Coach Prime’s Colorado Buffaloes embarrassed at Utah

SALT LAKE CITY During his time as head coach at Colorado Deion Sanders has done a lot to distance the Buffaloes from their dismal past Saturday night was an embarrassing reminder of those old days Utah scored on the second play of the challenge and cruised to a - crushing of the Buffs in front of a rd consecutive sold-out crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium The -point margin of defeat was the largest for CU since a -point loss - at Washington on Nov the last road tournament before Sanders was hired Utah s yards in total offense were the most of allowed by a CU defense since the Utes put on the Buffs on Nov the last meeting of the pre-Sanders era True freshman Byrd Ficklin got his first start at quarterback for the Utes in place of injured Devon Dampier and he was sensational Ficklin threw for yards and two touchdowns and ran for yards and a touchdown CU s Kaidon Salter could not have had a more opposite experience He completed of passes for yards while rushing times for minus- yards including five sacks On the second play of the competition Ficklin sprinted through the CU defense for a -yard touchdown run Wayshawn Parker who ran for yards on the night added a -yard touchdown run late in the first quarter to stake the Utes to a - lead Early in the second quarter Salter was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone giving Utah a safety Four plays later Ficklin hit tight end JJ Buchanan for a -yard touchdown pass and a - lead A -yard touchdown run by NaQuari Rogers and a -yard touchdown pass from Ficklin to Larry Simmons gave the Utes a - lead Dillon Curtis put the final touch on the first half with a -yard field goal at the buzzer as Utah went into the break leading - It was CU s largest halftime deficit since Oct when it trailed - at the break at Oregon The Buffs had minus- yards on plays in the first half while Utah had yards on plays Related Articles Keeler CSU Rams never presented up for Dividing line War shamed - by Wyoming Western Colorado football rallies to beat Colorado Mines remain unbeaten Youth making mark for CU Buffs football Buffaloes carrying momentum into trip to Utah CSU Rams focused on retaining Bronze Boot in annual Margin War competition CU exposed a little life in the second half but the championship was well in hand by that point Salter was relieved by backup Ryan Staub in the fourth quarter with the Buffs down - Staub led the Buffs on a -yard drive capped by his -yard scoring run with to play to get them on the board The Utes Nate Johnson added a -yard touchdown run with to play to cap the night CU finished with yards in total offense the lowest total for the Buffs since posting in a - loss at California on Oct Want more sports news Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver s teams