SALT LAKE CITY – During his time as head coach at Colorado, Deion Sanders has done a lot to distance the Buffaloes from their dismal past.
Saturday night was an embarrassing reminder of those old days.
Utah scored on the second play of the game and cruised to a 53-7 crushing of the Buffs in front of a 93rd consecutive sold-out crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The 46-point margin of defeat was the largest for CU since a 47-point loss (54-7) at Washington on Nov. 19, 2022 — the last road game before Sanders was hired. Utah’s 587 yards in total offense were the most allowed by a CU defense since the Utes put 662 on the Buffs on Nov. 26, 2022 — the last game of the pre-Sanders era.
True freshman Byrd Ficklin got his first start at quarterback for the Utes in place of injured Devon Dampier, and he was sensational. Ficklin threw for 140 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 151 yards and a touchdown.
CU’s Kaidon Salter could not have had a more opposite experience. He completed 9 of 22 passes for 37 yards, while rushing 14 times for minus-4 yards, including five sacks.
On the second play of the game, Ficklin sprinted through the CU defense for a 63-yard touchdown run.
Wayshawn Parker, who ran for 145 yards on the night, added a 58-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter to stake the Utes to a 17-0 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Salter was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone, giving Utah a safety. Four plays later, Ficklin hit tight end JJ Buchanan for a 22-yard touchdown pass and a 26-0 lead.
A 2-yard touchdown run by NaQuari Rogers and a 20-yard touchdown pass from Ficklin to Larry Simmons gave the Utes a 40-0 lead. Dillon Curtis put the final touch on the first half with a 23-yard field goal at the buzzer, as Utah went into the break leading 43-0.
It was CU’s largest halftime deficit since Oct. 27, 2012, when it trailed 56-0 at the break at Oregon.
The Buffs had minus-18 yards on 33 plays in the first half, while Utah had 398 yards on 49 plays.
CU found a little life in the second half, but the game was well in hand by that point.
Salter was relieved by backup Ryan Staub in the fourth quarter with the Buffs down 46-0. Staub led the Buffs on a 59-yard drive, capped by his 1-yard scoring run with 9:03 to play to get them on the board.
The Utes’ Nate Johnson added a 56-yard touchdown run with 3:12 to play to cap the night.
CU finished with 140 yards in total offense, the lowest total for the Buffs since posting 104 in a 26-3 loss at California on Oct. 23, 2021.
Utah 53, Colorado 7
Colorado 0 0 0 7 — 7
Utah 17 26 3 7 — 53
First quarter
UTAH Ficklin 63 run (Curtis kick), 14:23.
UTAH FG Curtis 53, 4:51.
UTAH Parker 58 run (Curtis kick), 2:53.
Second quarter
UTAH safety, 14:30.
UTAH J.Buchanan 22 pass from Ficklin (Curtis kick), 12:50.
UTAH Rogers 2 run (Curtis kick), 3:42.
UTAH Simmons 20 pass from Ficklin (Curtis kick), 2:08.
UTAH FG Curtis 22, :00.
Third quarter
UTAH FG Curtis 44, 1:42.
Fourth quarter
COLO Staub 1 run (Mata kick), 9:03.
UTAH N.Johnson 56 run (Curtis kick), 3:12.
COLO UTAH
First downs 12 25
Total net yards 149 587
Rushes-yards 38-47 51-422
Passing 102 165
Punt returns 0-0 7-64
Kickoff returns 2-56 1-18
Interceptions ret 0-0 1-3
Comp-att-int 13-30-1 11-25-0
Sacked yds lost 7-62 1-9
Punts 10-38.5 5-46.8
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 1-15 8-80
Time of poss 26:29 33:31
INDIVIDUAL Stats
Rushing — Colorado, Mikell 9-43, Hayden 3-6, Welch 6-4, D.Miller 1-0, Ka.Salter 13-(minus 2), Staub 6-(minus 4). Utah, Ficklin 20-151, Parker 10-145, N.Johnson 2-58, Duke 3-32, Rogers 8-25, Bray 4-9, Wilson 3-3, (Team) 1-(minus 1).
Passing — Colorado, Staub 4-8-0-65, Ka.Salter 9-22-1-37. Utah, Ficklin 10-22-0-140, Phillips 1-1-0-25, (Team) 0-1-0-0, Wilson 0-1-0-0.
Receiving — Colorado, Gibson 4-18, O.Miller 3-59, S.Brown 3-27, Mikell 2-5, Welch 1-(minus 7). Utah, Simmons 2-39, R.Davis 2-36, Buchanan 2-35, Bentley 2-34, Whittemore 2-10, Bray 1-11.
Missed field goals — Utah, Curtis 59.
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