Revenge Week in Boulder: Isaac Wilson Faces His Old Team, No. 11 Utah, as Colorado Tries to Turn a 2-3 Start Around Under the Lights

By Cam Sutton, RF Sports Radio Colorado voice

Buffs fans, you could not script it better if you tried. A quarterback who used to wear Utah red, a Utah team that is unbeaten and ranked, and a late-night national window at Folsom Field.

The facts

Colorado (2-3, 0-2 Big 12) hosts No. 11 Utah (5-0) on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 8:15 p.m. Mountain / 9:15 p.m. Central on ESPN at Folsom Field, per CBS Sports and the Salt Lake Tribune.

Coach Deion Sanders confirmed that Isaac Wilson, who transferred to Colorado from Utah, will start against his former team, per USA TODAY. It will be Wilson's second straight start after he replaced Julian Lewis in the loss to Texas Tech. In that first Colorado start, Wilson threw three interceptions, per USA TODAY. The Salt Lake Tribune first framed the possibility of Wilson facing the Utes earlier in the week, and CBS Sports' preview leans into the former-team storyline.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: revenge games make great promos and bad game plans. Wilson knows this Utah program. He knows the coaches, the culture and some of the players lining up across from him. That familiarity cuts both ways. Utah's defensive staff knows him too, and a 5-0 ranked team is not going to be rattled by the storyline. The danger for Colorado is that Wilson tries to win the game by himself in the first quarter because it is personal. That is how three interceptions turn into four.

The smarter path is the unglamorous one. Run the ball enough to keep Utah's pass rush honest. Use quick throws to get Wilson in rhythm early. Protect the football and make the Utes drive the length of the field. Colorado does not need Wilson to be a hero Saturday. It needs him to be boring for a half and let the crowd and the late kickoff do some work.

There is also a season-level question. A 2-3 start with an 0-2 conference record leaves very little margin for the second half of the year. Beating an unbeaten, ranked Utah team would change the entire conversation in Boulder. Losing by three scores would make the quarterback room the only conversation in Boulder.

My call: Utah 31, Colorado 17. Wilson is cleaner than he was against Texas Tech, with one interception or fewer, but Utah's depth wins the second half. That is a prediction, not a report. If Colorado is within a score entering the fourth quarter, Folsom gets loud enough to make it interesting late.

What to watch next

Kickoff is Saturday at 9:15 p.m. Central on ESPN. Watch Wilson's interception count, Colorado's early run-pass balance, and whether Utah's pass rush lives in the backfield. For Wednesday's confirmation column, read our Wednesday column confirming Isaac Wilson starts against Utah, and follow the Colorado Football page.

Radio question: does facing his old team make Isaac Wilson better on Saturday, or is the revenge storyline more pressure than Colorado needs?

Sources: USA TODAY — Deion Sanders reveals Isaac Wilson starts vs. Utah; Salt Lake Tribune — Ex-Utah QB Isaac Wilson could face the Utes; CBS Sports — No. 11 Utah visits Colorado as Isaac Wilson faces former team.