Colorado’s defense keeping it close against Arizona State: Instant Reactions

Tawfiq Byard flexes after forcing a fumble against Arizona State. (Photo by Christian Blanco/Sko Buffs Sports).

The Colorado Buffaloes trail the Arizona State Sun Devils 7-13 at halftime. CU is still in this game because its defense has stepped up. The Sun Devils are a putrid two for nine on third down conversions, and they also turned it over on downs inside Colorado territory to start the second quarter. Here are some takeaways from the first 30 minutes of action.

ASU got the ball to start the game, but struggled to settle in, going three-and-out on their first drive after Colorado’s defense showed that they are capable of stopping the rush. 

But the Buffs were the team that took that stalled series too close to the heart. CU’s offense went three-and-out on their first three drives, and on their fourth series, Colorado turned the ball over on downs in the red zone.

And as Mariah Carey’s hit song “All I Want for Christmas is You” played over Folsom Field’s loudspeakers, CU fans were probably pleading how all they wanted was to move the chains. Yikes.

On the other hand, the Buffs’ defense has flipped a switch in the past two games. Against West Virginia and Arizona, the unit forced five turnovers, almost as many as they totaled in the eight games combined prior (eight). They’ve stood tall again tonight. Backed up in their own territory, they stopped the Sun Devils on fourth down to keep their early 7-3 lead. 

The pressure from the front seven also caused four false start penalties on Arizona State’s offensive line that backed them up for a total of 20 yards. Not to mention a fumble that was forced by safety Tawfiq Byard, and an interception of ASU quarterback Jeff Sims at the end of the half to give the crowd some life. 

A very noticeable difference between the two offenses so far is that Arizona State is the only one that can hit a home run. On this front, that was highlighted by a 42-yard pass gain to former CU turned Sun Devil wide receiver Jordyn Tyson on a third-and-long in the first quarter. The lone ASU touchdown was also a 33-yard passing score from Sims to running back Raleek Brown. 

Kenny Dillingham’s squad had six explosive plays to Colorado’s two. They had four passes that gained over 15 yards, and two running attempts that went for ten-plus. And as this sentence was being typed, Brown ripped off a 60-yard run to set up a field goal and extend Arizona State’s lead to six. 

For CU to have a chance in the second half, offensive threats out wide like Omarion Miller and Joseph Williams have to start grooving. The history of Arizona State recently doesn’t bode well for this. The Sun Devils have won 15 straight games when they take a lead into the locker room. That’s the case tonight.