Football Plays Colorado in Boulder Saturday

Saturday, November 17

Boulder, CO

11:30 AM

University of Utah

Colorado

11/12/2018 11:40 AM | Football

Game Notes Press Conference Quotes

The Game
No. 21/19 Utah (7-3, 5-3 Pac-12) visits Colorado (5-5, 2-5 Pac-12) in Boulder on Saturday, Nov. 17. Kickoff is 11:30 a.m. MT at Folsom Field. Pac-12 Networks will televise the game. Search #UTAHvsCU for conversation and follow @utahathletics for live updates.

Bowls and Polls
> At 7-3, Utah is bowl eligible for the 13th time under coach Kyle Whittingham. Whittingham has the best bowl win percentage in NCAA history (92%) and his 11 bowl wins (11-1) is tied for second among active coaches.
> Utah jumped five places to No. 19 in the Coaches' poll and returned to the AP poll at No. 21 following last week's win over Oregon. Utah's highest ranking this season was No. 15 in the CFP and No. 16 in the AP and Coaches' polls on Oct. 29.

Quick Hits
> Utah leads the Pac-12 South with a 5-3 conference record. For the Utes to win their first Pac-12 South title, they must beat Colorado this Saturday and Arizona State must lose to either Oregon or Arizona in the next two weeks. Utah and Arizona can tie for the title, but Utah has the tiebreaker.
> Utah lost its two total offense leaders to injuries within four days of each other on Nov. 3 and 7. Quarterback Tyler Huntley and running back Zack Moss accounted for 84-percent of Utah's total offense (3,184 of 3,776 total yards) through the first nine games before missing last week's game against Oregon. Huntley, who could potentially return for a bowl game, was injured against ASU on Nov. 3 and Moss suffered a non-football injury on Nov. 7. The juniors were teammates at Hallandale High School in Florida.
> Saturday's game is the first time since Utah and Colorado joined the Pac-12 in 2011 that they will not meet in the regular season finale. Utah closes its regular season against BYU on Nov. 24.
> Utah has a 3-1 record against the Pac-12 South Division with wins against Arizona, USC and UCLA and a loss to Arizona State. The Utes are 2-2 against the North with wins over Stanford and Oregon, and losses to Washington and Washington State.
> Utah has played Colorado more than any other Pac-12 school. At 64 games, it is the fifth-longest series in school history.
> Colorado leads the overall series 32-29-3, but Utah has a 5-2 advantage in Pac-12 games.
> The Buffs lead the series 16-12-1 in Boulder, where Utah last won in 2014. See page 2 for more on the series.

Statchat
> Utah is No. 1 in the nation in red zone defense (58.1, 18-of-31).
> Utah is No. 3 in the nation (No. 1 Pac-12) in field goals made (20).
> Utah is No. 10 in the nation (No. 1 Pac-12) in rushing defense (101.7).
> Utah is No. 10 in the nation (No. 2 Pac-12) in net punting (41.53).
> Utah is No. 1 in the Pac-12 in red zone offense (0.895, 34-of-38).
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in first down defense (171).
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 (No. 17 nationally) in scoring defense (19.7).
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in pass efficiency defense (116.77).
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in rushing offense (205.0).
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in tackles for loss per game (7.3).
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in opponent third-down conversion percentage (33.1).
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 (No. 19 nationally) in total defense (323.7).
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in interceptions (10).
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in time of possession (31:09).
> Utah is No. 3T in the Pac-12 in defensive touchdowns (2).
> Utah is No. 3T in the Pac-12 in sacks per game (2.50).
> Utah is No. 3T in the Pac-12 in turnovers gained (15).
See sidebar on page 3 for more Utah rankings.

Two Minute Drill
The 11:30 a.m. kick time at Colorado this Saturday is the earliest start time for a Utah game since 2014 when the Utes and Buffs kicked off at 11 a.m. in Boulder … Saturday marks the final regular season road game for 15 Ute seniors … Utah's best offensive quarter is the second (94 points) and its best defensive quarter is the third (37 points) … 2017 Lou Groza Award winner Matt Gay and 2016 Ray Guy Award winner Mitch Wishnowsky once again constitute the best kicking unit in the country. Gay leads the Pac-12 in field goals per game and is No. 3 nationally. Wishnowsky leads the Pac-12 in punt average and ranks No. 4 in the nation.

In the Huddle
Senior linebacker Chase Hansen is the third quarterback option behind Jason Shelley and Drew Lisk. Hansen, a former all-state quarterback at Lone Peak HS (Utah), played in two games at quarterback as a redshirt freshman in 2015 before moving full time to defense … True freshman Devin Brumfield is third on the running back depth chart behind Armand Shyne and TJ Green. Brumfield, who has played in three games, can play in four total without burning a redshirt season … Sophomore receiver Bryan Thompson came off the injured list to play for the first time last week against Oregon. He could play the rest of the season, including the bowl game, and retain his redshirt status … Nine true freshmen have played: Solomon Enis, Cole Fotheringham, Brant Kuithe, Devin Brumfield, Braeden E. Daniels, Maddie Golden, R.J. Hubert and Malone Mataele … Five true or redshirt freshmen have started: Solomon Enis, Bronson Boyd, Jaylen Dixon, Cole Fotheringham, Brant Kuithe and Nick Ford … Utah has 41 players of Polynesian descent on its roster.