Counting Down Utah Football’s Best 2022 Plays: Colorado Buffaloes
Aug 17, 2023, 4:51 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – We are three weeks out from the Utes’ season opener against Florida at Rice-Eccles Stadium and counting down the best play in each of Utah football’s 14 games in 2022 to celebrate. This week we look at Utah’s game against the Colorado Buffaloes.
While not every game went Utah’s way last season, they did enough to stamp their ticket to the Pac-12 Championship Game in Las Vegas, go back-to-back as conference champions, and earn their second berth in a row to the “Grandaddy of them All”.
Many believe Utah has a good chance of three-peating in 2023 due to the talent returning and the coaches’ aggressive approach in the Transfer Portal to address a few deficiencies. Fortunately, we are getting closer to the 2023 football season. Now let’s take a look at the Utes’ best play against the Buffs.
1…2…3 😁@leg3ndaryjaay pic.twitter.com/jinQdO2Smb
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) November 26, 2022
The Power Of ’22 Forever’
Ask anyone to this day around Utah football’s building about the odd occurrences surrounding the team, Ty Jordan, Aaron Lowe and the number 22 and you’ll get confirmation it is very real. There are still things that happen that the Utes just can’t explain.
Running back Ja’Quinden Jackson’s 66-yard touchdown in Boulder is one of those many things.
Jackson grew up with both Jordan and Lowe in Dallas and largely transferred to Utah from Texas because of them back in 2020. Sadly, Jackson never had the opportunity to play with Jordan who died of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound shortly after he committed to the Utes that December. Nine months later in September of 2021, Lowe was murdered at a house party. Both players wore the number 22.
Whoa 😱 #22Forever https://t.co/h7lgq85QOP
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) November 27, 2022
What makes Jackson’s play against Colorado last season so special is that Jordan made the same play- a 66-yard touchdown run against the Buffs in Boulder in what ended up being his one and only season he played for the Utes before his passing. Adding to the mystique, Jackson originally came to Utah as a quarterback, but converted to his friend’s old position midway through the 2022 season.
Utah went on to beat Colorado convincingly 63-21 and monitored the TVs closely the rest of the day to see if things would fall in place for a fourth visit to the Pac-12 Championship Game. Spoiler alert: things fell exactly into place.
Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on X, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports
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