Utes Beat The Buffaloes On Senior Night, 34-13

Saturday, November 25

Salt Lake City, Utah

8:00 PM

University of Utah

6-6 , 3-6

Colorado

5-7 , 2-7

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Colorado

UTAH

Photo by: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

11/25/2017 11:40 PM | Football

Box Score Postgame Notes Photo Gallery Postgame Quotes

SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah football program came away with a 34-13 win on Senior Night against the Colorado Buffaloes, improving to 6-6 on the season to become bowl eligible.

The Utes scored 28 points in the first half, all on rushing touchdowns, shutting out the Buffaloes. Utah finished with 310 rushing yards, led by sophomore Zack Moss who racked up a career-high 196 yards and two touchdowns. With Moss's career-best total, he became the 14^th player in Utah history to reach the 1,000-yard mark in a single season, giving him 1,023.

Troy Williams shined in his third start of the season, replacing an injured Tyler Huntley. He was 15-of-24 for 181 yards, adding two rushing scores of his own. Darren Carrington led the Utes in receiving yards, grabbing six catches for 64 yards.

On defense, Cody Barton recorded a season-high 10 tackles that included two sacks, also coming away with a 13-yard fumble recovery return. Bradlee Anae added eight tackles and a game-high 3.0 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

Moss put the Utes on the scoreboard first, pummeling through a line of Colorado defenders for a 15-yard score with 6:25 left to play in the first quarter. Moss came up with 38 of the 73 yards in the scoring drive, taking 2:35 off the clock to put Utah up 7-0.

Moss quickly overwhelmed the Colorado defense, gaining 78 yards on the ground in the first quarter. He scored his second touchdown of the game with 1:01 on the clock, pushing his way into the end zone for a two-yard rushing score, ending a four-play, 66-yard drive to give the Utes a 14-0 lead.

Williams made it look easy for Utah's third rushing touchdown of the game when the offensive line opened a huge whole for the senior quarterback to punch in an eight-yard touchdown. Williams completed a 40-yard pass to Raelon Singleton to get Utah in scoring territory, culminating with the touchdown to end the 10-play, 88-yard drive, making it 21-0 with 10:29 left in the second quarter.

The run continued to decimate the Buffaloes in the first half with Williams scoring his second rushing touchdown and the fourth of the game with just 23 seconds left in the second quarter. The nine-yard rushing score gave Utah a 28-0 advantage heading into halftime, taking 1:20 off the clock for seven plays and 74 yards.

Colorado got on the board early in the third quarter when they scored on a six-yard rush, making it 28-7 with 9:34 on the clock. It was the end of a six-play, 73-yard drive to take 1:38 off the clock.

Utah made it a 24-point game with 4:38 remaining in the third quarter when Matt Gay sent in a 37-yard field goal, giving Utah a 31-7 lead. Fifty-three of Utah's 56 yards on the scoring drive came from at the hands of Moss and Henry-Cole, burning 4:56 off the clock for 11 plays.

Colorado cut the Utah lead to 31-13 to start the fourth quarter, ending a 13-play, 78-yard drive for a three-yard rushing touchdown. The Buffaloes attempted the two-point conversion but was unsuccessful, kicking off to the Utes with 14:19 remaining in the final quarter.

The Utah defense set up the Utes' final scoring drive when Anae stripped the ball from the Colorado quarterback with Barton recovering the fumble to give Utah the ball on their own 33-yard-line. Gay knocked in his second field goal of the game and 27^th of the season with 5:58 left to play in the fourth quarter, ending a 37-yard drive that put Utah up 34-13.

With Utah's 34-13 win, the Utes became bowl eligible for the fourth straight season. Bowl games will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 3.