Colorado head coach Deion Sanders told reporters during his weekly meeting that Utah provided a blueprint for how to beat them in a 51-7 loss to the Utes last week. The question for Arizona is will head coach Brent Brennan and defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales be able to exploit Colorado.
Sanders was specifically referring to how a team will defend Colorado. Utah held Colorado to -18 yards in the first half and -41 rushing as the Utes led 43-0 at halftime on Saturday. Utah had eight tackles for loss and five sacks in the first half.
With the game well in hand, Colorado had 158 yards in the second half. Colorado had 79 rushing yards on 21 carries in the second half. The Buffaloes completed eight passes in 14 attempts for 79 yards in the second half. Quarterback Ryan Staub scored the lone Colorado touchdown on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Utah finished the game with 13 TFLs and seven sacks against Colorado. Colorado starting QB Kaidon Salter completed nine passes in 22 attempts for 37 yards. Staub had four completions in eight attempts for 65 yards and the one rushing TD.
"“I was talking about the blitz...If you recollect the game, you hit a couple big plays early on – that we had – and they stop the blitz. Because you had guys right there, we just gotta hit ‘em. We just gotta get the ball to ‘em, we just gotta protect, we gotta do some things that we’re capable of doing to stop the onslaught. It’s not like it was broken. We had an answer, we just didn’t get to it."Colorado Head Coach Deion Sanders
By frequently calling the blitz, Utah forced Colorado into an intentional grounding in its own end zone for a safety and an interception on the Utes' 38 yardline with the Buffaloes down 17-0 and a chance to get back into the game.
Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales frequently utilizes the blitz. The Wildcats have been susceptible to running QBs this season. Quarterbacks Bear Bachemier of BYU and Connor Weigman combined for 187 rushing yards on 37 carries with three TDs in the last two games.
Salter has 79 carries for 266 yards and five TDs in 2025. If Gonzales is going to frequently call the blitz, Arizona will likely need a spy on Salter. Colorado is last in the Big XII, allowing 7.0 TFLs per game and 14th, permitting 2.63 sacks per game. Arizona has to be able to win the line of scrimmage against a shaky Colorado offensive line.