos, during overtime on Sept 16, 2023. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
The University of Colorado Buffaloes football season ended on Saturday morning in Salt Lake City, Utah after a 23-17 loss to the University of Utah. The Utes’ Rice-Eccles stadium provided a scenic mountainous backdrop, second only to Boulder’s own Folsom field for the “Rumble in the Rockies” rivalry game.
A shaky start for quarterback Ryan Staub
With the Buffs’ star quarterback Shedeur Sanders out due to injury, freshman quarterback Ryan Staub got his first collegiate start on Saturday. With some previous in-game experience against Washington State University, Staub initially seemed to have a good handle on the Colorado offense, leading his first drive into Utah territory. Unfortunately, on first and 10 at the Utes’ 35, the freshman was stripped for a turnover by Utah defensive end Conner O’Toole.
The Utah offense proceeded to drive down the field, keeping the ball on the ground each play, culminating in a two-yard touchdown run for Utah quarterback Luke Bottari. Staub and the Colorado offense failed to get anything going for their second drive of the day, and the first quarter ended with the Buffs trailing 7-0.
Despite the rough start, Staub went on to finish with nearly 200 passing yards and a touchdown off of a 70 completion percentage.
“He refocused and recalibrated himself. I’m proud of Staub. You have no idea the leaps and bounds that he’s made, because I’ve been there every day at practice, so it was phenomenal,” coach Deion Sanders said during a press conference after the game.
Jimmy Horn Jr. connects with Dylan Edwards on a trick play
Following a Utah field goal in the early second quarter, Jimmy Horn Jr. delivered the Colorado offense a terrific field position with a 40-yard return. After Staub threw a couple of first-down completions, Horn Jr. put together his second stellar play of the drive. After catching a backward pass on first and 10 from the Utah 30-yard line, the Colorado receiver launched a deep ball that traveled nearly 40 yards before landing in freshman running back Dylan Edwards’ arms for the touchdown.
Colorado and Utah traded field goals to end the second quarter, bringing the score to 13-10 with Utah leading when entering the half.
Missed opportunities surrounding the half
As the second quarter came to a close, Ryan Staub sent a third down deep ball down the right sideline to Travis Hunter in a last-ditch effort to find the endzone. At first, it seemed that Hunter had made a miraculous diving catch in the endzone, however, upon official review the replay revealed that the ball hit the ground before it was secured. Consequently, Colorado had to settle for a field goal in the closing seconds of the first half.
Upon play resuming in the third quarter, the Buffaloes once again had a big play get called back. This time, a potential Dylan Edwards touchdown kick return was removed due to an illegal blindside block from Tajh Alston. Alston’s effort on the play was seemingly unnecessary, Edwards already had the defender beat, and a Buffaloes score was erased because of it.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get the catch from Travis. I thought that was [a catch], as well as the punt return from Dylan. Two huge plays. You can’t win games and be inconsistent in those areas,” said Sanders.
Utah was able to extend its lead midway through the third quarter with another Luke Bottari goalline rushing touchdown and the game entered its last period with the Utes leading the Buffs 20-10.
Travis Hunter and Utah’s run game dominates down the stretch
Despite Utah adding a field goal to their lead early in the fourth quarter, the Colorado offense put together a memorable drive with their final possession of the game. Travis Hunter was everywhere, racking up three consecutive catches for 44 yards to get the drive going. On a 4th and four at the Utah 43-yard line, Ryan Staub kept the drive alive with a wild Shedeur-esque scramble play, connecting with tight end Michael Harrison for a 25-yard gain. Two plays later, Staub hit Hunter in stride, who dodged a defender before scoring. The touchdown capped off an eight-reception, 107-yard day for Travis Hunter, who also played cornerback throughout the day.
Ryan Staub commented on Hunter’s performance after the game.
“He’s the best player in college football right now,” Staub said. “He’s a safety net, but he’s also a weapon at the same time. For me, having a guy like him in his first start was huge. He played great.”
However, it was the Utah run game that won the game. Following Hunter’s touchdown, a seven-and-a-half minute, 12-play, and 46-yard Utah drive brought the game clock down to zero. Just as they had done all day, Utah gained every yard of the drive by keeping the ball on the ground and eating away the time to preserve their lead.
“Anybody with a football mind knows they were going to try to run the ball … they’re a physical, tough, hard-nosed team that runs right at you and that’s what they did,” said Sanders after the game.
The Utes’ trio of running backs Ja’Quinden Jackson, Jaylon Glover and Sione Vaki all finished with more than 60 rushing yards in the game.
Currently, Utah holds the all-time advantage in the rivalry with 35 wins to Colorado’s 32. Stumbling into their sixth consecutive loss on Saturday, Colorado finished its season with a 4-8 record in Deion Sanders’s first year as head coach of the program.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Charlie Hewitt at charlie.hewitt@colorado.edu
