Arizona 52, Colorado 17

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November 1st – Boulder      Arizona 52, Colorado 17

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Five turnovers and a porous defense contributed to another rout for Colorado, with Arizona mauling the Buffs in Boulder, 52-17. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita threw four touchdowns, but Buff turnovers allowed the Wildcats to score on touchdown drives of 12, eight, and 17 yards. For the game, Colorado led in time of possession (34:09-25:51), and had as many first downs (16), but short fields and chunk plays doomed the Buffs to another embarrassing rout.

“Don’t attack the coordinators. Come at me. Don’t attack the players. Come at me,” Sanders said.

Sanders had no answers as to why the Buffs played so poorly again, insisting good practices had given no inkling another rout was forthcoming. He bristled when asked if his team had checked out: “I know a quitter when I see one. I haven’t seen that.”

Sanders added that he’s confident he can coach Colorado back into winning ways, saying, “I don’t doubt me. Let’s get that straight: I. Don’t. Doubt. Me.”

For the game, Arizona had a relatively modest 417 yards of total offense, but passes going for 60 and 57 yards, plus a run for 68, were all the Wildcats needed. The Buffs committed 14 penalties for 110 yards, with one penalty wiping out a 75-yard touchdown pass; another nullifying an interception.

With Kaidon Salter and Ryan Staub accounting for two turnovers apiece, freshman quarterback Julian Lewis came into the game in the third quarter. Lewis went 9-for-17 for 121 yards and a touchdown, not bad when considering Salter went 11-for-15 … for 49 yards, while Staub went 0-for-2 … with two interceptions.

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Game Story … If the Buffs learned any lessons from their 53-7 drubbing at the hands of Utah the weekend before, it wasn’t evident in the first series of their game against Arizona. After a seven-yard run and an 11-yard completion, the three-play, 75-yard drive was culminated in a 57-yard touchdown pass from Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita to wide receiver Tre Spivey. Arizona 7, Colorado 0 … 1:07 into the game.

The CU offense, humbled by Utah seven days earlier, responded with a quick three-and-out, including two wide receiver screens which netted zero yards.

Taking over at midfield, the Utah offense took eight plays to cover 19 yards. A 49-yard field goal by kicker Michael Salgado-Medina made it 10-0 midway through the first quarter.

CU’s next drive put the Buffs into negative yardage for the game. On third-and-seven at the CU 28-yard line, Buff quarterback Kaidon Salter drifted back … and back … and then fumbled as he was being tackled. Arizona recovered at the CU 12-yard line – and scored one play later. A 12-yard touchdown pass from Fifita to wide receiver Kris Hunter made it a 17- 0 game … before CU had posted a single first down.

CU picked up its first first down on its next drive on a six-yard run by Dallan Hayden … with the first down greeted by sarcastic applause from the Folsom Field homecoming crowd. Three plays later, on third-and-nine, Salter hit tight end Zach Atkins for nine yards and another first down. Two more runs by Hayden, totaling 17 yards, put the ball on the Wildcats’ side of the field for the first time.

Later, after a ten-yard run and a penalty, CU was inside the 20. On a third-and-five at the Arizona 19, Salter hit wide receiver Joseph Williams for eight yards and a first down. Then, on the second play of the second quarter, Salter connected with Omarion Miller for an eight-yard touchdown. Arizona 17, Colorado 7.

Any hope of a Buff comeback was quickly quashed less than two minutes later. The four-play, 75-yard drive ended quickly with a 60-yard touchdown pass from Fifita to wide receiver Geo Richardson.

The Buffs seemingly responded on the next play from scrimmage, but a 75-yard touchdown pass from Salter to Sincere Brown was nullified by penalty. Two more penalties left CU with a first down … and 30. Three plays later, the Buffs punted the ball away on fourth-and-15.

The Buff defense actually forced a punt out of the Wildcats … only to have the ball given right back to the Arizona offense. An interception of a Salter pass by Dalton Johnson was returned 39 yards to the Colorado eight. Two plays later, Arizona was on the board again, with a 13 yard run by Javin Wheatley. Arizona 31, Colorado 7, with five minutes remaining in the first half.

It didn’t get any better for the Buffs, as the CU offense quickly went three-and-out, gaining a yard in three plays. Taking over at their 35, the Wildcats methodically moved down the field, with a 34-yard touchdown pass from Fifita to a wide open Javin Wheatley bringing the first half – mercifully – to an end.

Halftime score: Arizona 38, Colorado 7

The Buffs opened the second half with as much success as they had in the first half. On the second play from scrimmage, backup quarterback Ryan Staub was intercepted.

The good news for the Buffs … the CU defense forced a fumble on the very next play. Tawfiq Byard punched the ball out, with Preston Hodge recovering at the CU 34-yard line.

Any hope for the Buff Nation of a comeback was quickly squashed a few moments later, when Ryan Staub threw another interception, with this pick returned 59 yards to the CU 17 yard line. Two plays later, Arizona was on the board again, this time with a seven-yard touchdown run by Ismail Mahdi. Arizona 45, Colorado 7, less than three minutes into the third quarter.

Enter Julian Lewis.

CU’s prized five-star quarterback, who had only seen action for two series in the Delaware game, entered the fray. After a 15-yard run by Lewis on third-and-11, Lewis hit Omarion Miller for a 59-yard touchdown.

Arizona, though, was not impressed. On the Wildcats’ next play from scrimmage, Ismail Mahdi went for a 68-yard run, all the way to the CU seven-yard line. Three plays later, running back Kedrick Reescano scored from a yard out. Arizona 52, Colorado 14, with nine minutes still left in the third quarter.

The teams then traded three-and-outs, as everyone on the field wanted to join (almost) everyone in the stands and go home (a band of shirtless students kept the remaining faithful entertained, with 70-80% of the crowd having already left).

The Buffs did manage to hold the ball for a few plays and a few first downs on their next drive, but a fumble by wide receiver Sincere Brown after a completion was returned to the CU four yard line.

To the delight of the sparse remaining crowd, the Buffs held.  A holding penalty nullified a touchdown, with Arizona kicker Michael Salgado-Medina missing a 30-yard field goal shortly thereafter.

The Buff offense opened the fourth quarter with a punt after five plays, with the Arizona offense giving the ball back on a turnover on downs eight plays later.

Taking over at their 43-yard line, the CU offense … turned the ball back over on downs, gaining seven yards in four plays. The Buff defense then forced a fourth down on an incompletion on third-and-11 … except that Tawfiq Byard, CU’s leading tackler, was called for targeting on the play. In addition to losing Byard for the first half of the West Virginia game, the play gave Arizona a first down.

Three plays later, it appeared that the Buff defense had a moment of redemption, with linebacker Reginald Hughes returning a fumble on a sack for a touchdown, but the fumble was ruled an incomplete pass after an official review.

Taking over on downs, the CU offense … went three-and-out, punting the ball away yet again. Two plays later, though, Reginald Hughes got a fumble recovery he could keep, with Jeremiah Brown forcing the fumble.

Julian Lewis tried to give the ball back to the Wildcats with an interception on CU’s second play, but the Wildcats were called for defensive holding on the play. Given second life, the Buffs went for zero yards on the next three plays, with Alejandro Mata scoring the only points of the fourth quarter, a 31-yard field goal with just over two minutes remaining.

The Wildcats quickly went three-and-out, giving the Buffs one last chance. The only highlight in the final drive of the game was a 17-yard completion from Julian Lewis to fellow freshman Quanell Farrakhan.

Final score: Arizona 52, Colorado 17

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Though it is probably not a record maintained by the NCAA, the quirky reality that Colorado had as many first downs in the game (16) as did Arizona, but still managed to lose by 35 points, has to be some sort of record for futility.

Another “fun” stat … Arizona’s lone drive of the first half which didn’t result in points was a second quarter drive which covered 27 yards in five plays before resulting in a Wildcats’ punt. Those 27 yards gained were more than three of Arizona’s scoring drives in the first half:

• Eight plays, 19 yards … field goal
• One play, 12 yards … touchdown
• Two plays, 8 yards … touchdown

Throw in a second half touchdown “drive” which covered 17 yards in two plays, and one gets the idea of how the game was a rout, despite the stats sheet.

CU used four quarterbacks in the game, with starter Kaidon Salter being pulled after going 11-for-15 for all of 49 yards (probably another record for futility), with one touchdown pass, one interception, and one fumble. Ryan Staub came in to start the third quarter, and promptly threw two interceptions in two pass attempts.

Highly-rated five-star quarterback recruit Julian Lewis then came in and had moderate success in a game already well out of hand. Lewis went 9-of-17 for 121 yards and a touchdown, with a 75-yard touchdown pass called back by penalty.

“We’re not executing,” Coach Prime said of what’s happened to his team since an October 11th upset win over No. 22 Iowa State. “We’re not executing. We’re not getting it done, and that’s from lack of preparation, I suppose. That’s on me.”

Preparation, however, seems to be the best aspect of the team lately. Coach Prime spoke about a good week of practice before the Utah game. He and several players praised the response to the Utah loss by how well they practiced leading up to Saturday.

“Practice has been wonderful,” Coach Prime said. “I mean, practices have been, like, satisfying. Truly.”

So, where’s the disconnect from practice to game day?

“If I knew, I would tell you,” he said. “You know I’m transparent. If I knew the disconnect, I would tell you. I would be the first one to tell you.”

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Game Notes … 

— Attendance for the game was 48,322, the first home game with less than 50,000 in six home games in 2025;

— The loss left CU with a 17-11 lead in the all-time series with Arizona. The Wildcats, though, raised their record against the Buffs to 10-5 since the two teams became conference rivals in 2010;

— Dallan Hayden led the Buffs with 34 yards rushing on nine attempts, with Micah Welch contributing 32 yards on ten rushes. CU’s leading receiver was Omarion Miller who had 91 yards on five receptions, scoring both of CU’s touchdowns.

— The Buffs had two touchdowns called back. The first was a 75-yard touchdown pass from Julian Lewis to Sincere Brown, called back by penalty. The second was a scoop-and-score of 53 yards by linebacker Jeremiah Brown, called back after a replay review reversed the fumble call, with the review making the play an incomplete pass.

Tags: Dallan Hayden, Jeremiah Brown, Julian Lewis, Kaidon Salter, Micah Welch, Omarion Miller, Quanell Farrakhan, Ryan Staub, Sincere Brown
This post, about the Arizona game, from the 2025 Season, is filed under Article.
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