Utah Favored To Roll Past Colorado Once Again
Despite a Tough Season, Utah is Still Favored in the Colorado vs Utah CFB preview
A Struggling Colorado Team Could Be Without Starting Quarterback on Saturday
The walking media circus that has been Deion Sanders‘ first season at the helm of the Colorado Buffaloes will come to an end when Colorado heads to meet the two-time defending Pac-12 champion Utah Utes. The Colorado vs Utah CFB preview has the host Utes as the heavy favorites.
Utah can finish tied with Southern California for fifth in the Pac-12 standings with a win. That would give the Utes a winning record in conference play for the fifth season in a row. Colorado needs a win to avoid finishing with just one Pac-12 win for the second season in a row. A loss would give Colorado sole possession of last place in the Pac-12 with a win tying the Buffaloes with Stanford at 2-7.
Utah has won six straight games against Colorado and has won the last five matchups by an average of 29.6 points.
The college football betting lines have Utah listed as a 22-point favorite.
When looking at the college football results, Utah has lost its last two games with Colorado going into the matchup on a five-game losing streak.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders (3230 passing yards, 27 touchdown passes, four TD runs) is doubtful for the game with an upper-body injury for Colorado while running back Alton McCaskill (961 rushing yards as a freshman at Houston in 2021) is out.
Quarterback Cameron Rising is among the Utah players who is out for the year. He has been granted an additional season of eligibility.
Utah is 20th in the latest Sagarin rankings with Colorado coming in at No. 74.
Utah came into the season with -140 odds to go under 8.5 regular-season wins. A victory will give the Utes eight wins. Colorado did exceed the expected win total of 3.5.
Colorado vs Utah
Date, time:
Location: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT
Line:Utah -22
Total:52
Is This Progress?
When he was hired as Colorado’s head coach, Hall of Fame defensive back Deion Sanders assembled the players from a one-win team to encourage them to leave so he could replace them with better players.
Sanders brought in more than 50 players, many from his Jackson State team. Colorado is averaging 40 more yards per game in conference play than they did in 2022 but is still last in the Pac-12 in total offense and also ranks last in total defense. Keep that in mind when it comes to the Colorado vs Utah CFB preview.
Former South Florida receiver Xavier Weaver needs 52 yards to become the first 1000-yard receiver at Colorado since Laviska Shenault in 2018.
The Las Vegas odds total has gone over in 13 of Colorado’s last 20 games.
A Tough Year for the Utes
After combining to lose a total of five regular-season conference games over the previous three seasons, Utah needs to win on Saturday to avoid matching that total during the 2023 season.
Not having Rising, who threw 46 touchdown passes in the previous two seasons, was a big blow.
Having nine of the top 20 tacklers being either freshmen or sophomores didn’t help.
Utah actually allowed fewer yards per game in 2023 than they did a season ago when three of the top nine tacklers were seniors. That could factor into the Colorado vs Utah CFB preview.
Utah has covered in four of its last six games.
Last Meeting
Utah scored six touchdowns in a span of seven possessions to take a 42-0 lead at halftime on the way to a 63-21 victory as Utah covered as a 30-point road favorite.
The game went over the 52-point total on a Ja’Quinden Jackson touchdown run with 10:59 left in the third quarter.
Utah covered for the sixth time in the last seven meetings with Colorado. That is something to consider for those looking at potential college scores for Nov. 25.
Colorado vs Utah Betting Preview
It has been a while since Utah went into the regular-season finale with nothing to play for while it seems like years have passed won its first three games. Since then the Buffaloes have been outscored 304-197.
Utah is 4-1-1 against the spread as the favorite and 4-1 as the home favorite. Colorado is 5-2 against the college football odds as the underdog but just 2-2 as the road underdog.
Three of the last four games between Colorado and Utah went over the total. Despite Colorado’s top quarterback likely not playing and Utah playing the entire 2023 college season without its No. 1 QB, much of the
early money has come in on the over. The total is currently at 52.
Colorado has gone from being a 15-point underdog to being a 22-point dog since word about Sanders’ availability got out.
Colorado is 2-14 in its last 16 road games and that number doesn’t figure to improve on Saturday.
