The final game of the regular season is here, and if the Utes close this one out the way they are expected to, this team will complete what will almost certainly be the most impressive regular season in their history. In going 11-1 through the PAC 12 conference, Utah's performance has surpassed both 2008 and 2004. Although the strength of schedule has been criticized, the teams Utah has been going up against are overwhelmingly superior to those they faced in their Mountain West schedules, with only a handful of exceptions. The stats the Utes have put up are also on their own level.

In 2004, Utah had the number 3 scoring offense but the number 24 scoring defense. In efficiency, they ranked 3rd in yards per play offensively... and 50th defensively. In 2008, the 15th ranked scoring offense, 37th ranked for efficiency, was paired up with a team ranked 12th and 17th in those categories. These aren't opponent adjusted stats- Utah had the opportunity to run up the score on UNM, UNLV and other dregs of the Mountain West.

This year, Utah's 25th ranked scoring offense is also 10th in efficiency, and is paired with, inarguably, the best defense ever to take the field for the program. They have more senior bowl invites than any team in Utah history- a stat that projects this loaded team to significant NFL success for multiple position players. Time will tell if Jaylon Johnson, Zack Moss, Bradlee Anae, Leki Fotu, Julian Blackmon, Terrell Burgess, John Penisnii, Francis Bernard, Tyler Huntley, and perhaps some others we don't expect will match the incredible careers of Eric Weddle and Alex Smith, but the talent level on this team puts them in a good spot to surpass it.

All of this, of course, is dependent on a win over Colorado. A win sends the Utes to the PAC 12 championship game. A loss- a shocking upset fully 6.5 points worse than the worst upset in their history (-22.5, also to Colorado. 2011) would send them to their couches next Friday night.

Utah is on another planet compared to this Colorado team. The only confounding factor for the lofty -28 spread Vegas has set is the blustery winter weather, but of course Utah's defense will also be able to take advantage of the conditions and seek to mark their fifth home game of the season not allowing their opponent into the endzone. With everything on the line for the Utes, I fully expect an absolute throttling on a snowy Saturday night.

Utah 38, Colorado 6