Boulder, CU – The Colorado Buffaloes were down by four heading in the fourth quarter but ended up losing 42-17 by the end due to fumbles and botched plays. Heading into the game at Folsom Field, the Buffaloes had little to play for with a losing season guaranteed and no hope for a bowl game.
“I’m not gonna say it’s demoralizing. It’s tough,” Coach Deon Sanders said after the game. “In that situation of football, we got to be much better than that, and we didn’t.”
Both offenses began the first quarter with slow starts and back-to-back punts. Arizona scored first, a 39-yard field goal. Colorado responded late towards the end of the quarter on a four play 57-yard touchdown drive, which ended with a seven-yard touchdown run from junior Dallan Hayden.
The Arizona State Sun Devils scored on two more drives before the end of the half, one touchdown and a field goal with five-second left, leading to a one-score 13-7 lead.
Colorado then scored on a six-play 79-yard drive first drive back after the half. Freshman Julian Lewis threw the touch touchdown pass, calm and collected in the pocket, to the deep left end of the field to Junior Omarion Miller, giving Colorado the lead.
“I tease Omarian every day like, ‘I don’t know how you do it,’” Sanders said. “He’s not a four-three guy, but he knows how to run half routes. He knows how to use his leverage. He knows how to get out of the jam.”
Arizona responded with a touchdown, taking the lead again, and on their next drive, fumbled in field-goal range, giving Colorado an easy field goal.
The Buffaloes were down 21-17 heading into the fourth quarter. They had the ball again after another ASU fumble. They were poised for an upset. Lewis tossed it to graduate student Sincere Brown, who darted through ASU’s defense for a 25-yard gain to the 26-yard line.
CU had success throughout the game running the football with Hayden and sophomore Micah Welch. They had a combined 107 yards on 12 carries. Welch finished the night with five carries for 51 yards and Hayden with 10 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown.
The fumble and drive had placed Colorado into a prime situation.
Sanders sent sophomore Ronald Coleman to the field, a walk-on receiver who weeks ago converted to running back and had played two snaps all season. Coleman lost his footing and grip and fumbled the ball without being touched by a defender.
“The gentleman who fumbled, that’s on me. I put him in the game,” Sanders said, adding, “tried to have a change of pace. Figured he was gonna hit it, and he hit it and he fumbled it. Is what it is.”
ASU scored on their final three drives, each over 70 yards. Colorado’s defense before the fourth quarter forced four turnover and held ASU’s run game in check. However, in the fourth allowed 205 yards on the ground in the final nine minutes.
Colorado is now 3-8 and heads to Kansas State for their final match of the season.
