Utah game day grades: Utah ends season on 'Pac' Friday


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BOULDER, Colo. — With Colorado (1-10) hosting Utah's last game of the season, the Utes (4-7) looked to end their season on a positive note after losing their chance to play a bowl game when they lost to Arizona last week, 34-24.

Utah entered its last game of the season with a struggling offense led by Travis Wilson and an underperforming defense all year long. How did they play against a Colorado team that has yet again found itself at the bottom of the Pac-12?

Not the 24-point spread they were expecting.

Colorado came out on Friday afternoon, attacking from all different directions. Going in, the Buffalos were the worst scoring offense in the Pac-12 but scored 14 in the first half, and another 14 in the third quarter to end the game with 418 total yards and 35 points. It wasn't enough though as Reggie Dunn scored yet another 100-yard kickoff return touchdown right after Colorado scored one of their own to put the Utes up 42-35 in the game and for good.

Here are the final game day grades of the season for Utah against Colorado:

Quarterback: C+

A decent first half including a touchdown pass in Utah's first possession had the freshman quarterback Travis Wilson starting on the right foot. The second half though was a much different story as Wilson struggled to really find any receiver and make completions. He ended the day with just 128 passing yards on 13 completions. Many on Twitter called for Jon Hays to close out his career behind center but Utah stuck with the freshman quarterback to end the game. A good call for Utah because in the fourth quarter alone, Wilson had 35 passing yards and drove his team down the field after a turnover to get the Utes up on the board, 35-28 with less than nine minutes on the clock. He also rushed for 17 yards and a touchdown.

Running back: B

Utah decided to use more of a combination this game with John White IV and Kelvin York in the backfield, getting about the same amount of carries in the first half. Come the second half, the Wolfman was the primary source of offense as they ran the ball, then ran the ball some more. White scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter to tie the game after a two-point conversion. White ended the game with 168 rushing yards, which put him over the 1000-yard season for his second season in a row. York ended with 25 yards on 10 carries.

Wide receivers: C

No one player really stood out in Utah's game Friday afternoon. Wide receivers like Luke Matthews, Dres Anderson, and Kenneth Scott were involved in offensive plays but nothing that stood out on paper. They combined for a total of 128 receiving yards and a touchdown but too many dropped passes and short yardage plays made their impact miniscule.

Offensive line: C-

In the red zone, the O-line was atrocious. With a couple of first and goals on tap, the O-line could not open it up for White or York, and ended up only getting field goals on those possessions.

Offense: B-

Although the offense did look sloppy most of the game, offensively they were able to score four touchdowns (three rushing, one passing). Although on some of their drives the Utes struggled in the red zone and were only able to squeeze out some field goals, the offense was still proficient enough to post more points at the end of the day. Yardage wise, the Utes were able to post 338 offensive yards, 210 on the ground and 128 in the air.

Defense: D-

Unfortunately for the Utes, they allowed 418 total yards on one of the worst offensive teams in the nation, allowing 308 of those yards in the air. Although they intercepted the ball three times and forced a fumble once which led to 24 of their points, the Utes still struggled to stop ball movement, especially on third down conversions. Star Lotulelei had a sack for 11 yards and Nate Fakahafua had one sack for six yards. Other than that, Utah didn't do much on the defensive end, allowing the 1-10 Colorado to score 35 points.

Special teams: C

If the grade was any lower, there would be a lot of angry comments below. It must be said, though, that their special teams was not that special. Aside from a blocked field goal and yet another 100-yard return by Reggie Dunn, the Utes made too many mistakes on the special teams side of thhings that left the game way too close for comfort. A fumbled punt return and allowing a 100-yard kickoff return of their own was hard to overlook. Dunn salvaged their grade with his record fourth 100-yard kickoff return on the season, which ended up being the difference maker in the game.

Alex Rivera is the assistant sports editor of the UVU Review. You can contact him at arivera.2011@hotmail.com or through his Twitter account @A_River_Uh.

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