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According to outside experts, today’s matchup between the Utah and Colorado football teams was not supposed to turn out that way.

The Outside were the preseason favorites to win the Big 12 Conference as voted on by the media covering the league. The same media chose Buffaloes to finish 11th under second-year head coach Deion Sanders.

But here we are in November and it has almost become the opposite. Colorado (7-2) is in second place in the Big 12 and will play for the Big 12 championship if the Buffaloes can win their final three regular-season games, starting with the Utes (4-5) in Boulder at noon ET today on Fox.

By contrast, Utah sits near the bottom of the standings with a 1-5 league record after losing three quarterbacks to injuries this season, including former starter Cam Rising.

Colorado still hasn’t beaten Utah in its last seven tries dating back to 2017. A loss to the Utes today at home would be practically disastrous after the Buffs rose all the way to the No. 17 in the College Football Playoff rankings this week. That could cripple their playoff hopes. The stakes also remain high for Colorado receiver-cornerback Travis Hunter, who is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy on Dec. 14, according to BetMGM.

Stay tuned here for updates, highlights and news:

When is the Utah-Colorado game?

Kickoff is at noon ET on Saturday, November 16 from Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.

How to watch the Utah-Colorado game

The game will be broadcast on Fox and is available on Fubo. Former Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt will handle the broadcast for Fox along with play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson and sideline reporter Jenny Taft.

See Colorado vs. Utah on Fubo

Which bowl game will Colorado go to?

The Buffaloes became bowl eligible last month and are now vying for a playoff spot and a premium bowl invitation. It all depends on how they finish. If they lose one or more of their final three games of the regular season, they could fall out of the playoffs and end up in the Holiday or Alamo bowls on December 27th and 28th.

But if they win and then go on to win the Big 12 championship on Dec. 7, they would end up in the new 12-team playoff and possibly get a first-round bye as one of the four highest-seeded conference champions. If so, they would play in a quarter-final on December 31 or January 1 in the Fiesta, Sugar, Rose or Peach bowls.

How many quarterbacks have been injured for Utah?

Three are out with injury, led by former starter Cam Rising, who missed the 2023 season with a knee injury and then suffered a leg injury last month that ended his season. Quarterback Brandon Rose started last week’s 22-21 loss to BYU but suffered a foot injury. also ended his season. Before that, coach Kyle Whittingham revealed that backup QB Sam Huard had surgery and also would not be available for the rest of the season.

That leaves freshman Isaac Wilson to start today vs. Colorado. He is the brother of NFL quarterback Zach Wilson and has started five games for the Utes, completing 98 of 177 passes for 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns. His backup will be senior Luke Bottari, who has not played this year.

If all of this sounds familiar, it’s because a similar spate of injuries caused Bottari, the fifth-string quarterback, to start last year’s game against Colorado. The Utes won it anyway, 23-17.

But they’ll still be challenged to keep their quarterbacks from feeling more pain today. Colorado leads the Big 12 in quarterback sacks with 29.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: [email protected]

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