Will familiarity between Utes and former QB Isaac Wilson factor into Utah-Colorado matchup?

When Utah’s defense lines up against Colorado’s offense at Folsom Field on Saturday night, the Utes will see a familiar face under center.

Former Ute quarterback Isaac Wilson will start for the Buffaloes against his former team, Colorado coach Deion Sanders said this week, bringing an interesting dynamic to a game that features two teams trending in opposite directions.

The former four-star Corner Canyon High quarterback and Deseret News Mr. Football recipient committed to Utah in 2023 and was seen as a potential quarterback of the future for the Utes.

Wilson broke the Utah high school state record for total offense in a season during his senior season — 4,595 passing yards and 1,306 rushing yards, totaling 5,901 yards of offense — and won the 2023 state championship at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

He chose Utah over offers from Oregon, Miami, UCLA, Oklahoma State and BYU, where his brother, Zach, played.

Coming out of high school, Wilson was ranked a top 20 quarterback by every major recruiting service and looked like he was coming into a great situation at Utah. He’d have the chance to learn in Andy Ludwig’s system and sit behind quarterback Cam Rising in the 2024 season before potentially taking over at quarterback in 2025.

The plan quickly changed as Rising was injured two games into Utah’s season. Kyle Whittingham turned to Wilson and suddenly the true freshman was thrust into being the team’s starting quarterback three games into his college career.

Wilson helped the Utes win his first two games as a starter against Utah State and Oklahoma State, but things quickly took a turn for the worse. Utah lost seven in a row, the longest losing streak of the Whittingham era, mostly because of an unproductive offense.

Wilson was benched during Utah’s 17-14 loss at Houston in late October, only to start again after Brandon Rose suffered a season-ending injury against BYU. Wilson would suffer a season-ending injury of his own in the second-to-last game of the season versus Iowa State.

Wilson finished his freshman season with a stat line of 1,510 yards, 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions with a 56.4% completion percentage. It was a tough position for Wilson to be in during his first year of college football and it was not the way he, or Utah, envisioned his career starting.

From backup to QB3 to the transfer portal

In 2025, Whittingham named Wilson the backup to starter Devon Dampier in fall camp, but by the second game of the year, Byrd Ficklin had taken over at QB2. That was essentially the end of the line for Wilson at Utah, and he transferred to Colorado at the conclusion of the season.

In Boulder, Wilson rose to Colorado’s starting quarterback after five-star sophomore Julian Lewis was benched during the Buffaloes’ Sept. 26 loss to Baylor. In Wilson’s first start against undefeated Texas Tech, he threw for 290 yards and a touchdown and added 42 yards on the ground, but threw three interceptions, including a pick-six in his own end zone, in a 29-7 loss.

“Isaac is just tough. His demeanor is ... Isaac throw a few picks, he’s still going. He’s not getting down on himself. He’s a fighter. He’s tough,” Sanders said.

This week, Sanders joked that Wilson needs to throw the ball to his current team, not his former team.

“I said, ‘Isaac, make sure you throw the ball to the guys on our team.’ See, we could joke like that because Isaac is one of those kids that ... Isaac is Isaac, man. He ain’t taking that to the heart. He’s not going to cry and have a pity party because that’s the balance of our relationship,” Sanders said.

Familiarity with each other

Kidding aside, Saturday’s matchup will be fascinating to watch. As the starting quarterback and then a scout team quarterback, Wilson has a lot of experience playing against Utah’s defense.

On the flip side, coach Morgan Scalley, defensive coordinator Colton Swan and some members of Utah’s defense know Wilson’s strengths and weaknesses.

Wilson can flash his physical talent and make some good throws at times, but hasn’t quite caught up to processing the college game, often holding onto the ball too long or making poor decisions.

Will the familiarity on both sides have an impact on preparation? Scalley doesn’t think it’s going to be a big deal.

“He did a really good job as a scout team quarterback and really smart. He’s bright. You look at the throws that he makes on the outside, he has the arm talent,” Scalley said.

“(The familiarity), it’s not as big of a deal in my opinion as I think people could make it out to be. He’s definitely done a great job of being developed at Colorado and he’s going to know, obviously there’s some things terminology-wise and (former Utah cornerback Jason) Stokes as well. Jason Stokes is going to know some things.

“At the same time we have a feel for his strengths and weaknesses. I think at the end of the day, again, it’s still a team game and I don’t read too much into it.”

Colorado is on a three-game losing streak after starting 2-0 and is desperate to get a win to turn its season around against the No. 11 Utes, whom Sanders called “probably the toughest team we’re going to face this season.”

It’s been a rough go for the Buffaloes over the past three games: a 41-7 loss at Northwestern; a 23-13 loss at Baylor; and a 29-7 loss versus Texas Tech. Offensive coordinator Brandon Marion’s “go-go offense” has been stuck in neutral, averaging just 362 yards and 13.5 points per game during Colorado’s losing streak.

Defending Colorado’s ‘go-go’ offense

That said, the Buffs’ offense is one of the fastest offensive schemes in college football and it will put Utah’s defense on its heels at times. Scalley stressed the need for Utah’s defense to get aligned more quickly this week, which was part of the issue for the Utes last week.

Utah’s defense was tested through the air by Kansas quarterback Isaiah Marshall, who threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns, but don’t expect the same commitment to the passing game from Colorado.

“We don’t want to throw the ball 40-something times. We want to keep the ball in between 17 and 24 pass attempts, but it dictates on how the game is flowing,” Sanders said. “But we don’t want to get into that because we’re not great when we’re throwing the ball that much.”

Instead, Colorado will try to get a struggling run game going against one of the best rush defenses in the nation. Utah has smothered the ground game of two run-heavy teams in Iowa State and Kansas, and currently rank No. 9 nationally in rushing defense (78.8 yards per game). In their past two games, the Buffaloes have gained just 80.5 rushing yards per game.

If Utah can bottle up running back Micah Welch, it could be a long night for Colorado’s offense.

When Colorado does pass, the Utes have to find ways to get pressure on Wilson, make him uncomfortable and force him into mistakes.

Colorado’s defense hasn’t been the problem this season. The Buffaloes have been decent at stopping the run, led by linebackers Liona Lefau and Gideon ESPN Lampron (yes, that is his real name). Teams have been able to find more consistent success against the Buffaloes through the air. Colorado is allowing 216.6 yards per game.

Defensive end Lamont Lester Jr. is the player to watch when Colorado is on defense, but he was listed as questionable on Thursday’s availability report. Lester Jr. has four sacks to his name this season, and if he does play, he could disrupt the Utah offensive line.

Per BuffBlitz’s Brian Howell, Colorado is close to its first sellout of the season and it should be a great atmosphere for the late-night kickoff.

The Utes, playing just their second road game of the season, can’t let the crowd become a factor and need to get off to a quick start to quiet the fans. The Utes have excelled at the start of games, scoring touchdowns on each of their opening drives, and need to continue that trend Saturday.

Utah is favored by 16.5 points on the road as the Utes look to improve to 6-0.