Jason Shelley – Noteworthy
It was the No. 21 Utah Utes who weathered this storm. “It doesn’t bother us a bit,” coach Kyle Whittingham said after the Utes rolled to a 30-7 win over Colorado in freezing rain and snow Saturday. “We are up in the mountains in Salt Lake City, so not a problem at all. Our guys handled it very well. It didn’t faze them.” So comfortable were the Utes that several of them warmed up shirtless. “We’re from Utah, so it’s not like we don’t play in the cold weather, too. It was nothing to us,” said linebacker Francis Bernard, who had to step in for star Chase Hansen, who was ejected for targeting. Buffs senior wide receiver Jay MacIntyre, on the other hand, wasn’t accustomed to the foul weather.
“No, not really. This was the first real time” playing a game in snow, he said. “Me and my brother and my friends would go at night to my high school and go play in the snow sometimes. That was fun. But other than that, not really. Not like a real game.” Jason Shelley threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns in the sloppy conditions, slinging the Utes closer to their first Pac-12 title game appearance. The victory gave them at least a share of the Pac-12 South tile. “It’s huge. Utah football deserves it,” Shelley said. The Utes (8-3, 6-3) can clinch their first Pac-12 South title if Arizona State loses at Oregon later Saturday or if the Sun Devils lose to Arizona next week. – AP College Football