The Utah Utes represent a great “what if” regarding the history of the Colorado Buffaloes. While Utah and CU were tabbed as rivals when they joined the Pac-12 together in 2011, it never took hold quite like the Buffs’ beef with the Colorado State Rams and Nebraska Cornhuskers. But if things had gone differently, Colorado could have viewed Utah with a similar disdain.
Colorado football historians can tell you that the Buffs and Utes were once conference foes long before they joined the Pac-12. The teams shared two conferences before that, and their game history stretches back to the early 1900s. CU played Utah six times as nonconference opponents from 1903 to 1908, with the Buffs winning four of those games.
Starting in 1910 and ending in 1947, Colorado and Utah faced off as conference rivals, first in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and then in the Mountain States Conference. Even though CU moved on to the Big 7 in 1948, the teams continued to play each other annually until 1962.
The teams would not meet again until 2011 when both joined the Pac-12. During those Pac-12 years, Utah dominated to an 11-2 record to bring the overall series standings to 35-32-3 in favor of the Utes. Will the move to the Big 12 turn the tides back in CU’s favor?
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