PLAYERS TO WATCH
–WR Laviska Shenault Jr. is back and no one is more relieved than head coach Mike MacIntyre. The sophomore was an early-season Heisman consideration with 885 all-purpose yards (780 rec. yards) and 11 total touchdowns. His efforts earned him a spot as a semifinalist for the 2018 Maxwell Award as the College Player of the Year.
–RB Travon McMillian was the lone Buffs player to find the end zone in the 31-7 loss to Washington State. It was the sixth touchdown on the year for the Virginia Tech transfer who posted seven scores in both his freshman and sophomore year. McMillian’s 910 rushing yards leave him 132 yards shy of equaling his career best set his first year with the Hokies.
–LB Davion Taylor set a career-best for tackles, using 11 stops to lead the Buffs against Washington State. One of those take-downs went for a loss, giving the transfer from Coahoma (Miss.) Community College 6.5 tackles-for-loss and 44 tackles during his debut campaign in the Pac-12.
–LB Nate Landman missed the second half of the Washington State game after drawing an ejection for targeting Cougar quarterback Gardiner Minshew. The sophomore finished with just two tackles, but easily retains his team lead over Rick Gamboa (79 tackles) with 97 tackles on the season.
SERIES HISTORY: Utah can even its all-time series against Colorado at 30-30-3 with a win in the 500th game in Folsom Field history. The Buffs have defended their home turf in the rivalry that dates to the 1905 season with a 18-12-1 record against the Utes in the Centennial State. Utah, however, has owned the series since both programs joined the Pac-12 for the 2011 season, winning five of seven contests. The Buffs’ last win came in 2016 when the Buffs knocked off a similarly-ranked No. 21 Utah.
QUOTE TO NOTE. “We talk all the time about what we can control, our guys, our people, your situation. The buffalo is the only animal that walks into the storm. All the rest of them run away from the storm. If you walk into the storm, you’re going to get through it faster. They walk in it together. We talked about that this morning. We’ve had a storm here the last few weeks and lost some close games. I talked to them about life and what that means, and that we’re walking into it together. Then we went outside and practiced. I thought they were really enthusiastic.” –Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre on handling the rumors regarding his future in Boulder
