Freshman CU quarterback Ryan Staub made his first career start, throwing for 195 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough, as the Utes held on for a 23-17 victory in the last regular season Pac-12 game for both teams. Utah senior backup quarterback Luke Bottari was held to 61 yards passing, but scored on two short runs to lead the Utes to the win.

Travis Hunter collected eight catches for 107 yards and a touchdown, but had two others called back. On one, Hunter stepped out of bounds; on the other, a catch in the end zone was reversed. The latter catch would have given CU a 14-13 halftime lead, but the Buffs instead had to settle for a 47-yards Alejandro Mata field goal and a 13-10 halftime score.

CU’s scores came on a 30-yard trick play pass from wide receiver Jimmy Horn to running back Dylan Edwards, and an 18-yard touchdown pass from Staub to Hunter. On the day, though, the Buffs were held to 262 yards of total offense. The defense held Utah to 329 yards of total offense, but were unable to get off the field in the final 7:26 of the fourth quarter, as the Utes were able to run out the clock after Hunter’s touchdown made it a one score game midway through the quarter.

“We’re certainly heading in the right direction,” Sanders said. “We’re certainly trending forward. We got our butt kicked twice this year in 12 games. There was no winning those two games but every other game we had a shot, and I think that’s progress.”