According to outside experts, today’s matchup between the Utah and Colorado football teams was not supposed to turn out like this.
The Utes were the preseason favorites to win the Big 12 Conference, as voted on by the media who cover the league. The same media picked the Buffaloes to finish 11th under second-year head coach Deion Sanders.
Yet here we are in November and it’s almost become the opposite. Colorado (7-2) is in second place in the Big 12 and will play for the Big 12 championship if the Buffaloes can win their final three regular-season games, starting with the Utes (4-5) in Boulder at noon ET today on Fox.
By contrast, Utah sits near the bottom of the standings with a 1-5 league record after losing three quarterbacks to injury this season, including former starter Cam Rising.
Colorado still has not beaten Utah in its last seven tries dating to 2017. A loss against the Utes today at home would be practically catastrophic after the Buffs soared all the way to No. 17 in the College Football Playoff rankings this week. It could cripple their playoff hopes. The stakes also remain high for Colorado receiver-cornerback Travis Hunter, who is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy Dec. 14, according to BetMGM.
Follow along here for updates, highlights and news:
Kickoff is at noon ET Saturday, Nov. 16, from Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.
The game will be broadcast on Fox and also is available on Fubo. Former Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt will handle the broadcast for Fox, along with play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson and sideline reporter Jenny Taft.
The Buffaloes became bowl-eligible last month and now are playing for a playoff berth and premium bowl invitation. It all depends on how they finish. If they lose one or more of their final three regular-season games, they could fall out of playoff contention and end up in the Holiday or Alamo bowls on Dec. 27 and 28.
But if they win out and then win the Big 12 championship on Dec. 7, they would end up in the new 12-team playoff and quite possibly get a first-round bye as one of the four highest-ranked conference champions. In that case, they would play in a quarterfinal game on Dec. 31 or Jan. 1 in the Fiesta, Sugar, Rose or Peach bowls.
Three are out with injury, led by former starter Cam Rising, who missed the 2023 season with a knee injury and then suffered a leg injury last month that ended his season. Quarterback Brandon Rose started last week’s 22-21 loss against BYU but suffered a foot injury that ended his season, too. Before that, coach Kyle Whittingham revealed that backup QB Sam Huard had surgery and also would not be available for the rest of the season.
That leaves freshman Isaac Wilson to start today vs. Colorado. He is the brother of NFL quarterback Zach Wilson and has started five games for the Utes, completing 98 of 177 passes for 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns. His backup will be senior Luke Bottari, who has not played this year.
If this all seems familiar, it’s because a similar injury wave led Bottari, the fifth-string quarterback, to start last year’s game against Colorado. The Utes won that one anyway, 23-17.
But they’ll still be challenged to keep their quarterbacks from feeling more pain today. Colorado leads the Big 12 in quarterback sacks with 29.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
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