Utah Football: 3 takeaways from runaway victory over Colorado

1. Even after a win, Utah still needs help to take Pac-12 South crown

The win over Colorado concluded the Pac-12 slate for Utah, which finished the year 6-3 in conference play. They are currently ahead of Arizona State and Arizona, who both play later on Saturday before meeting one another on Thanksgiving weekend for the Territorial Cup.

Utah is the one Pac-12 South team that has yet to play in the conference title game since the league started playing with two divisions in 2011. This is their best opportunity to break through, but Herm Edwards can still thwart the best-laid plans after Arizona State’s 38-20 loss in Tempe on the first weekend of November. That was the game where Huntley was lost for the season, and it could prove pivotal in the end.

Essentially, the Utes need Arizona State to lose once more to lock up a spot in Santa Clara for the Pac-12 championship game. If the Sun Devils take down Oregon in their Pac-12 After Dark duel at Autzen Stadium, it would set Arizona State up to play their state rival with the Pac-12 South on the line. Even if Arizona beats No. 8 Washington State, they would lose a tiebreaker head-to-head against the Utes after losing 42-10 in Salt Lake City in October.

Utah finishes up the regular season with a non-conference rivalry game against independent BYU in the Holy War on Thanksgiving weekend. A win over the Cougars would set up the Utes with momentum heading into a possible Pac-12 title shot and the postseason.

Colorado, conversely, must beat Cal in Berkeley on November 24 just to reach bowl eligibility. After starting the year 5-0, the loss to Utah marked the sixth straight defeat for the Buffaloes. They have to stem the losing streak to have any shot of postseason play in 2018.