SALT LAKE CITY – During his time as head coach at Colorado, Deion Sanders has done a lot to distance the Buffaloes from their dismal past.

Saturday night was an embarrassing reminder of those old days.

Utah scored on the second play of the game and cruised to a 53-7 crushing of the Buffs in front of a 93rd consecutive sold-out crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

The 46-point margin of defeat was the largest for CU since a 47-point loss (54-7) at Washington on Nov. 19, 2022 — the last road game before Sanders was hired. Utah’s 587 yards in total offense were the most allowed by a CU defense since the Utes put 662 on the Buffs on Nov. 26, 2022 — the last game of the pre-Sanders era.

True freshman Byrd Ficklin got his first start at quarterback for the Utes in place of injured Devon Dampier, an

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