Arizona 43, Colorado 20

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October 1st – at Arizona          Arizona 43, Colorado 20

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Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura threw for 484 yards and six touchdowns, tying a school record, leading the Wildcats to a 43-30 romp over Colorado. The Wildcats ran over, around, and through the Buff defense for 673 yards, with ten of Arizona’s 11 drives finishing in CU territory. Arizona was good on 9-of-14 third down attempts, controlling the game and the tempo throughout.

CU’s freshman quarterback Owen McCown went 14-for-30 for 186 yards and a touchdown, also contributing a score on a one-yard run in the Buffs’ first touchdown in the first quarter all season. Fellow freshman Anthony Hankerson led the rushing attack, with 68 yards on 12 carries, including a seven-yard touchdown run for his first score as a Buff. CU’s third touchdown – the first time the Buffs had three touchdowns in a game in 2022 – came on a 14-yard pass from McCown to Daniel Arias.

“That was a very challenging offense and that quarterback, we didn’t slow him down,” CU head coach Karl Dorrell said of Arizona’s offense and quarterback Jayden de Laura. “We didn’t slow him down at all … We just have a tremendous amount of work to do. We’re working hard and we’re trying to improve the fundamentals and things that we do. It’s just not showing up fast enough when we play. That’s the unfortunate thing.”

The victory left Arizona, a 1-11 team in 2021, halfway to bowl eligibility with a 3-2 record, Colorado, meanwhile, dropped to 0-5 for just the fourth time in school history (1980; 1984; and 2006).

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Game Story … Arizona became CU’s fourth opponent in a row to score a touchdown on its first drive of the game, covering 75 yards in 11 plays. A 24-yard carry by running back Michael Wiley on the Wildcats’ first run of the game set the tone, with the drive capped by an eight-yard touchdown pass from Jayden de Laura to Wiley. The Buff defense did force Arizona to take five minutes to score, but, as had happened against Air Force, Minnesota, and UCLA … the first drive of the game by the opposing offense resulted in a touchdown.

The Buff offense, though, for the first time all season, responded with a score of their own. On third-and-six to open the drive, freshman quarterback Owen McCown connected with wide receiver Daniel Arias for 12 yards and a first down. Two plays later, McCown hit Ty Robinson for another 12-yard gain. Next, on third-and-five, McCown hit running back Charlie Offerdahl for a 35-yard gain to the Arizona one yard line. On the next play, CU scored its first first quarter touchdown of the season on a McCown keeper.

Could the Buff defense build on the momentum?

No, not really. Arizona’s next drive also went 75 yards, and also resulted in a touchdown. Another touchdown, but the Buff defense did force the Wildcats to take 14 plays to score. After a holding call, the Wildcats had a first-and-goal at the CU 20-yard line … but scored anyway. On fourth-and-three, de Laura hit wide receiver Jacob Cowing for the score. After a failed conversion attempt, the score remained 13-7 late in the first quarter.

CU’s offense did pick up a first down on its next possession thanks to two carries by Charlie Offerdahl going for 11 yards. That was as far as the Buffs would go, however, punting the ball back to the Wildcats early in the second quarter.

Arizona marched quickly down the field, but the Wildcats’ third possession did not result in their third touchdown. A 47-yard pass from de Laura to Dorian Singer set the Wildcats up at the CU three yard line, but the Buff defense held. A fourth-and-one rush by Michael Wiley was stuffed by linebacker Michael Ham, giving the ball back to the CU offense.

Back-to-back runs by freshman running back Anthony Hankerson, going for 11 and ten yards, pushed the ball out from underneath the CU goal posts, but thereafter the Buff drive stalled. For the second consecutive drive, the Buffs were five-and-out.

This time, the Arizona offense was not to be denied. It took the Wildcats only four plays to cover 60 yards, with de Laura hitting Dorian Singer for a five-yard touchdown. With another failed conversion, the new score was Arizona 19, Colorado 7, midway through the second quarter.

CU’s offense continued to regress, this time going three-and-out before punting the ball away yet again.

For the fifth time in as many drives, the Arizona offense had no trouble moving the ball into Colorado. For the fourth time in the first half, the Wildcats scored on a Jayden de Laura touchdown pass. The six-play, 65-yard drive was finished off with an eight-yard touchdown pass from de Laura to Tanner McLachlan. With only the second extra point in the half, the new score was 26-7 with just under four minutes remaining.

After the Buff offense again went three-and-out, it was time for the Wildcats to put the game away … but the Buff defense actually a three-and-out from the Wildcats.

Taking over at its 35-yard line, the Buffs found themselves at midfield two plays later after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Wildcats. Two plays later, Owen McCown and Deion Smith connected for CU’s second play of the season of over 40 yards, with the 41-yard gain setting the Buffs up with a first-and-goal at the Arizona nine-yard line. After a false start, McCown hit Daniel Arias for a 14-yard touchdown. Kicker Cole Becker missed the extra point, leaving it a 26-13 game with just over a minute remaining before the break.

Not content with a two score lead, Arizona again moved the ball quickly into CU territory. A 42-yard field goal attempt by Tyler Loop, though, went wide right on the final play of the half.

Halftime score: Arizona 26, Colorado 13

The Buffs took the second half kickoff, and, after gaining a first down on an Anthony Hankerson four-yard run on third-and-two, promptly went into punt formation after Owen McCown was sacked three plays later.

Just as Arizona had become the fourth of five CU opponents to score on its first possession of the first half, Arizona also became the fourth Buff opponent to score a touchdown on its first drive of the second half. The six-play, 80-yard drive resulted in Jayden de Laura’s fifth touchdown pass of the game. This time, the recipient was Tetairoa McMillan from 23 yards out. Midway through the third quarter, the new score was 33-13.

The game getting out-of-hand early in the second half – again – the Buffs actually put together a third quarter drive. For the first time in the 2022 season … the Buffs scored in the third quarter. The Arizona score had given CU’s opponents a 48-0 edge in third quarter scoring, but the Buffs finally put points on the board with a six-play, 75-yard drive. A 42-yard completion from Owen McCown to Jordyn Tyson gave the Buffs a first down at the Arizona 22-yard line. Three runs by Anthony Hankerson later, the Buffs were on the board. Hankerson’s first touchdown as a Buff came from seven yards out, giving CU its first three touchdown game of the season, and a 33-20 score with five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Another Arizona possession … another deep drive into Colorado territory. The Wildcats scored yet another touchdown on a 20-yard run by DJ Williams, but the score was nullified by a holding penalty. The Buff defense again had the Arizona offense at a first-and-20, but this time was able to hold the Wildcats … to 18 yards. Tyler Loop’s 29-yard field goal attempt was good, but it was still a two-score game, at 36-20, late in the third.

Thanks to a ten-yard run by Deion Smith and a third down seven-yard completion from McCown to Montana Lemonious-Craig, the Buffs opened the fourth quarter with the ball at midfield … and in the game in the final stanza for the first time all season. Four plays later, however, an incomplete pass on fourth-and-three at the Arizona 43-yard line ended the drive.

With any chance at a comeback in the balance, the Colorado defense forced a third-and-13 … and gave up a 19-yard pass. The Buffs then forced a third-and-ten … and gave up an 11-yard pass. The Buffs then forced a third-and-three … and gave up a five-yard run. The Buffs then gave up Jayden de Laura’s sixth touchdown pass of the game, a five-yarder to Michael Wiley. Arizona 43, Colorado 20, with nine minutes left to play.

The Buffs again pushed the ball into Arizona territory on their next drive, with a 20-yard run by Owen McCown giving CU the ball near midfield. The drive was kept alive with a pass interference call on fourth down, but CU’s quest for points came to nothing when McCown fumbled on a sack at the Arizona 16-yard line.

Three consecutive gains of 13 yards gave Arizona yet another chance to score, but the Wildcats were content to take a knee after reaching the CU 20-yard line for the 10th time in 11 drives.

Final score: Arizona 43, Colorado 20

“There’s always hope I mean, I’m always gonna have hope, you know, that’s, our players need hope to coaches need hope”, Dorrell said of the 0-5 Buffs. “We’re always going to try to find a way we’re gonna. We’re gonna continue to try to find the right combinations of things to do with maybe it’s changing personnel and changing people in the personnel groupings. We’re going to try to do anything and everything to try to improve what we’ve done is obviously not very good right now.”

With a bye week before playing Cal, many observers saw the break as a good opportunity to see the Karl Dorrell era in Boulder come to an end. When asked about whether the team was still fighting for their coaching staff, offensive lineman and team captain Casey Roddick said, “Absolutely. I mean, at the end of the day, the outside noises outside of us can’t You can’t handle what anybody says over Twitter or Instagram or stuff like that. I mean, people are gonna say whatever they want, but at the end of the day, it’s what’s inside of that meeting room at the end of the day, what’s inside and the culture that we tried to build inside and we can’t you got to silence everything that’s happening on the outside because you can’t control that. At the end of the day. It’s are you going to come in, bring your hardhat and get the work and that’s what we need.”

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Game Notes … 

— With the victory, Arizona cut CU’s advantage in the series to 16-9 (9-4 CU in games played in Tucson);

— CU dropped to 0-5 for just the fourth time in school history (1980; 1984; and 2006);

— The Buffs scored on their first drive of the game for the first time in 2022 (McCown 1-yard TD run) and a touchdown for the first time since November 28, 2020 vs. San Diego State;

— The 673 yards of total offense produced by Arizona marked the third time the Wildcats have posted over 600 total yards on CU (670 in 2013; 616 in 2015). Overall it was the most yards yielded by the Buff defense since surrendering 755 total yards to Oregon in 2014;

—  Three players made their first career starts – Offensive lineman Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan (who, at 6’10”, may be the tallest starter ever for the Buffs); linebacker Marvin Ham; and tight end Erik Olsen. Those starts brought the number of first-time starters in 2022 to 19 (the most since 20 in 2019);

— With three carries for 18 yards, Charlie Offerdahl claimed the record for the most rushing yards by a walk-on in school history. His totals after the Arizona game: 27 carries for 131 yards, passing Josh Ford’s 128 rushing yards during the 2011 season. Offerdahl also contributed a 36-yard pass reception, the longest for a walk-on since tight end Scott Fernandez had a 71-yard reception v. Arizona in 2012.

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Tags: Anthony Hankerson, Casey Roddick, Charlie Offerdahl, Cole Becker, Daniel Arias, Deion Smith, Erik Olsen, Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan, Jordyn Tyson, Josh Ford, Marvin Ham, Owen McCown, Scott Fernandez, Ty Robinson
This post, about the Arizona game, from the 2022 Season, is filed under Article.
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