Oct. 29th – Arizona State – Soak Up The Sun

Arizona State scored a touchdown on each of their first two drives, going a combined 139 yards in 15 plays, giving the Sun Devils an early 14-3 lead on their way to a 42-34 win in Boulder. On its way to a 28-17 halftime lead, an Arizona State offense that entered the night averaging 353.6 yards had put up 327 while averaging 8.4 yards per play. The Sun Devils finished the game with 10 plays of at least 20 yards, going for 557 total yards.

Colorado managed only 359 yards of total offense, but finally pushed past the 20-point mark for the first time on the season. Quarterback J.T. Shrout completed only 13-of-34 passes, but they went for 222 yards and two touchdowns, including a seven-yarder to Montana Lemonious-Craig and a 58-yarder to Jordyn Tyson. On the night, Tyson had five receptions for 115 yards and a receiving score, also contributing an 88-yard punt return in the fourth quarter. Deion Smith, returning from injury, had 111 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries.

“I want to commend our team for the fight and resolve they exhibited throughout the entirety of four quarters,” said CU coach Mike Sanford, who dropped to 1-2 in his role as CU’s interim boss. “We’re at a place where I believe that the team is fighting. It’s showing up on Saturdays. But obviously the missing link is playing that type of football when a defense gets a stop, the offense goes in and scores. Our offense goes and has a tremendous drive, the defense has to get a stop. Those are the things I believe we’re going to piece together throughout the course of these next four weeks.”

CU’s last best chance at a victory in 2022 is now behind them … With two nationally televised routs upcoming (v. Oregon, 1:30 Saturday on ESPN; next Friday at USC), is there any reason to continue to follow the worst program in the nation over the past 15 years? … Well, there was one ray of light this weekend …

Game Day! … Five ASU players to watch … CU Hall of Fame Speeches: Jim Hansen; Greg Biekert; and Charlie Davis … Neill Woelk’s Keys to the Game … J.T. Shrout to start against Arizona State …

The Buffs are 65-36-5 all-time on Homecoming, with CU winning four of the last five … ASU ranked 100th or worse nationally in almost as many categories as CU … Bar bet: When was the last time ASU left Folsom as a winner? … In what category did CU go from 1st to 101st in the nation – in one week? …

Pac-12 Commissioner: “I have yet to talk to anyone in the UCLA and USC community who’s in favor of the move” (to the Big Ten) … Of Pac-12 contenders, UCLA has the easiest November … CU back in ESPN’s “Bottom Ten” … Stanford giving away tickets to final two home games …

If healthy, should Owen McCown get the start v. Arizona State, or has J.T. Shrout earned his first home start? … Can the Buff offense get past 20 points against the nation’s 98th-ranked defense? … Can the Buff defense hold back ASU’s 99th-ranked offense? … Let’s find out …