Boulder, CU – Despite the defense starting strong, Arizona Football (0-6, 0-3) didn’t have answers as Colorado ran away with the 34-0 victory.
In a battle of the Pac-12’s football inept, it was Arizona Football that stood out the most as the Wildcats were outgained 365 yards to 280 yards in their lopsided, 34-0 road loss to Colorado.
Arizona turned to quarterback Gunner Cruz in this one after the Wildcats lost Jordan McCloud to injury for the rest of the season, and it was a less than stellar day for the sophomore signal-caller.
Finishing his day with 13-22 passing for 82 yards and an interception, Cruz would be pulled in the third quarter, when he apparently had broken his thumb trying to stiff-arm a Colorado defender while evading a tackle.
“Will’s going to be our guy and we’re going to ride with Will,” coach Fisch said.
Will Plummer would come in to replace him, throwing 7-17 passes for 71 yards and an interception as well. The Wildcats finished the day with 153 yards passing.
One of the few bright spots on offense was Jalen John. He would finish his day with 71 yards rushing on 11 carries, including a long of 23 yards that put the Wildcats down at the Colorado one. Arizona would not be able to punch it in on four plays.
The Arizona Football defense started strong but faltered down the stretch as the Buffaloes ran away with the victory.
“need to play better need to coach better really need to improve in every single area.” said coach Fisch.
Despite Arizona’s offensive struggles, the defense held its own as 14 of Colorado’s points came off a pick-six and a blocked punt return for a touchdown.
The Wildcats even held the Buffaloes to just six points in the first half, but when the blocked punt made it 13-0 Colorado, that’s when things got out of hand, and the defense began to run out of steam.
The Game Was Over When:
Trailing 13-0, Cruz threw an errant pass that was intercepted by Carson Wells and returned for a touchdown to make it 20-0. Cruz would be pulled on the next series.
Where does Arizona go from here?
With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 0-6 (0-3) and are staring at a real possibility of going 0-12 on the year, especially as Cruz is now likely done for the season with the broken thumb.
The Wildcats return home but have a short week, hosting Washington Friday at 7:30 p.m. MT. Colorado will travel to play the California Golden Bears at 12:30pm on Saturday October 23rd.
