Utah football’s 3 keys to victory vs. Colorado

The stage is almost set for Saturday’s Big 12 matchup between Utah and Colorado.

Looking to bounce back from a loss to their in-state rival, the Utes head into Week 9 unsure what their quarterback situation will look like when they take on the Buffaloes at Rice-Eccles Stadium (8:15 p.m. MT, ESPN) after Devon Dampier came out of the BYU game hobbled.

Whether the junior transfer from New Mexico is available for Saturday’s contest, Utah will look to defend home turf against a Colorado squad that’s rested and looking to capitalize on the momentum it built prior to its bye week in an upset win over Iowa State.

Let’s take a look at the three keys to victory for Utah.

Regardless of Dampier’s status — he’s listed as “questionable” at the time of this writing — offensive coordinator Jason Beck shouldn’t let the team’s quarterback situation dictate his play calling on Saturday.

Obviously, Utah’s triple option isn’t as potent when Dampier is hobbled, and his health shouldn’t be put in greater jeopardy with several quarterback draw plays, either. But there’s a fine line between protecting a player and changing up the entire offense because of those limitations.

If Dampier is able to go, the Utes still need to lean on their offensive line and be productive in the run game without relying on their signal-caller to move the chains with his legs. Utah has two running backs averaging more than 4 yards per carry this season in Wayshawn Parker (6.0) and NaQuari Rogers (4.2); both should be featured heavily against a Colorado squad that gives up 186.8 rush yards per game to Big 12 opponents.

Ficklin, who averages 6.5 yards per carry, has been efficient through the air in his limited playing time as well, completing all nine of his pass attempts on the season for 138 yards and a touchdown. How creative Beck would be with his play calling in an extended run for Ficklin remains to be seen, but he shouldn’t deviate too much from what’s made the Utes one of the most efficient offenses in college football.

Utah’s opponent appears to think along those same lines, too.

“We’re preparing for their scheme,” Sanders said when asked how Colorado’s preparation might change if Ficklin gets the start. “We’ll make adjustments if that happens, and do research and a study on this particular quarterback. But right now, we’re just preparing for what they do well; and they do it well.”

Heading into Week 9, Utah yields 150.7 rush yards per game to its opponents (seventh-most in the 16-team Big 12) while allowing 4.1 yards per carry — a considerable drop off from last season when it gave up 129 yards on the ground per contest and 3.8 per attempt.

The Utes’ struggles in slowing down the run have grown more with every mobile quarterback they come across on their Big 12 schedule. In Utah’s last four games, it’s allowed 196.3 rush yards per contest. During that same stretch, opposing signal-callers averaged 65 yards on the ground.

“Our run defense this year is not as good as it typically is,” Whittingham said during his weekly press conference. “I think a big reason for that is we’ve seen so much QB run game in the first seven games of the year.”

Saturday’s opponent won’t look much different than some of the others Utah has faced in Big 12 play. While the Buffaloes’ run game hasn’t exactly been on-par with the top teams in the league, their quarterback, Kaidon Salter, has proven he can be effective with his legs.

In Colorado’s three wins this season, Salter put up 55.7 rushing yards per game (6.2 per attempt). Conversely, he averaged just 34.3 rushing yards and 2.8 per carry in the three starts he lost. If the Utes can shut down this part of the Buffaloes offense, they’ll be in good shape.

Utah just hasn’t looked like itself on the defensive side of the ball over the last few weeks.

That might sound contradictory, considering the Utes rank among the top 12 teams in the country in defensive efficiency (81.2; No. 11 in the FBS), yards allowed through the air (155.4 per game, No. 12 nationally) and scoring (15.3 points allowed per game, also No. 12 in the country); but when it comes to giving their offense extra opportunities to put points on the board, they’ve been sub-par in that department in comparison to previous seasons.

Here’s an interesting nugget for illustration: Utah hasn’t forced a turnover in it’s last three games, dating back to its loss to Texas Tech on Sept. 20. The Utes have had a stretch of that kind only one other time since Whitttingham took over full-time head coaching duties in 2005, when they went three consecutive games without causing a turnover during the 2021 campaign.

At Utah’s current pace, it’ll end the 2025 regular season with 12 forced turnovers, which would be the team’s fewest since finishing the 2021 regular season with exactly that amount. For reference, the Utes averaged 21.8 forced turnovers in the regular season from 2005-2024.

Winning the turnover battle alone doesn’t always translate on the scoreboard; Utah finished the 2017 campaign at 7-6 despite forcing 27 turnovers, which was one fewer than the 28 turnovers it caused during its undefeated season in 2008. The biggest different between the two teams was that the Utes ranked outside the top 50 in the country with 29.5 points per game in 2017 — nearly 7 points less than the 2008 squad, which came in at No. 15 in the nation while putting up 36.9 points per game.

Thus far into the 2025 campaign, Utah — coincidentally, averaging 36.9 points again — has been able to outpace its opponents, for the most part, despite the fact its defense hasn’t been creating extra opportunities to put together scoring drives. But in a situation where Dampier, the offense’s engine, is clearly banged up, the Utes defense needs to do more than simply get off the field on third down to give their offense more opportune moments to seize momentum from the opposition.

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