Takeaways: Utah at Colorado

What a journey it’s been everyone. For the first time since the University of Utah joined the Pac-12 in 2011, the Utes are heading to the Pac-12 Championship Game. Despite snowy conditions--that might have made even the most confident of Ute fans nervous--Utah overcame a slow start to the first quarter to coast against the Colorado Buffaloes, 30-7.

After taking care of what they could control, the Utes sat back and watched the Oregon Ducks lend them a helping hand, as they defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils, giving Utah the outright South crown with one week to go in the regular season.

Here are the takeaways from the game:

The Ute took away the Pac-12's best big play threat

The Utah defense was burned by Arizona State’s wideouts N’Keal Harry and Brandon Aiyuk for over 100 yards each, as well as Oregon’s Dillon Mitchell, so keeping Colorado’s Laviska Shenault in check was key. Shenault finished the day with nine receptions, but only for 64 yards on 15 targets.

Colorado tried to go to him early in the first quarter, but Utah’s defense kept him relatively well under wraps. Shenault had 4 catches over 10 yards in the first half and had 49 yards on five receptions and eight targets.

The Utes all but eliminated him from the game in the second half, as Shenault caught a nine yard pass on the Buffaloes opening second half drive, which would end up being his longest of four catches in the second half, without counting drawing a pass interference call for 15 yards. From there, Shenault only caught one ball in the 4th quarter, which was also was after the game was well in doubt. Credit the defense for not letting a big-time receiver make big plays to keep the opponent in the game.

Front Seven dominated sans Hansen

Just 10 minutes into the game, Chase Hansen got ejected due to a controversial targeting call on Steven Montez--the call was a complete joke, by the way. In true "next man up" mentality, Francis Bernard stepped in and led the Utah defense with 10 tackles (eight solo) and 3.5 tackles for loss. He wasn't the only one wrecking havoc on Steven Montez all game: The Utah front seven finished with 16 tackles for loss and six sacks. Cody Barton, Bradlee Anae, Maxs Tupai, Leki Fotu and Pita Tonga each recorded a sack and Tupai led the team with 3.5 tackles for loss. Hauati Pututau recovered a fumble amid snowy conditions, as well.

After all those tackles for loss, Utah held the Colorado rushing attack to just 34 yards on 34 carries--that's one yard per carry, ONE. It was just an incredibly, dominating performance by the Utah defense. Also on the bright side, their defensive star is now rested for BYU.

Unlike past Novembers, their depth is showing up

Part of Utah's November struggles in years past were due to a lack of depth. They had good starting talent, but behind them there was a steep drop-off at many positions. That's no longer the case, as the Utes have the depth to absorb losses at nearly every position and continue to win games. Sit back, pause for a second, and think about that, for most Ute fans it probably never seemed possible. Two backups in particular who provided a boost for the Utes were Francis Bernard and TJ Green.

Bernard was asked to step up early after Hansen was ejected for the bogus targeting call. There was legitimate worry that the linebackers would suddenly see a drop-off, seeing as Hansen is arguably the best player on the defense, but Bernard responded by finishing the game with a team-high 10 tackles, as well as three tackles for loss.

As for Green, he gave a boost to Utah's running game after they struggled to get anything going in the first half. Green gashed the Colorado defense with some nice runs to the edges, and had a nice version of a hurdle which will definitely make the highlight reel. He finished with 43 yards on nine carries, second only to Armand Shyne's 55 yards. However, Green averaged 4.8 yards per carry, while Shyne struggled with 3.2

Second half was all Utah

Early in the game as the snow wrecked havoc, neither team could get momentum and it was a field position game throughout the first half, which led to a 7-7 ballgame after the first 30 minutes. The difference in the game was the third quarter in which Utah out-gained Colorado 190-4 in total yards--yep, you heard that right.

After being down 7-0, Utah scored 30 straight points and cruised in the fourth quarter. Jaylen Dixon’s 47-yard touchdown grab on a great throw by Jason Shelley gave Utah the momentum and they never looked back. Offensive coordinator Troy Taylor made some crucial adjustments to gash the Colorado defense in the second half. These adjustments involved featuring the blazing speed and shiftiness of Britain Covey, Green and Dixon.

A combination of 20 points by the offense and four total yards allowed by the defense, in the third quarter, gave the Utes the boost they needed to pull away and coast to an easy victory.

Championship teams can play in any weather

As the weather raged and pressure mounted, the Utes never wavered. With everything at stake and so many bad breaks, lesser teams would have given up. The Utes displayed a maturity and strength of identity that belied the youth of the team and found ways to recover their poise.

Colorado quit fighting, the snow quit falling, and Utah never quit. The reward for that perseverance came late last night, as the Oregon Ducks defeated the Sun Devils, making the Utes the outright Pac-12 South Champions. With the South locked up, the Utes will now have a tune-up game against BYU. They’ll also await the winner of the Apple Cup next week--Washington or Washington State--to find out who they’ll play on November 30 at 6:00 MST, for the right to represent the Pac-12 in the Rose Bowl.