Sophomore cornerback Kyndrich Breedlove returns an intercepted two point conversion during the game against Oregon State at Folsom Field on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (Joey Virgilio/CU Independent)
The University of Colorado Buffaloes lost to the Washington State University Cougars 56-14 in Pullman on Nov. 17. CU Boulder fell behind from the jump and was never able to find any momentum on either side of the ball all night. Colorado has now lost seven of their past eight games, and are 4-7 and 1-7 Pac-12 in the 2023 season.
“I’m very sad of how we played,” CU Boulder head coach Deion Sanders said after the game. “We practiced hard this past week. We prepared, and to go and display a performance like that, it’s not indicative of who we are, what we are, how we are.”
It looked to be a close matchup going into the Nov. 17 game as both teams shared the same 4-6 record with one Pac-12 win each. That notion quickly changed once the game started, as WSU scored 21 points in each of the first two quarters and looked in control the entire time.
After being down 42-7 at the half, the Buffaloes played a much more even game in the second half against the Cougars, holding them to only two touchdowns.
By the final whistle,Washington State outgained Colorado by 469 to 255 total yards, while the Cougars averaged 7.2 yards per play and collected five sacks in the game. Though the Buffaloes were able to force three sacks and three turnovers of their own, the outcome of the game didn’t seem to be in question all night, as the Buffaloes stacked another loss in their tumultuous 2023 college football season.
“It’s not who we are, and I’m still trying to figure out our identity; trying to figure out who we are in turbulent times. And after all these weeks I still don’t know,” coach Sanders said when asked about his team’s performance.
Adding to the nightmare game for the Buffaloes, CU Boulder quarterback Shedeur Sanders left the game in the second quarter with an injury and did not return. While he was in, Sanders was sacked four times but made six of his 10 passes for 86 yards including a 45-yard touchdown pass to Travis Hunter. Coming into the game Colorado had given up the most sacks in the country. Their offensive line struggles continued, and the Buffs now have 54 sacks against them, for an average of 4.9 per game.
“He got hit in the forearm and couldn’t really grip the ball, he couldn’t really feel the ball,” coach Sanders said about Shedeur Sanders. “Then he rolled up his ankle and that was it. Couldn’t grip the ball and his ankle, so that took him out of the game, and the rest is history.”
Once Sanders was out, CU Boulder saw two other quarterbacks run the offense. Immediately after Sanders came out, backup freshman Ryan Staub took his place, only completing five of his 14 pass attempts for 56 yards. As the lead continued to grow, Colorado continued to experiment with their backup quarterbacks as junior transfer Gavin Kuld also saw action, only making one of his three pass attempts for 22 yards. Colorado committed to running the football and didn’t take any big chances once their backups were in.
The leading rusher for Colorado in the loss was sophomore Sy’veon Wilkerson. The transfer from Jackson State hadn’t seen a whole lot of success before the WSU game, but he had 13 rushes for 49 yards and a touchdown while also making two catches for 29 yards. As the night went on the Buffaloes continued to run the ball, as Dylan Edwards and Anthony Hankerson each had seven rushing attempts, finishing with 42 yards and 31 yards respectively.
With CU Boulder having the second lowest passing yards this season with 164, their receivers struggled to get open downfield. Transfer receiver Xavier Weaver only had three catches for 41 yards, along with receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. only grabbing two passes for 13 yards. Two-way player Travis Hunter was the leading receiver for the Buffs with four catches for 82 yards and a touchdown.
It was an extremely tough night for Colorado’s defense, as the 56 points by the Cougars was the most allowed all season. WSU was able to march down the field for three easy touchdowns in the first quarter and any momentum Colorado’s defense had going into the game was crushed. By the end, the Buffs had given up 469 offensive yards and five total offensive touchdowns, four by the Cougar’s quarterback Cameron Ward. Though it was a demoralizing loss, multiple CU Boulder defenders made an impact in the game, as LaVonta Bentley had 10 total tackles and a sack, Jaden Milliner-Jones with eight tackles and a pass breakup and Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig with seven total tackles.
In the game, much of Washington State’s scoring success came from the defense and special teams. The Cougars returned both a fumble and a kickoff for touchdowns in the first quarter, as well as another 74-yard fumble recovery touchdown in the third quarter. With eight total touchdowns in the game compared to only two total for CU, it was WSU’s night as they dominated both sides of the ball for the entire 60 minutes of play.
“That’s not the recipe for a win. They executed early, they executed often,” coach Sanders said. “They kicked our butts. I would have never fathomed that this would have been the conclusion if you’d have asked me a week or two weeks ago.”
The Colorado Buffaloes are now 4-7 and 1-7 Pac-12 in the 2023 season after their loss to WSU on Nov. 17. Colorado will return with a game in Salt Lake City to face the 7-4 and 4-4 Pac-12 University of Utah Utes. The game is at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 1 p.m MST and will be live on the Pac-12 Network.
Contact CU Independent Assistant Sports Editor Eli Gregorski at eli.gregorski@colorado.edu
