What Colorado learned from ASU loss in last home game of season

Julian Lewis loses his first home start 42-17 to Arizona State (Credit: Aspen Doust Sko Buffs Sports).

In their last home game of the season, the Colorado Buffaloes fell to the Arizona State Sun Devils 42-17. The entire team struggled to perform on senior night, as the Sun Devils dominated on both sides of the ball. The defense could not contain ASU’s run game, and the offense could not play catch-up in the second half of the game or capitalize on turnovers.

Offense:

In the battle between a rookie and an experienced veteran, ASU’s quarterback Jeff Sims had the upper hand over Julian Lewis. 

Sims went 11-for-24 passing, good for a 46% completion rate alongside two passing touchdowns.

Colorado’s passing game struggled in the first half, only going for 44 yards as Lewis threw for a 40% completion rate with eight completions on 20 attempts. Many of Lewis’ throws were over the heads of his receivers, but a few slipped through their hands. Lewis finished 19-for-38. 

The only touchdown catch for the Buffs came on a 22-yard pass to wide receiver Omarion Miller in the third quarter. Miller had a quiet game with only 35 yards and three catches on nine targets.

The Buffs only mustered 49 receiving yards in the fourth quarter as the game slipped away from them. Sincere Brown led the pack on a quiet night with just 50 receiving yards.

Colorado’s offense did struggle, but the rush game was an improvement from last game.

CU’s running backs had a better performance than they did in West Virginia, out-rushing their 51 total yards from that game by 13 in the first half. Dallan Hayden scored the Buffs’ only rushing touchdown on a seven-yard rush. 

Hayden bounced back from a four-yard loss at the start of the third quarter to run for a 42-yard gain. This put the Buffs on ASU’s 28 during their first drive, which led to their last touchdown of the game. 

The fourth quarter saw the Buffs rush for only 17 yards, their lowest in a quarter all night. The running back room finished with 135 rushing yards, highlighted by Hayden’s 65. Micah Welch was not too far behind in rushing yards, finishing with 51.

Defense:

The Buffs' defense started strong on what looked like a nice match-up for the rush-heavy offense of the Sun Devils. ASU is fifth in the Big 12 in rushing yards per game, while CU has allowed the most rushing yards on average in the Big 12. In the first quarter, ASU’s rushing was limited to just 15 total yards as the Buffs held the line. 

Trick plays were the Sun Devils' way of getting out of late down jams in the first half. They completed a fake punt on fourth down at the start of the second quarter and attempted a double pass on third down late in the same quarter that wide receiver Jordyn Tyson sailed over the head of tight end Chamon Metayer. The Buffs were caught by surprise on both of these plays, as they both would have been successful if not for Tyson’s error. 

The second quarter saw the defensive struggles of the Buffs begin to show, as they allowed 109 rushing yards. Running back Raleek Brown had the Buffs dead to rights, rushing for 95 yards in the second quarter, with 59 of them coming from one rush. 

Going into the second half, the Buffs had already allowed 119 rushing yards, 

The Buffs returned to their first-quarter ways in the third, limiting the Sun Devils to only 36 rushing yards. Pressure was high from the Buffs on most plays, forcing three fumbles and one interception in the game. One of the fumbles was recovered by linebacker Shaun Myers as he pressured Sims on the ASU nine-yard line. However, the offense was unable to capitalize on the opportunity he handed them. 

Brown would not be held down, however, and capitalized on the Buffs' only fumble of the game in the fourth, rushing for an 88-yard touchdown. Kanye Udoh joined in on the rushing fun in the fourth quarter as well, with three-straight rushes for his only touchdown of the game. Freshman running back Jason Brown Jr. came in on the Sun Devils’ last drive and scored the first touchdown of his career.

ASU took advantage of the enticing matchup, finishing the game with 355 rushing yards. Brown demolished the Buffs' defense, finishing the game with 255 yards, one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown. 

Overall:

The Buffaloes failed to contain ASU’s run game and did not take advantage of the opportunities their defense created. The fumble in the fourth quarter by Buffs running back Ronald Coleman flipped the switch for ASU as they went on a 21-0 run in three drives to end the game.

 There were some bright spots for CU, like the increase in rushing totals from the West Virginia game and Lewis having an okay stat line for his first start at home. But both sides of the ball struggled and could not get the job done, leading to a disappointing loss to end the season in Boulder.

In their final game of the season, CU will travel to Kansas to play the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday.