SALT LAKE CITY — Utah took out its rivalry loss frustrations on Colorado, and their first half beatdown was one of the most dominant halves in recent memory.

At half, they led Colorado 43-0 on the scoreboard; and just as impressive, they outgained the Buffaloes 400 yards to -18. Absolute dominance.

The final ended up 53-7 to get Utah to 6-2 on the season, bowl eligible, and remain alive in a crowded Big 12 title race. That blowout was done without starting quarterback Devon Dampier, who was a late scratch from the lineup.

Instead, true freshman Byrd Ficklin passed and ran all over the Buffs defense. Ficklin earned Big 12 honors for his 140-yard passing, 151-yard rushing, three touchdown dual-threat performance.

Wayshawn Parker added 145 and a score, the defense posted 13 tackles for loss and seven sacks. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham summed it up well, saying “hard to find any negatives in that game — offense, defense, special teams hitting on all cylinders.”

Utah rides that momentum into a ranked matchup Saturday night in Rice-Eccles Stadium against No. 17 Cincinnati (8:15 p.m. MDT, ESPN). Utah also gets the “College GameDay” treatment for the sixth time in school history (7 a.m. MDT, ESPN).

Game Grader

(Opponent-adjusted statistical dominance via Pick Six Previews)

3-year average (2022-24): Utah 55.4 (23rd of 68 Power 4) | Cincinnati 44.6 (46th)
2024 season: Utah 44.9 (48th) | Cincinnati 48.9 (43rd)
2025 season: Utah 71.6 (10th) | Cincinnati 57.1 (30th)

My Game Grader formula is a measure of statistical dominance that adjusts for opponent strength and is a key piece of my preseason and in-season evaluation.

In my annual season preview magazine Pick Six Previews, I selected Utah to finish fourth in a wide-open Big 12 race. After the loss to Texas Tech, Utah fell out of the top 25, but they have surged back up to No. 10 after three blowout wins in league play (48-14 over West Virginia, 42-10 over Arizona State, and 53-7

over Colorado), and a tight loss to BYU 24-21.

I projected Cincinnati to finish in the middle of the pack of a competitive Big 12 race. In the opener, they lost to Nebraska by 3 points and had a shot to win but threw an interception in the end zone in the final minute.

If you stopped watching Cincinnati at that point, you have missed one of the most dynamic offenses in America; they have won every game since. Cincinnati joins BYU as the only teams undefeated in Big 12 play, and they check in at No. 30 in Game Grader.

Utah with the ball

Utah offense: 38.9 points/game (11th of 136 FBS teams), 6.1 yards/carry (5th), 7.1 yards/pass (80th)
Cincinnati defense: 19 points/game (28th), 3.9 yards/carry (58th), 6.9 yards/pass (62nd)

Dampier was missing from the latest injury report, signaling an expected return to the lineup Saturday. Dampier leads the Big 12 quarterbacks in rushing with 442 yards and five scores, and has been effective in the pass game with 13 touchdowns (just four picks).

Perhaps his best trait is his pocket elusiveness — it is impossible to get a hit on this guy. His scramble ability, along with the elite pass protection from the offensive line, has Utah ranked No. 13 nationally in my sack rate.

Utah’s rushing attack is now in the top five of all major categories, and all the way up to No. 3 in my opponent-adjusted rushing metric. That is bad news for a Cincinnati defense that is ranked in the bottom 10 of all my opponent-adjusted defensive metrics: overall, rushing, and passing.

The defense is very conservative, with a negative play ranking outside the top 100, the per-play yardage stats are below average, but they do perform well in the red zone, allowing touchdowns on just 53% of trips.

Cincinnati with the ball

Cincinnati offense: 38.3 points/game (13th of 136), 5.9 yards/carry (8th), 9.2 yards/pass (11th)
Utah defense: 14.3 points/game (9th), 3.7 yards/carry (45th), 5.5 yards/pass (8th)

Utah has a strong offensive line, but from a pure stat view, Cincinnati currently has them beat. The Bearcats’ offensive line is ranked No. 1 in my OL run push and No. 1 in sack rate.

One of my favorite matchups of Week 10 is watching this elite offensive line try to block John Henry Daley, who is third nationally with 9.5 sacks already.

Brendan Sorsby has bounced back from that game-sealing interception in the Nebraska loss. Since then he has thrown 20 touchdowns, no picks, and is No. 2 in the Big 12 in both QB rating and yards per attempt.

Cincinnati has not faced a top 30 defense (per opponent-adjusted stats), but Utah checks in at No. 12 and is in the top 10 of most categories. The Utes have held every opponent below their per-play averages.

Game prediction

Cincinnati’s offense vs. Utah’s defense represents a top 15 vs. top 15 strength-on-strength matchup.

Utah has faced other elite offenses, but Cincinnati has not faced an elite defense yet. But the other side of the ball is where the margin widens. Utah’s offensive line should be able to establish its top-five rushing attack against a below-average rush defense.

Dampier is back healthy, and I expect Utah to get their yards and points.

Utah is one of just five teams in the top 20 in both my opponent-adjusted offense and defense, while Cincinnati’s defense is the weak link in this matchup.

Utah 38 | Cincinnati 27