Colorado (still) can’t get out of its own way against Arizona State

Colorado's offensive line surrendered four sacks against ASU. (Photo by Aspen Doust/Sko Buffs Sports)

In the second quarter, the Colorado Buffaloes intercepted Arizona State quarterback Jeff Sims, giving Colorado the ball in a favorable position with a chance to take the lead before halftime. Instead, quarterback Julian Lewis was sacked on fourth down, giving ASU the ball near midfield. 

Colorado took the ball back on the next play. It was one of several times throughout the game that Colorado swung momentum in its favor and sat at the precipice of controlling the game. Instead, it’d stumble and fall. 

Off that turnover, it went three-and-out, and Arizona State scored before halftime.

“We shot ourselves in the foot… we did a good job of beating ourselves,” Colorado head coach Deion Sanders said postgame. 

Halfway through the third quarter, Colorado recovered a fumble that Sims inexplicably gave away, giving the Buffs an immediate redzone opportunity on the nine-yard line. They settled for a field goal despite the excellent starting field position. 

They were the only points scored off a turnover that night, despite Colorado forcing three fumbles and intercepting another. That was as close as Colorado got, as Arizona State scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. 

It speaks to the Buffs' defense that they were able to keep the Sun Devils off their game plan for the majority of the game. Sims was held to just 12 yards rushing despite gaining 309 on the ground over his previous two games. Just before halftime, ASU had just 60 yards on the ground and was content to run out the clock, but it broke off a 59-yard run instead.  

The Buffs' defense started as a dam that walled off much of the Arizona State attack. The dam burst as the game went on. 

In the fourth quarter, Colorado drove into the red zone with a chance to take the lead. In his only touch of the game, a 14-yard gain for running back Ronald Coleman turned into an unforced fumble, and one play later, an 88-yard touchdown for Arizona State. Two plays turned into two mistakes, and a potential lead became a two-score deficit. 

The Sun Devils had six explosive passes that totaled 206 yards, more than Colorado quarterback Julian Lewis’s total output on 38 attempts. ASU had 10 rushes of 10+ yards, which totaled 262 yards, nearly double Colorado’s rushing total on 30 attempts. 

In the end, Arizona State had seven plays that went for 25+ yards, with three of them going for 50+. Even when Colorado went stretches of gametime withholding Arizona State from moving the ball, an explosive play was waiting. 

Colorado had plenty of chances to win this game, and for its majority, it was more competitive than the final score would insinuate. But repeated mistakes only continued to compound until the game was out of reach. 

A sad finale for seniors will hopefully serve as a crucial lesson in execution for the Coach Prime era going forward. If not, CU is doomed to continue beating themselves before the opponent gets a chance to do it themselves.