Utah trounces Colorado, Pac-12 title hopes still alive

BOULDER, Utah (ABC4 Sports) – The University of Utah football team kept its Pac-12 championship hopes alive with a 63-21 thrashing of Colorado Saturday afternoon.
The Utes will earn a trip back to Las Vegas in the Pac-12 title game next week if Washington beats Washington State Saturday night. If the Huskies, win, Oregon will play USC for the title.
Cam Rising threw three touchdown passes before taking a seat for the second half, while Ja’Quinden Jackson ran for 117 yards and three scores as Utah finished the regular season with a record of 9-3, 7-2 in the Pac-12.
The Utes entered the weekend with an outside shot at defending their league title, and things are starting to fall into place. UCLA did its part for Utah by knocking off Cal on Friday. Then, the big assist — No. 22 Oregon State surprising 10th-ranked Oregon, with the Utah fans at Folsom Field cheering when the score was flashed on the scoreboard.
The Utes built a 42-0 halftime lead and steadily started sprinkling in their backups. It didn’t slow the Utes, who had 662 total yards of offense, and held Colorado to just 185 total yards.
One day after leading rusher Tavion Thomas declared for the NFL Draft, Jackson led the ground attack, scoring on runs of 10, 2 and 66 yards. Micah Bernard added 91 yards rushing and a touchdown, while Jaylon Glover had 62 yards and a score.
Kincaid led Utah in receiving with five catches for 102 yards. Money Park and Makai Cope also had touchdown catches for Utah.
Rising completed 17 of 19 passes for 234 yards and three scores, while backup Bryson Barnes threw for 45 yards and a touchdown in mop-up duty.
Utah racked up 33 first downs, compared to just 12 for the Buffaloes. The Utes defense held Colorado to just 62 yards rushing in picking up its sixth straight win in the rivalry series.
The 63 points was the most allowed by Colorado since Oregon scored 70 on Oct. 27, 2012.
The Buffaloes (1-11, 1-8) brought to a close a dreary season that saw head coach Karl Dorrell fired in October and interim coach Mike Sanford go 1-6 in his place. The team lost seven games by 30 or more points.
Utah tight ends Thomas Yassmin and Dalton Kincaid each turned in acrobatic scoring plays in the first half. Yassmin showed off his athleticism by catching a short pass and hurdling over cornerback Nikko Reed on his way to a 41-yard score.
Not to be outdone, Kincaid looked left on a long pass and quickly swiveled to the right to haul in a 29-yard pass from Rising while falling to the turf. Kincaid stayed down for several moments after the play.
The Utes finish the regular season with nine wins for a fourth time in five seasons.