It’s the last regular season game of the year for Utah, playing their hated rival, BY… errr Colorado… Uh, look, it’s Colorado, but the push over the last 10 years to make this a rivalry will never stick. With it being the last regular season game of the year (and it’s a short week with Thanksgiving), let’s focus on who Utah is likely to see this week.

First, it needs to be pointed out that CU is missing three WR who have played this year - Brendan Rice, Montana Lemonius-Craig, and La’Vontae Shenault. Rice is their #2 receiver in snaps (373) and Lemonius-Craig is #3 (245). Shenault hasn’t played since week 3 and is in the transfer portal, but was a solid WR and was a big part of the rotation early. Rice in particular is a loss, as he’s the top WR in catches (21 for 299 yards) and TDs (with 3).

First, the offense:

QB - Lewis: Lewis is a solid QB, rated 71.9 on 648 snaps this year (and 686 career snaps). He’s gone 140/243 (59.8%) for 1456 yards (6.2 ypa) with 10 TD and 3 INT. He doesn’t turn it over much, but also only throws short passes, with only 7% of his throws over 20 yards and only 15% between 10 and 20 yards. He’s also been sacked 27 times, which is the most of any Pac-12 QB. He also is prone to take off and run, with 56 carries or scrambles (not including sacks) for 335 yards (5.6 ypc) with 2 TD.

RB - Broussard: Broussard is CU’s top RB, rated 76.5 on 311 snaps this year (with 655 career snaps). He has 142 carries for 661 yards (4.7 ypc) with 2 TD plus 13 receptions for 81yards (6.2 ypc).

RB - Fontenot: Fontenot is rated 69.8 on 212 snaps this year (with 742 career snaps). He has 86 carries for 299 yards (3.5 ypc) with 5 TD plus 12 catches for 74 yards (6.2 ypc) with 1 TD.

RB - Smith: Smith is also rated 69.8 on 105 snaps this year (with 160 career snaps). He has 47 carries for 173 yards (3.7 ypc) with 2 TDs plus 5 receptions for 21 yards (4.2 ypc)

Broussard is CU’s main RB, with Fontenot coming in mostly for short yardage and Smith used to spell both.

WR - Arias: Arias has played 398 snaps this year (688 career) and has a rating of 64.0. He has 18 catches for 228 yards (12.7 ypc) and 1 TD.

WR - Stanley: Stanley has 221 snaps this year (1180 career) and is rated 53.8. He has 12 catches for 82 yards (6.8 ypc) with 1 TD.

WR - Penry: Penry has 188 snaps this year (his first) and is rated 56.0. He has 8 catches for 86 yards (10.8 ypc) with 1 TD.

WR - Robinson: Robinson has 168 snaps this yea (his first) and is rated 61.9. He has 6 catches for 64 yards (10.7 ypc) with 1 TD.

The WRs are not the strength of Colorado’s offense. Arias is an okay WR, the others are below average or poor. Even Arias has very limited production, as 18 catches is tied for 32nd in the Pac-12, and 228 yards comes in at 36th.

TE - Russell: Russell has played 567 snaps this year (1,723 career) and is rated 70.7. He has 23 catches for 295 yards (12.8 ypc) but no TD yet. He is also a solid blocker, at 64.7 pass blocking and 66.0 run blocking.

TE - Lynch: Lynch has 244 snaps this year and has 371 as a Buffalo after transferring from UCLA before the 2020 season. He’s rated 62.1 this year and has 3 catches for 16 yards. He’s mostly a blocker, blocking on 219 snaps.

Russell is a good TE, leading the team in catches. Lynch is mostly an extra OL, running very few receiving routes.

LT - Wiley: Wiley has played 647 snaps this year (and 655 career) and is rated 43.4. He is rated 44.7 pass blocking and 44.3 run blocking and has 3 penalties.

LG - Kutsch: Kutsch has played 639 snaps this year (and 1,830 career) and is rated 73.4. He is rated 83.9 pass blocking and 72.1 run blocking and has 3 penalties.

C - Pursell: Pursell has played 627 snaps this year (and 2,062 career) and is rated 68.2. He is rated 70.4 pass blocking and 67.8 run blocking and has 5 penalties.

RG - Roddick: Roddick has played 523 snaps this year (and 1,325 career) and is rated 60.3. He is rated 59.9 pass blocking and 60.5 run blocking and has 2 penalties.

RT - Fillip: Fillip has played 505 snaps this year (1,197) and is rated 42.9. He’s rated 36.3 pass blocking and 48.7 run blocking and has 4 penalties.

There is a reason this line has given up 27 sacks, as the tackles are not rated well and Fillip is particularly low-rated in pass blocking. Expect some pressure from Utah's DL.

Colorado’s offense isn’t performing very well. They’re 95th in rushing (131.8 ypg), 126th in passing (135.5 ypg) and 119th in scoring (19.3 ppg).

Now let’s look at the defense

DE - Lang: Lang has played 556 snaps this year and 1,730 in his career. He’s rated 50.7 and has 16 QB pressures, 13 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 2 PBU and 3 missed tackles.

DL - Rodman: Rodman has played 411 snaps this year and 823 in his career. He’s rated 53.0 and has 9 QB pressures, 19 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks, and 6 missed tackles.

DL - Sami: Sami has played 396 snaps this year and 988 in his career. He’s rated 67.5 and has 12 QB pressures, 25 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, and 8 missed tackles.

DL - Johnson: Johnson has played 351 snaps this year and 1,820 in his career. He’s rated 66.9 and has 18 QB pressures, 15 tackles, 5 TFL, 2 sacks, and 3 missed tackles.

DL - Jordan: Jordan has played 239 snaps this year and 590 in his career. He’s rated 39.7 and has 3 QB pressures, 9 tackles, 1 PBU, and 4 missed tackles.

DE - Montgomery: Montgomery has played 142 snaps this year and 271 in his career. He’s rated 59.1 and has 9 QB pressures, 6 tackles, and 1 missed tackle.

Colorado’s DL rotates a good amount, but only Sami and Johnson are decently rated.

OLB - Wells: Wells has played 674 snaps this year and 1,887 in his career. He’s rated 76.9 and has 26 QB pressures, 43 tackles, 13.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 3 PBU, 1 INT, and 5 missed tackles.

MLB - Perry: Perry has played 435 snaps this year and 508 in his career. He’s rated 40.6 and has 5 QB pressures, 58 tackles, 3 TFL, and 12 missed tackles.

MLB - Landman: Landman has played 420 snaps and 2,262 in his career. He’s rated 66.7 and has 5 QB pressures, 63 tackles, 6 TFL, 6 sacks, 4 PBU, and 11 missed tackles. Landman has been injured, so he may not play this week, but they’re hoping to have him back.

MLB - Barnes: Barnes has played 317 snaps this year in his first year after transferring from Oklahoma. He is rated 52.2 and has 3 QB pressures, 34 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 PBU, 1 INT, and 3 missed tackles.

OLB - Gustav: Gustav has played 201 snaps this year and 316 in his career. He’s rated 66.0 and has 7 QB pressures, 11 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 PBU, and 1 missed tackle.

Wells is a good LB and Landman is solid if he’s back. The others are not rated well.

CB - Gonzalez: Gonzalez has played 743 snaps this year and 1,134 in his career. He’s rated 71.3 and has 47 tackles, 5 TFL, 5 PBU, and has given up 29 catches on 53 targets.

CB - Blackmon: Blackmon has played 537 snaps this year and 1,353 in his career. He’s rated 72.1 and has 41 tackles, 4 PBU, 1 INT, and has given up 23 catches on 37 targets.

CB - Taylor: Taylor has played 253 snaps this year, his first year. He’s rated 47.2, has 8 tackles, and has given up 14 catches on 24 targets.

S - Perry: Perry has played 722 snaps this year and 1,189 in his career. He’s rated 61.4 and has 60 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 PBU, 2 INT, and has given up 21 catches on 28 targets.

S - Lewis: Lewis has played 608 snaps this year and 1,044 in his career. He’s rated 56.1 and has 57 tackles, 2 INT, and has given up 19 catches on 30 targets.

Colorado’s starting corners are good, but Taylor is rated very poorly and the safeties are average or below-average.

Colorado’s defense is better than their offense, but isn’t great. They’re rated 96th in passing yards (248.1 ypg), 94th in run defense (170.7 ypg), 117th in sacks (1.27 per game), 99th on 3rd down (42.6%), and 71st in scoring defense (26.6 ppg).

Utah should comfortably win this game. Utah is better at every facet, and despite Colorado getting a good win against OSU and a win against UW last week, they can’t run the ball, stop the run, or get to the quarterback. If Utah plays a decent game they’ll win comfortably and be able to rest their starters by the third quarter. Utah should also be able to keep a lid on Colorado’s offense, but expect the backups to give up a late TD.

Prediction: Utah 35 - Colorado 13.