Giving game balls for Utah’s win over Colorado

Offense - Jaylen Dixon

The freshman receiver hasn’t put up the most impressive numbers this season, in fact, Dixon only had 11 career receptions headed into the Utes’ matchup with Colorado. But one thing has held true for the receiver when he does make a catch, it typically goes for a huge gain. Despite only having 11 receptions, Dixon leads all Utah recievers in yards per catch with 26.0 and the large majority of his receptions have gone for 25 yards or more. Dixon continued to be a valuble deep threat against the Buffs. Dixon finished the game with 4 receptions for 125 yards including a 61-yard completion that set the Utes up for their first points of the game and a 47-yard touchdown reception that gave the Utes the lead. In a game where offense was at a premium due to the snowy conditions in Boulder, Dixon played one of the best games of his career.

Defense - Francis Bernard

The transfer from BYU saw his most playing time of the season thanks to a (very bad) targeting call that resulted in starting linebacker Chase Hansen being ejected from the game. It’s not easy when the leader of one of the best defenses in country goes out (again, because of a terrible call), but Bernard answered the call. The Junior linebacker finished with 10 tackles (8 solo) and 3 tackles for a loss to lead the team in each of those categories. When Bernard first decided to transfer to the U, much was made about the amount of playing time he would recieve. But after Bernard’s play in recent weeks, I think it’s safe to say he should get consistent playing time for the rest of the year.

Special Teams - Britain Covey

It’s no secret that Utah’s game against Colorado was not played in the most perfect conditions. Snowy conditions certainly have the potential to impact the special teams more so than any other facet of the game. With that said, not making any crucial errors is key and Britain Covey did just that. We saw multiple muffed punts on the part of Colorado, which is to be expected because of the weather. But what we didn’t see was any critical errors by Covey on punt or kick returns, something that has been an issue in the past. So while there was nothing spectacular on the part of the special teams unit, the fact that Covey didn’t give Colorado the ball back is enough to earn him the game ball.