Utah football: TE Murphy plans to return to Utes

Utah tight end Jake Murphy, who said earlier this week he was contemplating leaving the Utes a year early for the pro ranks, sounded more certain that he'll remain with the Utes when asked about his situation following Utah's 24-17 win over Colorado.

Murphy, who had eight catches for 93 yards and a touchdown Saturday, said it would be hard to leave college football.

"I think we can do some damage in the Pac-12," he said.

Murphy said he'll still discuss the situation with his coaches. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said the broke wrist Murphy suffered in October didn't leave him with much evidence for teams to evaluate his talents but that he wouldn't try to talk Murphy out of going pro if it is in his best interest.

"We'll weigh all the facts, and if it's best for him to move on then I'll tell him that," he said. "We want what is best for Jake."

Record books

Utah receiver Dres Anderson finished with seven catches for 94 yards, giving the junior 1,002 yards on the season. He is the seventh Ute to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a season. His six 100-yard receiving games this year also tied Dennis Smith (1989) and Louis Thomas (1968) for the school record.

For kicks

Andy Phillips' 46-yard field goal made him 17 of 20 on the season. His 17 field goals are tied for fifth-most in a season at Utah. … Punter Tom Hackett placed two of his five punts inside the 5-yard line. He had two punts of 50-plus yards to give him 19 for the season, which is tied for third-most all-time at Utah.

Fumble recoveries

Utah senior LT Tuipulotu made his final game at Rice-Eccles Stadium a memorable one, as the tackle recovered two fumbles in the first quarter.

Tuipulotu's first recovery came on Colorado's opening drive at Colorado's 34-yard line when Tenny Palepoi knocked the ball out of Colorado quarterback Sefo Liufau's hand.

Liufau fumbled again when he was sacked and again Tuipulotu was there to recover, this time on Colorado's 25-yard line.

Tuipulotu has had several good games of late. He had a career-high seven tackles against Oregon and five tackles and two pass breakups against Washington State.

lwodraska@sltrib.com

Twitter: @lyawodraska