Since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, the Utes have played a Friday game on a short week nine times. Those instances have become more frequent in recent years as the program has risen to prominence. Of the nine Friday night games off short weeks, seven have come over the last three seasons, including the Pac-12 championship games in 2018 and 2019.
“It’s not like a normal week, we’re a day behind so we had to get it going earlier than normal on some things,” freshman strong safety Nate Ritchie said. “Other than that, I think it’s been pretty normal. We’ve gone through the same steps and I think we’ll be ready. I think we have to take it into our own hands a little bit to make sure we’re doing all the things we have to in order to be ready for the next game.”
Adding an extra wrinkle to the short preparation week is the fact that Colorado, by any measurement, has been the surprise of the Pac-12, with first-year head coach Karl Dorrell the odds-on favorite for the league’s Coach of the Year award.
Voted by the media to finish fifth in the six-team Pac-12 South, the 21st-ranked Buffaloes (4-0, 3-0 Pac-12) are in the awkward position of potentially finishing the regular season undefeated, but not even winning their division and advancing to the Dec. 18 Pac-12 championship game. If Colorado beats Utah and USC (4-0) beats UCLA on Saturday at the Rose Bowl, the Trojans would have the tiebreaker over the Buffaloes and would win the South by virtue of having a better record in games played within the division.
The fact Colorado could finish unbeaten and not win its division has been a point of emphasis this week across the Pac-12, especially given the fact that the Nov. 28 USC-Colorado in Los Angeles was canceled because the Trojans were dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak. Essentially, USC may win the Pac-12 South with its own virus outbreak having oddly benefitted it in terms of the standings.
Be that as it may, Colorado can only control what it can control, which is Friday and Utah. The big matchup there is expected to be the Utes’ defensive front trying to slow down Buffaloes running back Jarek Broussard. The redshirt sophomore is coming off a career-high 301 yards on just 25 carries last week in a 24-13 win over Arizona in Tucson.
Utah had its streak of holding seven consecutive regular-season opponents under 100 yards rushing vs. Oregon State, but the Utes remain the Pac-12′s best team at stopping the run. Through three games, Utah is yielding just 104.7 rushing yards per game, the fewest in the Pac-12 by nearly 30 yards.
“Colorado is a good football team, they’re 4-0, they’re 4-0 for a reason, and it’s not happenstance,” Whittingham said. “They’ve played good football and they have a lot of good things going for them.”
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December 10, 2020 at 12:14AM
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For Utah football, a short week, and a date with the shockingly good Colorado Buffaloes - Salt Lake Tribune
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