CU offense beating itself, still looking for answers

Freshman Colorado Buffaloes Julian Lewis looks to run against Arizona on Saturday night. The former five-star recruit played his first extended stretch of college football amid a blowout. Photo by Jacob Hock/Sko Buffs Sports)

Just a week after the Colorado Buffaloes’ excruciating 53-7 blowout loss against Utah, an offense desperate for solutions again left Folsom Field with more questions than answers.

Facing immense heat around an inconsistent and underwhelming scheme, head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur needed to make changes, fast. Many thought it couldn’t get worse than the Buffs’ trip to Salt Lake City. 

Midway through the game, it was a certainty. 

Though the Arizona Wildcats were only favored by four in their visit to Folsom Field, insurmountable issues for CU made the margin of victory much wider. Arizona coasted to a 52-17 victory on Saturday. 

An utter lack of cohesion and discipline for the Buffs drove fans out of the stands by halftime. Ralphie’s two runs blew CU’s run game out of the water. 

Entering the matchup ranked 98th in FBS for passing yards per game (203.5) and tied for 100th for rushing yards per game (130.1), any improvement was a welcome one for a CU team clinging to any hope of a bowl game. Sitting with a 1-4 conference record, the Buffs saw the potential for a win on their home field against a Wildcats team on a two-game losing streak. 

But facing a top-10 FBS passing defense in the Wildcats was a big ask for struggling quarterback Kaidon Salter.

After giving up a 57-yard touchdown on the third play of the game, CU’s offense promptly went three-and-out, opting for back-to-back screen plays and picking up a delay of game penalty on the resulting punt. A displeased homecoming crowd let its frustrations be heard just minutes into the first quarter. Not the redeeming start the CU faithful had in mind. 

Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Joseph Williams is tackled during a loss to the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday. (Jacob Hock/Sko Buffs Sports)

After missing a shot downfield to a streaking receiver on Colorado’s next possession, Salter scrambled on third down and fumbled in an ill-advised attempt to extend the play, setting Arizona up inside the 20-yard line. It only got worse from there. 

The turnover battle was an area of concern coming into this conference matchup, with the Wildcats having forced 13 to this point in the season, and CU just six. This discrepancy came into play quickly and gave the visiting team all the momentum.

By the end of the night, CU had contributed six more turnovers to this category for Arizona. The Wildcats were able to convert 21 points off of them. 

Penalties were also prevalent for the Buffs on all sides of the ball, making even an extra point attempt seem like a challenge. One hundred and ten penalty yards on 14 penalties almost equaled the Buffs’ entire offensive productivity.

Arizona’s lead stretched 17-0 with seven minutes still to play in the first quarter. CU’s few glimpses of hope were dashed by careless penalties time after time. Salter’s best moment – an arcing pass thrown on the run placed perfectly in wide receiver Sincere Brown’s hands for a 75-yard touchdown – was wiped from the scoreboard due to two offensive penalties. 

Every opportunity to get back in the game was squandered, with the line of scrimmage often off in the distance, CU just trying to survive three more downs. The Buffs looked steps behind and consistently caught off guard. 

After Salter’s second interception of the game, backup quarterback Ryan Staub entered. His second play: an interception on the first snap of the second half. He followed this up with another pick later in the third. While the call for change came early on from many spectators, his performance disheartened even the most faithful within seconds. 

Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders stands watch during his team's devastating loss to the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday. (Madison Kerest/Sko Buffs Sports)

Before CU knew it, the three-quarterback dilemma from early on in the season was back. With 12 minutes remaining in the third quarter, highly anticipated freshman Julian “JuJu” Lewis subbed in at quarterback. The crowd roared for anything but more of the same.

The young phenom stepped up and performed to the best of his ability in a dismal situation. The five-star’s 59-yard touchdown pass was a gasp of relief for Buff fans and players alike. 

Despite a hopeful homecoming weekend crowd, CU was unable to pull off a win to keep its bowl game aspirations alive. With this loss, Coach Prime’s record falls to 16-18 over his three years at CU, and major concerns persist surrounding the future of the program.   

Going forward, it remains to be seen if an offense run by Lewis is enough to overhaul CU’s unit-wide shortcomings. While a change of personnel is certainly a step in the right direction, the Buffs may need to continue making those changes at the coaching level. 

However, Sanders once again insisted the loss was not a result of inadequacy on the part of his coaching staff. 

“This one’s on me,” Sanders said with no players available to the press in the postgame press conference. “Don’t attack the coordinators. Come at me.” 

For the second straight week, Sanders asserted that practices have been positive and that if they knew where the disconnect was in-game, they would make the adjustment. These realities will continue to embarrass the Buffs if changes are not made. 

Looking forward, Sanders would not confirm whether or not Lewis would take over the starting position. With CU taking on a West Virginia team coming off a top-25 upset next weekend, the Buffs will absolutely need to get to the root of their issues to retain any remaining reputation in the Big 12. CU currently sits at 14th place in the conference. 

Amidst much movement throughout the league, the Buffs remain steadfast in their coaching personnel despite increasing criticism. 

CU will go on the road to meet WVU on Saturday at 10 a.m. MT.