This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Boulder, Colo. • Utah's defenders took advantage of a young quarterback Friday as they intercepted Colorado quarterback Nick Hirschman four times.

Eric Rowe, Trevor Reilly, Brian Blechen and Moe Lee all had interceptions as the Utes matched the season's previous total in one game.

"We doubled our total. That is almost embarrassing in a way, but positive too," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.

The Utes scored touchdowns on all three drives that followed the interceptions. Colorado also fumbled in the first quarter and Rowe recovered the ball on the Buffs' 29-yard line.

Coleman Petersen made a 21-yard field goal on the ensuing drive that put the Utes ahead 10-7.

"Taking the ball away five times, you're usually going to win a lot of games if you can do that," Whittingham said.

New wrinkle

The Utes used a trick play to tie the game 28-28 when tight end Jake Murphy threw a pass to fellow tight end David Rolf for a two-point conversion. The play had developed from a direct snap play to Murphy that was effective in two-point conversions against Washington and Washington State.

"We worked on that all week," Whittingham said. "It was a good complement to what we'd done previous times.".

Thanksgiving leftovers

The Utes celebrated Thanksgiving together after they arrived in Colorado, as they were treated to a buffet with all the traditional Thanksgiving fare. Normally such gatherings are for the team only, but Utah's support staff on the traveling party were invited to the dinner. ... Former Ute Sealver Siliga, who left the Utes as a junior following the 2010 season, stopped by the hotel to say hello to his former teammates Thursday. Siliga was signed by the Denver Broncos in October 2011 after he originally signed with San Francisco as a free agent.