BOULDER — By the time Shilo Sanders beat Utah quarterback Isaac Wilson late in the fourth quarter and forced a fumble that set up another score to fuel the outburst, the point had been made repeatedly Saturday at Folsom Field.

This CU defense, a crucial part of the program’s turnaround this fall into a College Football Playoff contender, is as salty as the offense is glitzy.

“We know (Utah) is on their third or fourth quarterback; we understand that,” CU head coach Deion Sanders noted. “But we’re happy with where we are (defensively) and we know where we could be. That’s the thing: we’re not even where we could be right now. You see the mistakes and the little things we were able to clean up, even though when you look at the stats you might say, “Damn, that was phenomenal.”

In the Utes’ 49-24 blowout that lifted the Buffs to 8-2 and within a pair of wins of a berth in the Big 12 championship game, CU’s defense consistently suffocated and hamstrung the disjointed Utes offense.

CU held Utah to just 31 rushing yards on 30 attempts. Only 3.8 yards per play. The Buffs had four sacks for -29 yards, five rushes on top of that, and limited Wilson to a 53% competition rate, a rate that was much lower in the first half before the freshman settled in.

Add in three interceptions and a fumble, and CU’s defense made limiting Utah to a pair of field goals after two Shedeur Sanders turnovers in the first half seem like light work.

“Maybe I should take them out to dinner this week because they saved me,” the CU quarterback joked.

Defensive coordinator Robert Livingston’s unit had a slew of stars on Saturday.

There was the usual suspect, Travis Hunter, who picked off Wilson with a pass that came off the hands of Utes wideout Munir McClain after an impressive last-second pass breakup by fellow cornerback Colton Hood.

The linebacker duo of Hill-Green and LaVonta Bentley set the tone. Linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green and cornerback DJ McKinney added interceptions in the second half before Shilo Sanders’ knockout punch. Add in a total of seven tackles from safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig and solid performances from linemen BJ Green and Arden Walker (each had half a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss) and there were very few cracks in CU’s defense on Saturday .

Coach Prime called Hill-Green and Bentley “the heartbeat of the defense.”

“They are down on the run, and we needed improvement on the pass (they brought),” Deion Sanders said. “They make great plays. …Cam, he’s the man. He is our defensive posture. But (Hill-Green and Bentley) play every week and they are physical. If we get a clue, they’ll smell blood and attack.”