Utah vs Colorado Prediction: Can the Buffaloes Score?
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This isn’t as easy as Deion Sanders Is On a Hot Seat, because he’s not just some normal college football coach. He took a dead Colorado program and made it a national thing just because he’s Deion Sanders, but things hit a wall very, very hard.
The Buffaloes closed last year 0-5 in ugly blowout fashion, and they’re one blocked kick in the 14-13 opening-week win over Georgia Tech away from being more than a full calendar year without a win over an FBS program. But here’s the positive in all this. Beat Utah, and the entire narrative changes back around.
The Utes are playing like the best team in the Big 12. They’re the opposite of Colorado right now, on an 11-game winning streak with a 13-1 run over the last calendar year.
Utah vs Colorado: Quick Hits
- Colorado is in the midst of a run of three home games in four dates. It goes to Oklahoma State next week before hosting Kansas State.
- Utah gets a home game against Houston next before a run of three road games in four weeks, starting at Cincinnati.
- Utah won 53-7 last year and won eight of the last nine meetings since 2016.
How To Watch Utah vs Colorado
Date: Saturday, October 17, 2026
Game Time: 10:15 PM ET
TV: ESPN
Location: Folsom Field, Boulder, CO
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Why Utah Will Win
There’s not enough Colorado scoring pop. The offense hasn’t scored more than 14 points against any FBS team, and going back to last year at this time, the Buffaloes scored more than 17 points in one of their last nine FBS games.
Utah doesn’t have to do anything crazy. They can block and tackle better than Colorado can. Win third downs, control the lines, and keep running for six yards per carry.
Defensively, take the ball away – Colorado is among the worst teams in the nation in turnover margin. Get even two takeaways – the Buffs gave it up 11 times over the last four games – and this won’t be a problem.
Why Colorado Will Win
The Buffaloes have to take it to the Utes.
Colorado might be struggling, but it’s fourth in the nation in tackles for loss, and it can get to the Utah backfield before it gets started. The momentum has to come from that side of the ball with a few early stops to throw the Utes off their game.
Northwestern ran for over 400 yards on Penn State. It averaged just 3.6 yards per carry in the win over Colorado – the Buff run defense can hold up.
Utah vs Colorado Prediction, Betting Lines
Colorado will come out strong. It’ll get a few early stops, hit a big scoring play, and it’ll seem like the home atmosphere might be enough to potentially come up with something special. And then the Utes will get pounding.
Utah will own third downs on both sides of the ball, the defense will start to take over, and then the steamroller aspect of the Utes’ style will take over.
Utah 34, Colorado 16
Latest Consensus Line: Utah -14.5, o/u: 49.5
ATS Confidence (out of 5): 4
Must See Rating (out of 5): 2.5
Consensus line based on BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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