Colorado can thank Petersen for first road win since 2007

Colorado's 26 seniors ought to give Coleman Petersen a gift. After all, the Utah kicker gave them three.

Petersen's 48-yard field goal attempt with two seconds remaining went awry, helping Colorado (3-10, 2-7 Pac-12) snap its 23-game road losing streak — 24 outside its home state — and giving its seniors their first road win of their career. The Buffaloes had also lost at Hawaii, Ohio State, Stanford, Washington, Arizona State and UCLA this season.

Petersen's last-second miss completed a trifecta for the junior, who also missed attempts from 42 and 26 yards out. Petersen's miss from 26 yards came at the 9:48 mark of the fourth quarter, after Utah defensive back Reggie Topps had halted a Colorado drive with an interception that he returned to Utah's 34-yard line. Petersen's misses leave him at 17-24 for the season, although he had converted 15 out of 17 attempts heading into the "Rumble in the Rockies."

Utah running back John White IV also failed to reach 100 yards rushing for the fifth time this season. The mark has been a strong indicator for the Utes this season, as Utah has gone 7-0 when White has reached that point. White tallied 10 carries for 28 yards before leaving the contest early in the third quarter with a left ankle injury. White moved into second place on the single-season list ahead of Dameon Hunter (1,396) and now has 1,405 yards on 290 carries, leaving him just 103 yards short of Carl Monroe's single-season mark of 1,507 set in 1982.

The Utah offense also failed to take advantage of the worst defense in the Pac-12, gaining just 274 yards against a Buffaloes front that had yielded 453 yards and 38.4 points per game.

Utah, which was a 22-point favorite entering the contest, trailed 10-0 at halftime, eliciting boos from the crowd of 45,026. The last time the team had been shut out in the first half was against Cal, a 34-10 defeat that sparked a four-game winning streak. The Utes gained 235 yards in the second half after tallying just 39 by halftime, while holding the Buffs to 119 in the second half after Colorado had gained 254 by intermission.

Colorado had possession of the ball for 33:06, while the Utes had possession for just 26:54. Colorado also gained five more first downs than Utah, although they committed more than twice as many penalities (10-65, while Utah had 4-50) and committed more turnovers (2 to 1).

The Utes, however, didn't get their initial first down until the 2:56 mark of the second quarter.

Email: rhett.wilkinson@yahoo.com Twitter: wilklogan