Sept. 13th – No. 16 Arizona State – “We Can Play at This Level”

Colorado out-gained No. 16 Arizona State, 545 yards to 426 yards, but three turnovers doomed the Buffs to a 38-24 loss to the Sun Devils in Boulder.

Sefo Liufau went 31-for-46 for 278 yards and three touchdowns, but also had two interceptions. Christian Powell, thanks to two long runs, became the first Buff to rush for over 100 yards in 2014, with 11 carries good enough for 118 yards. Nelson Spruce had a pair of touchdowns for his third consecutive game, collecting seven catches for 97 yards.

After being out-gained by the Sun Devils, 222-22 in the first quarter, the Buffs had 523 yards of total offense to 205 for the Sun Devils in the final three quarters, but were never able to get closer than two touchdowns in the second half.

It was just the usual pre-game talk.

“We’re going out there to win. We’re not going out there to measure how close we can lose by”, said quarterback Sefo Liufau in the days leading up to the game against No. 16 Arizona State. “You should never go in with that mindset. We’re going out there to win. We’re going out to win every Pac-12 game”.

“I think if we handle our business on offense and defense, we’ll still be in it”, chimed in wide receiver Nelson Spruce. “We’ll be in it for four quarters. If we can finish like we did last week, then it’s anyone’s game.”

Bold talk for a pair of players who were on the field for the debacle which was the 54-13 blasting by the Sun Devils a year ago in Tempe, a game in which the Buffs were down 25-0 after one quarter; 47-6 at halftime. Brash words from a team which had been 11 points down in the third quarter just seven days earlier to a Massachusetts team with two wins in three seasons as a member of the FBS.

Buffs not looking for a moral victory – Liufau: “We’re not going out there to measure how close we can lose” – Spruce: “We’ll be in it for four quarters”

CU has given up 51 ppg to ASU as a member of the Pac-12 … Will ASU dominance in the series continue?

The Colorado/Arizona State game comes early in the calendar (Sept. 13th) … Is there any hope of the Buffs being able to take advantage of ASU’s inexperienced defense?