Boulder, Colo. • Kyle Whittingham strolled the sideline with his eyes focused on the ground.
The Utah football coach had done so many things during his 20 years in charge of the Utes, but he had never been in this spot before.
“Our main issue this season has been on the offensive side of the ball,” he said. “There’s no secret about that. We just got to keep recruiting players — that’s No. 1 — and try to get things solved."
For the first time in Whittingham’s time as head coach, the Utes have lost six consecutive games. The latest: a 49-24 defeat to the No. 17 Colorado Buffaloes.
Once again, the Utes' offense struggled. Their special teams blundered. And Utah continued its free fall from the Big 12’s preseason favorites toward the conference’s basement.
Utah (4-6, 1-6) hasn’t had a skid like this since 2002, when Whittingham was serving as a defensive coordinator under Ron McBride.
“We’re just not potent enough on offense,” Whittingham said.
“If you look just statistically, as good as we are on defense, we’re that far down the ladder on offense in those statistical categories.”
Freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson finished the contest 21 of 40 with 246 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and three interceptions.
Utah’s rushing attack struggled on the day, garnering just 31 total yards.
The Utes defense sacked CU quarterback Sheduer Sanders three times and held the Buffaloes' rushing attack to 65 yards. But Sanders torched the Utes through the air, finishing with 340 yards passing and three touchdowns.
Utah junior linebacker Lander Barton picked off Sanders with his first pass of the game. Wilson and the offense could not capitalize, however, and settled for a 3-0 lead.
From that point on, Colorado dominated for the rest of the first half.
Sanders threw two touchdown passes. The Buffaloes also returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown — the second special teams score the Utes have allowed in two weeks — to ultimately lead 21-9 at halftime.
Wilson threw his second interception to start the third quarter, which set up a 37-yard touchdown run from Colorado running back Isaiah Augustave.
Utah scored its first touchdown in the third quarter after Wilson lobbed a 40-yard strike to senior receiver Dorian Singer to shrink CU’s lead to a 28-16 margin.
The Buffaloes scored again on a 47-yard pass from Sanders at the beginning of the fourth period. Utah and Wilson responded with a three-yard touchdown to redshirt senior tight end Caleb Lohner
Next, Utah will return home to take on Iowa State on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Salt Lake City. It will be the Utes' last contest at Rice-Eccles Stadium this season.
“Right now I’m in the twilight zone,” Whittingham said after Utah’s sixth-straight loss. “It’s been the most difficult year of my coaching career, hands down.”
