Interim head coach Mike Sanford supports freshman defensive line end Louis Passarello as he exits the field during the game against ASU at Folsom Field on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. (Rachel Glazer/CU Independent)
Despite some hopeful moments and an ambitious comeback bid, Colorado fell to the Arizona State Sun Devils, 42-34, in a matchup at Folsom Field on Saturday, Oct. 29. Colorado dropped to 1-7 and 1-4 in PAC-12 play while Arizona State improved to 3-5 and 2-3 in PAC-12 play.
The Buffs quickly found themselves in an early 7-0 hole and never recovered. It didn’t take long for ASU to find the end zone as graduate running back Xazavian Valladay would score the first points of the game on a four-yard rush. A 49-yard field goal from Colorado sophomore kicker Cole Becker made it 7-3, but the Sun Devils would respond almost instantly with another touchdown, pushing their lead to 14-7.
Interim head coach Mike Sanford touched on the inconsistent play from the Colorado defense in a press conference after the game.
“I think it is a combination of some factors,” said Sanford. “A lot of changes, week-to-week changes, schematically different coordinators. It’s just different football, but I was pleased with how our defense did settle in.”
The second quarter saw the Colorado and ASU find some offensive rhythm, and both units went toe to toe. After forcing an ASU punt to start the quarter, junior quarterback J.T. Shrout led the offense down the field, finishing off a nice drive with a touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig.
Sophomore wide receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig jumps in celebration in the end zone after scoring a touchdown on Satuday, Oct. 29, 2022. (Rachel Glazer/CU Independent)
The touchdown pulled CU closer, making it a 14-10 ASU lead but, once again, the Colorado defense couldn’t back up their offense. The Sun Devils would once again march down the field and score, pushing their lead out to 21-10. Shrout was able to connect with freshman wide receiver Jordan Tyson on a 58-yard touchdown pass, again cutting the ASU lead to 21-17.
“Keep doing what I’m doing, plus even more,” said Tyson about his breakout performance. “I feel like that’s all I can do.’
Just as the Buffs seemed to find their footing on both sides of the ball, ASU manufactured a scoring drive to close out the second quarter and push their lead back to 11, going into halftime up 28-17.
Despite inconsistent plays on both sides of the ball, the game was still very much in reach for the buffs as they came out for the second half. The Colorado defense did settle down in the second half, and would only allow two more Sun Devil touchdowns. Graduate linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo touched on the adjustments the defense made in the second half.
“We made plays that we were capable of making in the first half,” said Chandler-Semedo. “Letting up 28 points is uncharacteristic for the defense we’ve been playing over the last few weeks. We just had to come in and correct those.”
Offensive line Austin Johnson holds the ball during the game against Arizona State on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. (Rachel Glazer/CU Independent)
While the defense tightened up their game in the second half, the offense still could not find any rhythm. Despite a career night from junior running back Deion Smith, a field goal by Cole Becker was the only point they could muster in the third quarter. Smith finished the game with 111 rushing yards and a touchdown, which was a highlight of the game considering he suffered an injury just two weeks ago against California.
With the score 35-20 ASU entering the fourth quarter, the game was still very much within reach for the Buffaloes. Colorado’s comeback bid took a heavy hit when junior quarterback Trenton Bourguet found sophomore tight end Jaylin Conners for a 20-yard touchdown pass, pushing the ASU lead to 42-20.
Down by 22 points early in the fourth, CU Boulder’s stands quickly emptied as many thought the game was long over.
Instead, Colorado mounted an ambitious comeback bid. After surrendering the touchdown, the Colorado offense went to work and put together an excellent drive, resulting in Smith rushing a touchdown to make the game 42-27.
The student section cheers in support of the Colorado Buffaloes for the game against ASU at Folsom Field on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. (Rachel Glazer/CU Independent)
After Colorado forced a punt to give them the ball back, Jordan Tyson produced arguably the play of the game. After a booming punt from ASU, Tyson ran the punt 88 yards to the endzone for a Colorado touchdown and once again cut into the ASU lead, 42-34.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Tyson. “That’s actually my first punt return of my career. I’m just trying to keep my head up and get some more wins.”
Arizona State would ice the game with a couple of first downs, stopping the comeback bid in its tracks. Despite the loss, Colorado showed flashes of being a complete football team; the talent is there, as is the fight to win. Coach Sanford spoke highly of the team’s fight.
“I want to just commend our team for the fight,” said Sanford. “We started slow in the first half, and built ourselves a bit of a hole. Right now, we are at a place where the team, I believe, is fighting.”
This type of fight will need to carry over into the final four games of the season, especially with some marquee matchups on the schedule. After playing host next week to Oregon, CU goes on the road the following two weeks to play the University of Southern California and Washington before returning home to close out their season against the Utah Utes.
A student raised by peers puts their hands up in support of the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. (Rachel Glazer/CU Independent)
The Buffaloes return to Folsom Field next Saturday with a match-up against the University of Oregon. The game is set to kick off at 1:30 p.m. MST and will be nationally televised on ESPN.
Contact CU Independent Assistant Sports Section Editor Jason Marks at jason.marks@colorado.edu.
Contact CU Independent Staff Photographer Rachel Glazer at rachel.glazer@colorado.edu.
Contact CU Independent Head Visuals Editor Io Hartman at io.hartman@colorado.edu.
