Buffs Lose Shootout With Arizona, 45-42

BOULDER — The Colorado Buffaloes spent their week concentrating on containing Arizona quarterback Brandon Dawkins.

But the Buffs had no answer for Wildcats backup Khalil Tate — although CU running back Phillip Lindsay came close. Arizona's sophomore quarterback, who replaced an injured Dawkins early in the game, ran for 327 yards and four touchdowns Saturday in a 45-42 win over the Buffs, overshadowing a heroic 41-carry, 281-yard, three-touchdown performance from Lindsay.

The loss was Colorado's third straight, as the Buffs dropped to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in Pac-12 play while the Wildcats improved to 3-2, 1-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Tate engineered three rapid-fire scoring drives that gave the Wildcats a 21-14 lead at the half, then took the Wildcats to two more touchdowns in the third quarter as the Wildcats built a 35-21 edge by the end of three.

The Buffs, forced to play catch-up from the beginning, managed to stay close but could never completely close the gap after falling behind late in the first half.

"After his fourth time out there, I said I don't know if we're ever going to get this kid down," CU head coach Mike MacIntyre said. "We did everything we could. We have to do a better job on defense of corralling the quarterback. … I've never been in a situation like that."

On the 'Cats first possession after Dawkins' injury, Tate raced 58 yards to the end zone to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead on the first play of the drive. One possession later — after a CU score — Tate took the Wildcats 75 yards to the end zone in just six plays, scoring from 28 yards out to cap the march for a 14-7 lead.

Then, after the Buffs tied the game again, Tate finished his half with a three-play, 68-yard drive, capping the possession with a 13-yard scoring pass to Shun Brown.

All told, Arizona's three scoring drives in the first half covered 201 yards in just 10 plays and used just 3:27 off the clock. In the half, Tate had five carries for 125 yards and two scores, plus 53 yards passing and another touchdown.

The Buffs, meanwhile, scored in more conventional manners, grinding out a pair of long drives to keep the game in reach.

CU answered Arizona's first score with a 10-play, 75 yard drive. Steven Montez completed a pair of big third-down passes — the first for 39 yards to Jay MacIntyre and the second to Shay Fields for 15 — before Phillip Lindsay carried on the last four plays, including a 5-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7.

Following Arizona's second score, the Buffs finally forced a Wildcat punt, then marched 85 yards in 19 plays for the score. The drive was almost all Lindsay, as the senior running back carried 14 times for 80 yards on the march, including the 1-yard touchdown run that helped tie the game at 14-14.

CU's second score came with 2:24 left in the half — enough time for Tate to engineer one more scoring drive. Colorado had just more than a minute to answer one more time, and managed to drive into Arizona territory, but a James Stefanou field goal try from 50 yards out as time ran out fell short, sending CU into the locker room trailing 21-14 at the half.

In the second half, the Buffs simply could not stop Tate.

"When it comes down to it, execution wasn't there on my part," CU safety Ryan Moeller said. "As a defense, we are out there to tackle, to make plays, out there to stop — and we didn't do it."

After forcing a Colorado punt to open the second half, Arizona needed just 1:16 to go 70 yards for a score, with Tate scoring from 47 out and a 28-14 lead.

The Buffs answered again with another long, methodical march, driving 75 yards in 15 plays, with Montez hitting Bryce Bobo from 7 yards out for the score. The drive, which took 5:08 off the clock, pulled the Buffs to within 28-21 with 7:13 still left in the third quarter.

But Arizona and Tate responded by going 75 yards for another score. Tate had a 28-yard run on the drive as the Wildcats went up 35-21.

But once again, Colorado pulled to within a touchdown. CU drove 75 yard in 10 plays, with a Montez 2-yard pass to Chris Bounds pulling CU to within 35-28 early in the fourth quarter.

"They did everything they could," MacIntyre said of his offense, which produced season highs in points (42) and yards (551).

But even before CU fans could finish celebrating the Buffs' fourth touchdown, Tate answered again. This time it was a 75-yard scoring run, his fourth rushing touchdown of the game, giving the Wildcats a 42-28 lead.

The Buffs, though, refused to fold. Colorado took the ensuing kickoff and marched 75 yards to its fifth touchdown of the night, capping the drive with a 39-yard Montez pass to Bounds. With 11:02 remaining in the game, the Buffs trailed by just one score, 42-35.

Arizona then made it a two-score game again, but had to settle for a 24-yard Josh Pollack field goal for a 45-35 lead with 8:06 left in the game.

Still, the Buffs had another touchdown in them. CU drove 75 yards in nine plays, again riding Lindsay. The CU senior scored from 11 yards out on his 41st carry of the night — a CU record — while pushing his yardage total to 281 in the process. With 5:04 left in the game, the Buffs trailed by three, 45-42.

But Arizona managed to run the clock out on its next possession, with Tate running for a key third-down conversion to extend the drive. The Wildcats then ran the clock out in CU territory after the Buffs had used their last timeout.

KEY STATISTICS: Lindsay, who became CU's all-time leader in all-purpose yards, finished with 281 yards rushing and three touchdowns and another 39 yards receiving. CU finished with 551 yards offense. Arizona's Tate had 327 yards rushing on 14 carries — averaging an almost unbelievable 23.4 yards per carry — and four touchdowns, along with 142 yards passing on 11 completions in 12 attempts and another score. Arizona finished with 567 yards offense.

TURNING POINT: After the Buffs pulled to within 35-28 early in the fourth quarter, momentum seemed ready to shift to CU's sidelines. But Tate's 75-yard scoring run on the first snap of the ensuing possession was a score the Buffs couldn't overcome.

NEXT UP: The Buffs travel to Oregon State next Saturday for a 2 p.m. (Mountain) game at Reser Stadium.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu

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Team Stats

Steven Montez

Players Mentioned

Bryce Bobo

Chris Bounds

Shay Fields

Phillip Lindsay

Jay MacIntyre

Ryan Moeller

Steven Montez

James Stefanou

Players Mentioned

Bryce Bobo

Chris Bounds

Shay Fields

Phillip Lindsay

Jay MacIntyre

Ryan Moeller

Steven Montez

James Stefanou