CU vs. Utah Cheat Sheet: What to Look for Saturday Night

“Lotta people don’t know where Utah is, but it’s in Salt Lake.”

–Karl Malone

The Particulars

• Kickoff: 8:15 pm mountain (ESPN)
• Location: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City
• Spread: CU + 13.5 
• Moneyline: CU +375 I Utah -500

About Utah

• Record: 5–2 (2-2 Big 12) 
• Head Coach: Kyle Whittingham (21^st year) has built a model of consistency with a 167-86 record and an 11-6 bowl mark.
• OC: Jason Beck (1st year). The former New Mexico OC brought his star pupil, QB Devon Dampier, to Salt Lake after Dampier led the Mountain West in scoring (188 points) and threw for 2,768 yards.
• DC: Morgan Scalley (17^th year) is elite: schools like USC, Texas, Oregon, and Florida have all tried to pry him away. He’s the head-coach-in-waiting once Whittingham calls it a career.

Recent Performance

• After dismantling #21 Arizona State, 42-10, Utah slipped up last week in Provo, falling 24-21 to rival BYU. Despite outgaining the Cougars 470–368 and piling up 226 rushing yards, Utah couldn’t hold a 17-14 fourth-quarter lead. BYU rattled off 14 unanswered, and the Utes’ late rally fell short after a failed onside kick. Defensively, they gave up 474 total yards, including a surprising 260 on the ground.

Offense

• QB: Devon Dampier (Jr.): The dual-threat transfer from UNM has thrown for 1,375 yards, 13 TDs, and 4 INTs, while adding 442 yards and 5 scores on the ground. He’s questionable for Saturday after getting banged up versus BYU.  We don’t expect that he’ll play.
  • Assuming Dampier sits: True freshman Byrd Ficklin steps in. He’s been perfect in limited action (9-for-9, 138 yards, 1 TD) and can run too: 17 carries for 111 yards and 3 TDs.  CU fans hoping that Dampier sits might be in for a rude awakening.  In limited minutes, Ficklin has a PFF score of 94.1.  Ouch.  
• Offensive line:  The strength of Utah’s team is the offensive line.  Offensive tackle Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu are both projected first round picks in the upcoming NFL draft.  Fano is currently ranked #10 on Mel Kiper’s Big Board for the upcoming 2026 NFL draft and the #1 offensive tackle overall.  The 6’6” 302-pound lineman hasn’t given up a sack this season and has a 80.3 PFF grade. The other tackle spot is manned by Caleb Lomu.  Lomu is ranked by Mel Kiper as the #4 tackle in college football.  Lomu is 6’6” 308 pounds and has a PFF grade of 68.2 on the season. 
• Tight ends: One of the reasons Utah is able to run the ball so effectively is due to the play of its tight ends.  Dallen Bentley is a stud run blocker from the tight end position.  He has a monstrous 80.5 PFF score on the season and is also Utah’s 2^nd leading receiver.  Bentley will be an NFL tight end and we’ve seen him projected as a 3^rd or 4^th round draft pick.  Tight end Hunter Andrews is another willing blocker that has a 83.5 PFF score on the season!  
• Receivers: Ryan Davis is really the only outside threat that the Utes have.  He has 46 catches for 482 yards and 3 TDs.  Remember, however, that Utah’s tight ends have played extremely well.  Dallan Bentley (referenced above) has 28 catches for 335 yards.  This is a game where CU can match DJ McKinney up against Davis but it will need to ensure that CU’s safeties are doing a good job containing Utah’s tight ends in the passing game.  
• Running Backs – A solid two-back rotation with Wayshawn Parker (60 carries, 358 yards, 3 TDs) and NaQuari Rogers (72 carries, 300 yards, and 6 TDs). Expect a heavy dose of both.  Both are good college running backs but neither are world beaters.  They benefit from the Utes’ offensive line.  

CU’s uniforms for Saturday night’s game.

Defense

• Utah’s defense is, as usual, salty, allowing just 15.3 points per game (12th nationally).  Kyle Whittingham is a phenomenal defensive coach.  
• If there is a weakness, however, it’s Utah’s run defense. Heading into this week, Utah is giving up 151 yards per game to its opponents on the ground, the 7^th most in the 16-team Big 12.  More troublingly for Utah, however, is that it over its last 4 games, it has allowed 196 rush yards per game.  During those four games, opposing quarterbacks have averaged over 65 yards per game.  Expect to see CU call Kaidon Salter’s number on different running plays on Saturday night. 
• Playmakers:
  • DE John Henry Daley (So.): 32 tackles, 12 TFLs, 9 sacks; a constant menace off the edge.  The 6’4” 247 pound edge has an 88 PFF grade on the season and is the next great pass rusher out of Utah.  His matchup with Jordan Seaton will be the immovable object vs. the irresistible force (as coined by Gorilla Monsoon – RIP Gorilla).  
  • LB Jonathan Hall (Jr.): 34 tackles, 2 TFLs.  Hall is Utah’s 2^nd leading tackler.  The 6’1” 230 pound Texas native has great sideline-to-sideline speed.  
  • S Jackson Bennee (Sr.): Bennee is Utah’s leading tackler.  He has 36 tackles, 1 TFL, 3 INTs, including a pick-six, on the season.  Bennee has an 81.0 PFF grade and will be an NFL draft pick next year. 

Special Teams

• Freshman kicker Dillon Curtis drew headlines last week for warming up during the national anthem, at his coaches’ direction. So yes, cue the faux outrage, but much ado about nothing.  He’s 33 of 34 on PATs and 5 of 8 on field goal attempts.  He’s not a great kicker. 

Final Thoughts

Utah is a big, physical team with an NFL-caliber offensive line and great tight ends.  Even though QB Devon Dampier is probably not going to play, there are some that think that backup QB Byrd Ficklin is actually a more talented player. 

BuffsBlog thinks Utah gets some revenge for the trouncing that CU put on Utah last year at Folsom Field in a 49-24 win.  We have CU covering the spread but losing the game 31-20.  Hopefully we’re wrong.

As always, Go Buffs!

If you want to stick around the BuffsBlog Blogosphere, check out this article awarding mid-season MVP awards, freshman of the (mid)-year awards, and more superlatives only at:

Midseason Hardware: BuffsBlog Hands Out CU’s Half-Way Awards