Pac-12 roundup: No. 21 Utah handles slow start, snow and Colorado 30-7
Jason Shelley threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns in the snow, leading No. 21 Utah to a 30-7 win over Colorado on Saturday in Boulder, Colorado, and slinging the Utes closer to their first Pac-12 title game appearance.
A sixth consecutive loss for the Buffaloes capped a week in which athletic director Rick George said he hadn’t made any decisions regarding coach Mike MacIntyre’s employment amid a news report that his job was in jeopardy.
MacIntyre brought a photo of a bison heading into a storm into his weekly news conference, a metaphor that was both apt and prescient – freezing drizzle ahead of a snowstorm turned the first half of the 500th game played at Folsom Field into a sloppy mess that resulted in a 7-all first-half yawner.
Colorado, which started out 5-0, fell to 0-9 over the last two years when playing for bowl eligibility.
Despite losing star defender Chase Hansen on a targeting call in the first quarter, the Utes stymied Colorado’s offense even as quarterback Steven Montez had his full complement of receivers available for the first time in two months.
The Buffs managed just 19 yards in the third quarter, when the Utes took control with a 17-0 run.
Matt Gay gave Utah its first lead with a 33-yard field goal, Shelley threw a 47-yard TD to fellow freshman Jaylen Dixon and Armand Shyne ran it in from a yard out to make it 24-7.
Shyne’s 55 yards on 17 carries led a Utah ground game that outpaced Colorado’s 169 yards to 34.
Travon McMillian gave the Buffaloes a 7-0 lead with a 13-yard touchdown run on the same drive Hansen was ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Montez – a ruling that surprised players, coaches and Pac-12 Network broadcasters.
Strong safety Marquise Blair’s interception on Colorado’s next drive turned momentum and four plays later, Shelley hit Samson Nacua from 10 yards out to tie it at 7.
Held to 84 yards on 13-of-22 passing, Montez left the game in the second half with a sprained right ankle.
UCLA 34, USC 27: Joshua Kelley rushed for 289 yards on 40 carries and scored two touchdowns to lead the Bruins past the Trojans at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
The junior rushed for the third-most yards in school history and the most by a Bruins back against the Trojans. Gaston Green had the previous mark with 224 yards on 39 carries in 1986.
Oregon 31, Arizona State 29: Justin Herbert threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns as the Ducks held off a fourth-quarter rally by the Sun Devils in Eugene.
Dillon Mitchell had four catches for 103 yards and a touchdown for Oregon. Arizona State’s Manny Wilkins threw for 182 yards and two scores, while running back Eno Benjamin had 149 yards rushing.