Arizona 42, Colorado 34

—

October 2nd – at Arizona          Arizona 42, Colorado 34

—

A year after burning Colorado for 327 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, Arizona quarterback Kahlil Tate torched the Buff secondary for 350 yards and five touchdowns through the air, leading the Wildcats to a 42-34 win over the Buffs. Tate went 17-for-22 passing, needing to carry the ball only four times, relying on running back J.J. Taylor (40 carries for 192 yards) to carry the rushing load.

In all, the Arizona offense went for 566 yards of total offense, compared to 386 for Colorado. Quarterback Steven Montez went 27-for-42 passing, good for 343 yards and three touchdowns. Juwann Winfree had eight catches for 101 yards and a touchdown, but it was the Colorado rushing attack which failed to keep up with Arizona. While Arizona had 216 yards rushing, the Buffs were held to 40. Travon McMillian contributed 11 carries for 59 yards, but Steven Montez was sacked five times, setting the CU offense back time and time again.

“I thought our kids battled,” CU head coach Mike MacIntyre said. “We had opportunities to win the football game. They made some big plays. Khalil ran around and threw it up in the air and their guys came down with it on long, delayed plays. Those were tough to stop”.

—

Game Story … For a team looking for redemption after a humbling loss, the Arizona game couldn’t have opened up much better for the beleaguered Buffs. After forcing a three-and-out on Arizona’s first possession of the game, Ronnie Blackmon returned the punt 59 yards to the Arizona 14-yard line.

The Colorado offense, however, could not make good on the golden opportunity. Three plays netted eight yards, and, after a time out, the Buffs decided to go for a first down on fourth-and-two at the Arizona six yard line. Instead of a first down or touchdown, a K.D. Nixon fumble gave the ball back to the Wildcats.

Undeterred, the CU defense forced another three-and-out, giving the ball back to the offense at the CU 34 yard line. After a sack on first down, quarterback Steven Montez connected with wide receiver Juwann Winfree on successive plays for ten yards and 15 yards, putting the ball back on the Arizona side of the field. Two plays later, the pair hooked up for a third time, with this completion going for 13 yards. An eight yard completion from Montez to Nixon gave the Buffs a first-and-goal at the eight, with Nixon running the ball in on the next play, giving CU an early 7-0 lead.

A botched kickoff return set the Wildcats up at their own seven yard line, with the Buffs picking up a turnover on the next play from scrimmage. Arizona running back J.J. Taylor got the carry, with Rick Gamboa forcing a fumble, recovered by fellow linebacker Nate Landman at the Arizona seven yard line.

Having the ball inside the Arizona ten yard line for the third time in the first quarter, the Buffs failed to take advantage. Three plays resulted in a net loss of a yard. Freshman kicker Tyler Francis came in and kicked a 25-yard field goal to make it a two-score game.

With just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter, the score was 10-0, Colorado, but it could have been 21-0. The Buffs had the lead, but the Wildcats had the momentum.

And Arizona took advantage.

It took seven plays for the Wildcats to drive to the CU 16-yard line, but their the Buff defense stiffened. A holding penalty and a sack of Arizona quarterback Kahlil Tate by Carson Wells pushed the ball back out to the CU 31, where Wildcat kicker Havrisik hit from 49 yards out, making it a 10-3 game in the first minute of the second quarter.

After going nowhere on its next possession, the Buff offense was quickly forced to punt, with the Wildcats needing only four plays to tie the game. A 40-yard touchdown pass from Tate to Stanley Berryhill made it a 10-10 game with 10:33 to go before the break.

A three-and-out by the Buffs gave the ball back to Arizona at its 18-yard line. A pair of long passes from Kahlil Tate to Devaughn Cooper, one for 19 yards, the second for 33, set the Wildcats up at the CU four yard line. On third-and-goal from the one, Tate hit Shawn Poindexter for the score, making it a 17-10 game.

Down for the first time in the contest, the CU offense finally found its stride. Two completions from Steven Montez to Kabion Ento, going for 18 and 12 yards, were sandwiched between two Travon McMillian runs totaling 18 yards, giving CU the ball at the Arizona 41. A completion to Juwann Winfree, good for 25 yards, set up the offense at the AU 14 yard line. After a three yard loss on a run by Kyle Evans, Montez hit Evans for a 17-yard touchdown to complete the nine-play, 89-yard drive.

Colorado 17, Arizona 17, with less than three minutes to play in the second quarter.

The two teams were far from halftime, however, as both offenses posted quick touchdowns. It took six plays for the Wildcats to score again, with a 45-yard completion the big play. The long completion set up a 12-yard touchdown pass from Tate to Shun Brown with 59 seconds remaining. A missed extra point left it a 23-17 game.

Not to be outdone, the Buffs needed only three plays and 26 seconds to retake the lead. A 57-yard touchdown pass from Montez to Travon McMillian made it a 24-23 game with 33 seconds left.

The scoring was still not over, however, with Arizona able to gain 21 yards in four plays, with kicker Lucas Havrisik hitting a 55-yard field goal as time expired.

Halftime score: Arizona 26, Colorado 24

For the fifth time in the 2018 season, the Buff offense scored a touchdown on its first possession after the break. It took the CU offense 11 plays – and a little help from the Arizona defense – to regain the lead. On a third-and-five to open the drive, Steven Montez hit for nine yards and a first down. Three plays later, on third-and-14, Montez connected with Kabion Ento for 21 yards. Three plays later, on third-and-20, the Wildcats were called for pass interference.

A second pass interference call gave the Buffs 30 yards in two plays, putting the ball at the Arizona 24. Three plays later, on third-and-six at the 20, Montez hit Tony Brown for a 20-yard touchdown, making it a 31-26 CU advantage.

It took the Wildcats only five plays to respond, with Kahlil Tate hitting Shawn Poindexter for a 39-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving it 32-31 game midway through the third quarter.

A 21-yard run by Travon McMillian on CU’s next play from scrimmage was wasted, with the Buffs punting the ball back to the Wildcats four plays later. Arizona then marched 62 yards in nine plays, culminating in a Josh Pollack 41-yard field goal to up Arizona’s lead to 35-31 late in the third quarter.

The Buff offense responded with a field goal drive of its own, but the 44-yard “drive” was more Arizona penalties (25 yards) than it was CU offensive production (19 yards). Still, when Tyler Francis hit a 48-yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter, it was once again a one-point game, at 35-34.

Four plays later, it was 42-34. Kahlil Tate produced his fifth touchdown pass of the game, this time a 57-yarder to Cedric Peterson, giving Arizona an eight-point cushion two minutes into the final quarter.

A 17-yard completion from Steven Montez to Juwann Winfree, followed by yet another 15-yard penalty against the Wildcats (this time on a personal foul), gave the Buffs an opportunity to tie the game. Instead, on fourth-and-nine at the Arizona 29-yard line, a pass from Montez to Kabion Ento fell incomplete, turning the ball over on downs.

The Buffs were given new life a few plays later, when Kahlil Tate was intercepted by Derrion Rakestraw, giving the ball back to the CU offense at its 31-yard line with 9:20 still to play.

A 23-yard completion from Montez to Kabion Ento, followed shortly thereafter by yet another 15-yard penalty against the Wildcats (pass interference), set the Buffs up at the Arizona 18-yard line. Two plays later, however, on third-and-ten, Montez was intercepted by Wildcat defensive back Troy Young at the Arizona one yard line.

There was still 5:07 left on the clock, and the Buffs had the Wildcats pinned down at their one yard line. A quick three-and-out, and the Buffs would be back in business, most likely on Arizona’s side of the field. Instead, on third-and-nine at the Arizona two yard line, running back J.J. Taylor gained 15 yards and a first down. A few plays later, after CU had used up its time outs, Taylor went for 21 yards on third-and-six at the Arizona 35, allowing the Wildcats to run out the remaining time.

Final score: Arizona 42, Colorado 34

In losing their fourth straight game, the Buffs bemoaned the lost opportunities to defeat the Wildcats.

“It’s not a question of effort or of guys going hard, it’s just what’s killing us, dragging us down, is when those opportunities to make plays present themselves, we have to take advantage,” Buffs quarterback Steven Montez said. “There was a fade at the very beginning of the game (to Kabion Ento) that I missed wide. That’s on me. I just missed a throw. It was there, the fade was there, the opportunity was there to score a touchdown. We just didn’t execute. We’ve got to start executing if we want to have a chance to win these close games.”

–

Game Notes …

— Colorado’s lead in the series fell to 14-7 margin, with Arizona winning its second in a row against the Buffs;

— The winner of the game in all eight Pac-12 meetings between the two since CU joined the league in 2011 has scored at least 38 points;

— When kicker Tyler Francis made CU’s first  PAT, he became the fourth player to attempt a placekick (FG and/or PAT) in 2018 – tied for the most at Colorado since the end of the platoon era (1965-on).  He joined James Stefanou (out with a hip strain) and the Price brothers (Davis and Evan, the latter whom did not make the trip due to illness).  CU also had four players attempt kicks in 2016 and in 1976. Francis is a true freshman walk-on from Carlsbad, Calif., who joined the team for August camp (he didn’t kick in high school until his senior year; he has a soccer background);

— The 59-yard punt return in the first quarter by Ronnie Blackmon was the second-longest by a Buffalo in the last 13 seasons; Isaiah Oliver returned one 68 yards for a touchdown against UCLA in Boulder in 2016.  It was the longest away from Boulder by a Buff since Jeremy Bloom returned one 80 yards for a score against Oklahoma in the 2002 Big 12 Championship Game;

— Juwann Winfree had his second career 100-yard game (101 yards) while catching a career-high eight catches.

—–

Tags: Carson Wells, Derrion Rakestraw, Juwann Winfree, K.D. Nixon, Kabion Ento, Mekhi Blackmon, Nate Landman, Rick Gamboa, Ronnie Blackmon, Steven Montez, Tony Brown, Travon McMillian
This post, about the Arizona game, from the 2018 Season, is filed under Article.
You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment.