The Colorado Buffaloes fought Utah for a full 60 minutes. It came down to a Hail Mary from quarterback Isaac Wilson, but it was ultimately incomplete, as the Utes defeated the Buffaloes 27-24.
Colorado started slowly, failing to score in the first half. Things turned around quickly when, less than five and a half minutes into the third quarter, the Buffaloes went from being down 13-0 to leading 14-13. Utah scored a touchdown before the quarter ended, making it 20-17 going into the fourth.
Both teams scored a touchdown late in the final quarter, and Utah's poor clock management gave Colorado the ball back with 56 seconds left. They methodically worked down the field to get into hail-mary range, putting together their best overall performance of
the season despite coming up just short.
Here is everything we learned from Colorado's heartbreaking loss to Utah.
Isaac Wilson is the quarterback for this season
Isaac Wilson is not a permanent solution. Utah's fourth-quarter touchdown came off Wilson's second interception. However, in the third quarter, he showed that when he gets into a groove, this Colorado offense can be incredibly explosive. He also executed the final drive perfectly, except for a failed attempt at a backward pass. Still, it showed good situational awareness to know to try and get more yards to allow Colorado to get into field goal range and knowing they had to get out of bounds. His 14-yard throw to Joseph Williams to set up the hail mary was executed perfectly, and the hail mary was actually quite accurate; Utah's defender just made a better play. The Buffaloes should look to the transfer portal after this season for a quarterback upgrade, but Isaac Wilson can be a competent quarterback for the rest of this season.
Colorado can be competitive without Joseph Williams
Since the second week of the season, Joseph Williams has been Colorado's primary receiver. Utah seemed to try to limit his explosiveness in this game. He finished with 54 receiving yards, his lowest in a game since the season opener against Georgia Tech. Instead, DeAndre Moore Jr. stepped up as the top receiver, catching five passes for 70 yards, including a two-yard touchdown in the final two minutes to cut the lead to three. The Buffaloes have desperately been looking for another receiver who can show up in big moments, and Moore did just that against Utah. Now Colorado needs that to carry over to the rest of the season.
The Buffaloes' defense is elite
The last time they scored under 30 points was almost a year ago, when the Utes played BYU and scored only 21. Colorado held them to 27 points in this game. Especially for an offense that was coming off a 41-point performance the week before, for theBuffaloes'’ defense to have this kind of performance is impressive. Colorado also generated two turnovers in this game for the second time this season. Given their record, this defense's performance will probably fly under the radar. But there is no question that this is one of the best defensive units in the conference and potentially even in the Power Four.
Colorado needs to get JaQuail Smith involved more
In the first five games of this season, Smith had a maximum of 10 touches in a game, on three occasions. However, in this game, he had 14 touches, 13 rushing attempts and a reception, which he took for 68 yards on Colorado's first drive of the second half. On his 13 rushing attempts, he averaged 5.6 yards per carry, and his longest run was for 26 yards. On his 68-yard reception, Smith showed the elusiveness and explosiveness Colorado has been missing on offense. In their remaining six games, Smith needs to be more involved.
They can still make a bowl game
Despite being 2-4, this game proved that Colorado has a roster capable of winning four of their final six games. They will face Oklahoma State and Houston, both currently ranked. However, the Buffaloes also face Kansas State, Arizona State, Cincinnati and UCF. If Colorado can play as they did in the third quarter, the Buffaloes can win all four and reach a bowl game.
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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Five takeaways from Colorado heartbreaking 27-24 loss to Utah
