Posts Tagged ‘Alejandro Mata’

Utah 23, Colorado 17

//posted 11.28.2023

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Freshman CU quarterback Ryan Staub made his first career start, throwing for 195 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough, as the Utes held on for a 23-17 victory in the last regular season Pac-12 game for both teams. Utah senior backup quarterback Luke Bottari was held to 61 yards passing, but scored on two short runs to lead the Utes to the win.

Travis Hunter collected eight catches for 107 yards and a touchdown, but had two others called back. On one, Hunter stepped out of bounds; on the other, a catch in the end zone was reversed. The latter catch would have given CU a 14-13 halftime lead, but the Buffs instead had to settle for a 47-yards Alejandro Mata field goal and a 13-10 halftime score.

CU’s scores came on a 30-yard trick play pass from wide receiver Jimmy Horn to running back Dylan Edwards, and an 18-yard touchdown pass from Staub to Hunter. On the day, though, the Buffs were held to 262 yards of total offense. The defense held Utah to 329 yards of total offense, but were unable to get off the field in the final 7:26 of the fourth quarter, as the Utes were able to run out the clock after Hunter’s touchdown made it a one score game midway through the quarter.

“We’re certainly heading in the right direction,” Sanders said. “We’re certainly trending forward. We got our butt kicked twice this year in 12 games. There was no winning those two games but every other game we had a shot, and I think that’s progress.”

No. 23 Arizona 34, CU 31

//posted 11.13.2023

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Tyler Loop connected on a 24-yard field goal with no time remaining, giving No. 23 Arizona a comeback 34-31 win over Colorado 34-31 at a sold-out Folsom Field. Jonah Coleman rushed for 179 yards as the Wildcats earned their fourth consecutive victory, while Colorado lost its fourth straight to fall to 4-6.

Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch led the Wildcats to bowl-eligibility in his third season in charge. So he understood the plight of first-year Colorado coach Deion Sanders, trying to turn around a program that went 1-11 a season ago. “I would not be worried if I was a Colorado fan,” Fisch said. “They have a fantastic head coach that is going to do just great.”

Shedeur Sanders ran for a score and threw for two more as the Buffaloes (4-6, 1-6) lost for the sixth time in seven games since a 3-0 start. Sanders also finished with 262 yards passing to go over the 10,000-yard mark for his career.

“We could have won the darn game. I like that we should have won. I’m tired of ‘we could’ve won’,” said coach Coach Prime, whose team had 11 penalties for 83 yards. “There ain’t no lose in me. It don’t sit well with me. It don’t rock well with me. It don’t lay down with me. I have no lose in me.”

No. 16 Oregon State 26, Colorado 19

//posted 11.7.2023

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Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei threw for one touchdown pass and ran for another, leading No. 16 Oregon State to a 26-19 victory over Colorado. The sold out Homecoming crowd of 52,725 watched the Buff offense continue to struggle, with CU only producing 238 yards of total offense – 52 in the first half. Buff quarterback Shedeur Sanders came into the game as the nation’s second-leading passer with a 337-yard average. But he was limited to 41 yards before halftime and finished with 245 after two late touchdown drives following an in-game painkiller injection for the second straight week in his sore hip.

Questionable play-calling at the end of the first half allowed the Beavers to post a touchdown in the final minute of the second quarter, giving Oregon State a 14-3 cushion at halftime. The Buff offense produced a pair of 75-yard touchdown drives in the second half, after the Buffs’ first 10 possessions resulted in just 78 yards of offense, with Sanders posting touchdown passes of 15 yards to Travis Hunter and 12 yards to Anthony Hankerson.

“The reason it’s so hard is because you know you’re capable of doing better, playing better, performing better, calling better games, coaching better on my behalf and you are coming up short when you have enough to get the job done,” Coach Prime said of his team, which fell below .500 (4-5) for the first time in his tenure at Boulder.

“It’s painful. It hurts myself, the team and all the coaches, the fans … Our kids fought hard. I love the fact that they didn’t have any quit in them. They rallied at the end and gave a heck of an effort. We just wish we could do that in the midst of the game — the first, second, third, and fourth quarters with consistency. And we haven’t found that level of consistency as of yet and that’s what’s truly disheartening.”

No. 23 UCLA 28, Colorado 16

//posted 10.30.2023

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The Colorado offense, last in the nation in sacks allowed, was exposed early and often as No. 23 UCLA slowly pulled away in the second half, posting a 28-16 win before a sold out Rose Bowl crowd. Buff quarterback Shedeur Sanders was harassed and hit all night, suffering seven sacks and numerous other hits. A strong early effort by the Buff defense, which generated four first half turnovers, was wasted as the CU offense netted all of three points off of those opportunities.

The UCLA offense, kept to a 7-6 lead at halftime, methodically pulled away in the second half, finishing with 487 yards of total offense. The Buff offense, meanwhile, posted only 255 yards of total offense … with 86 yards of that total coming in CU’s only touchdown drive of the contest late in the fourth quarter. Shedeur Sanders completed 27-of-43 passes for only 217 yards, with other totals – 24 pressures; 17 hits; 13 knockdowns; seven sacks – telling the true story of the game.

“Offensively, we’ve got to improve,” Coach Prime said. “Our quarterback is taking a beating. (Shedeur Sanders) got an injection at halftime just to block some of the pain… We have to do a better job of protecting him … Running the football, we’ve had a couple lineman go down (with injuries), but that’s no excuse.”

Colorado 27, Arizona State 24

//posted 10.11.2023

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Alejandro Mata kicked a 43-yard field goal with 12 seconds left, lifting Colorado to a 27-24 win over Arizona State. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders accounted for two touchdowns as the Buffs defeated the Sun Devils in Tempe for only the second time in school history. Wide receiver Javon Antonio, who had three catches for 42 yards coming into the game, had five catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. Antonio also had a 43-yard reception with less than a minute to play, setting up the game-winning field goal.

Arizona State out-gained Colorado, 392 yards to 295, in a game marred by penalties (9-for-88 for ASU; 8-for-65 for CU). Shedeur Sanders completed 26-of-42 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown, also contributing a 16-yard scoring run, but Sanders was harassed all night, being sacked five times. Anthony Hankerson led the Buffs in rushing, with ten carries for 58 yards, but, with the sacks included, the Buffs returned to their anemic ways on the ground, finishing with 30 carries for a net of 56 yards.

“Played like hot garbage,” Sanders said. “And I’m trying to figure this out. Sick of it. I really am. I’m sick of us coming out here and putting forth the effort we put forth in the first half. We’ve had really diligent meetings and we’re trying to figure this out, ’cause I’m sick of it. I’m sorry. I’m happy about the win but I’m not happy in the fashion that we won it in. We’re better than that. We really are better than that, and we gotta start showing that. I expect to win and I expect to win in a better fashion than that. I’m sick of these consistent holes that we’re displaying and the penalties and the things that we’re doing. We’re so much better. I apologize for my anger today, but I don’t accept mediocrity.”

No. 18 Colorado 43, CSU 35 2OT

//posted 9.19.2023

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Buff quarterback Shedeur Sanders struggled throughout much of the game, but directed a game-tying 98-yard scoring drive in the final two minutes of regulation, then threw two touchdowns in two overtime periods to lead the No. 18 Buffaloes to a come-from-behind 43-35 win over rival Colorado State.

CU trailed 21-14 at the half — with one of its touchdowns coming on an 80-yard interception return by Shilo Sanders — and looked to be heading for an embarrassing loss to 23.5-point underdog CSU when the Rams took a 28-17 lead with just more than 11 minutes to go in regulation. But the Buffs cut the margin to 28-20 with a field goal and Colorado’s defense forced a punt with just more than two minutes to play. The kick bounced out of bounds at the CU two-yard line with 2:06 on the clock — but that proved to be plenty of time for Sanders.

Sanders completed five passes on the drive for 106 yards as CU overcame two penalties on the march. Sanders found a wide-open Jimmy Horn Jr. for a 45-yard touchdown, then connected with tight end Michael Harrison for the two-point conversion to set up overtime. “I went into ‘Brady mode’,” said Sanders, referring to Tom Brady and his penchant for last minute victories. “They left us too much time”.

“I knew even if we got the ball on a two, three, or four-yard line, as long as the ball is in Shedeur’s hands, we’re going to get down this field,” said Coach Prime, who raised his first season record at Colorado to 3-0. “I knew that without a shadow of a doubt. And when we went to center field to talk about overtime until we won the ball. I want you to have the ball. I want you to pressure him to get them out of their comfort zone. That’s how transparent an excellent day for Colorado was a great day for the Buffalo fans. It’s a great day that we got to win.”

The Buffs were out-gained on the evening by the Rams, 499 yards to 418, but too many turnovers (four, including the pick-six by Shilo Sanders and the game-clinching interception by Trevor Woods in the second overtime) and too many penalties (17 for 182 yards) denied the Rams the upset.

Transfer Portal Tracker

//posted 6.30.2023

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(6/30) Gavin Layton, a 6’6″, 290-pound offensive lineman from Rochester, Minnesota, becomes the fifth junior college offensive lineman to commit to CU … (6/9) CU adds another 1,000-yard rusher, with junior Sy’veon Wilkerson becoming the latest Jackson State Tiger to join the team …