Colorado falls to Arizona State in 42-34 loss
Despite posting a season-high 34 points, Colorado came up just short in an eight-point loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils.
BOULDER–On the Saturday of homecoming weekend, the 1-6 Colorado Buffaloes faced off against the 2-5 Arizona State Sun Devils in a battle of the interim coaches. The Sun Devils took care of business in Boulder, beating the Buffs 42-34. Arizona State’s seven touchdowns and 557 total yards spoiled Colorado’s season-high 34 points.
As kickoff finally rolled around, Colorado started the game with the ball. Facing off against a defense that has only held opposing offenses under 25 points twice this season, Colorado was looking to take advantage. Unfortunately for the Buffaloes, the Arizona State defense came ready to play, forcing a three-and-out.
With a quick stop under the Sun Devils’ belt, redshirt junior quarterback Trenton Bourguet took the field for his first career start. However, if this was your first time watching Bourguet, you would have thought he was the regular starter. On the first play of the Sun Devils’ drive, Bourguet delivered a strike to wide receiver Elijhah Badger for an eight-yard gain. This set the tone for the rest of the drive as Arizona State picked up three first downs, finding themselves at Colorado’s 9-yard line. On second and goal, running back Xazavian Valladay punched in his first of three touchdowns on the night giving Arizona State an early 7-0 lead.
Looking to respond, Colorado put together a good drive. After an 11-yard run by Deion Smith, the Buffaloes made quick work, getting into Sun Devil territory. Again, the Arizona State defense came up big, holding the Buffaloes to a field goal.
Up four points, the Sun Devils found themselves back on offense. In an eight-play drive fueled by an 18-yard catch by Valladay and a 35-yard catch by wide receiver Messiah Swinson, Bourguet found his tight end, Jalin Conyers, in the endzone for another six points. Conyers waved hello to the Colorado faithful after scoring Arizona State’s second touchdown of the quarter.
Down 14-3 at the start of the second quarter, Colorado had to change the tone. After both teams traded punts, Colorado started their fourth drive of the game just shy of midfield. Deion Smith and the Buffaloes did not hesitate, taking advantage of the great field position as he rushed for 25 yards on the fourth play of the drive, placing Colorado at the Arizona State 14-yard line. On third-and-3, quarterback J.T. Shrout found wide receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig on a slant for Colorado’s first touchdown of the game, cutting the lead back to four points.
With 14 points already scored in the second quarter, both teams were not finished, as they traded long touchdowns. Valladay scored his second touchdown of the night on a 42-yard run before J.T. Shrout found true freshman wideout Jordyn Tyson for a 58-yard touchdown, the second of Tyson’s young career.
The Sun Devils, again, were quick to respond as Valladay found the endzone, giving the Sun Devils an 11-point lead heading into halftime. The Wyoming transfer finished the first half with 94 yards and three touchdowns.
Down 11 points with Arizona State getting the ball to start the second half, Colorado had their backs against the wall. The Buffaloes defense responded and forced a quick three-and-out, but the Sun Devils immediately returned the favor.
The Sun Devils then led a 53-yard, nine play drive, scoring another touchdown and extending their lead to 35-17.
After an interception by sophomore safety Trevor Woods led to a Colorado field goal that cut the lead to 15, the Buffaloes found themselves with a chance to make it a one score game with three minutes left in the third quarter. After a dramatic fourth-and-1 conversion was reviewed and upheld, Colorado had seemingly shifted the momentum. However, Sun Devils junior safety Chris Edmonds had other plans, picking off a J.T. Shrout pass on a failed flea flicker, sending many Colorado fans to the exits.
The Sun Devils capitalized Edmonds’ interception with Bourguet finding Conyers in the endzone for the third time, making the score 42-20.
Unfortunately for Colorado, a 22-point comeback was too large of a task to overcome as the Buffaloes’ two late touchdowns by Deion Smith and Jordyn Tyson—an 88-yard punt return for Tyson’s second touchdown of the game—were not enough.
In a game that was only separated by eight points, Arizona State was in control all night. In Trenton Bourguet’s first start, the redshirt junior completed 32 of 43 passes for 435 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Redshirt sophomore Jalin Conyers and graduate student Xazavian Valladay both thrived in the 42-34 win, scoring three touchdowns each and combining for 226 yards of total offense.
In the eight-point loss, sophomore quarterback J.T. Shrout struggled as he only completed 13 of his 34 pass attempts. The defense failed to show up once again, giving up 42 points and 557 yards of total offense. However, Jordyn Tyson’s two-touchdown game was a bright spot for the Buffaloes, giving Colorado fans hope for the 18-year-old’s future. Colorado’s late attempt at a comeback displayed the newly found heart and effort under Mike Sanford’s coaching.
The Colorado Buffaloes hope to bounce back next week in another home game against the No. 8 Oregon Ducks. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5.
