Colorado University Athletics
Takeaways From Buffs Win At ASU
October 08, 2023 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — First the facts:
The Colorado Buffaloes are 4-2 this season. That's four times as many wins as the Buffs had a year ago. Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders' Buffs have found ways to win games this year that — to be brutally honest — Colorado would have found ways to lose far too often over the last 15 years.
The Buffs are better. They are competitive. The program that was a curiosity for the entire offseason is now being taken seriously by everyone they play, never mind the college football world in general.
But if we learned anything from CU's latest victory, a heart-stopping 27-24 win at Arizona State on Saturday, it is that Coach Prime's expectations don't stop at "better."
Merely being competitive isn't good enough for a Hall of Famer.
Sanders made that very, very clear in his post-game press conference when he described the Buffs' performance as "hot garbage."
"I'm sick of us coming out here and putting forth the effort we put forth in the first half," Sanders said. "We've had really diligent meetings and we're trying to figure this out, because I'm sick of it. I'm sorry. I'm happy about the win but I'm not happy in the fashion that we won it in. We're better than that. We really are better than that, and we gotta start showing that. I expect to win and I expect to win in a better fashion than that."
Sanders, of course, is correct. The Buffs did not play well and needed a near-miracle finish to beat a team that has now lost five straight games. If the Buffs continue to play at the same level they displayed Saturday afternoon, they could very well be in for a difficult season-ending stretch against a schedule that includes UCLA, Oregon State, Arizona, Washington State and Utah.
So what did we learn from Saturday's game? Our weekly takeaways.
1. Shedeur Sanders is money in the fourth quarter. It seems as if this is a weekly item, but there's a reason. Colorado's quarterback continues to pull rabbits out of hats on a weekly basis in the final period.
Saturday, he engineered his third fourth quarter comeback of the year, just one away from the Colorado single-season record (held by John Hessler and Joel Klatt). He brought the Buffs back from a deficit to take the lead in the final period, then crafted a scoring drive in the final minute that led to Alejandro Mata's game-winning field goal with 12 seconds on the clock.
Sanders was 6-for-10 for 87 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter. He is now 44-for-58 for 669 yards and seven touchdowns in the final period this season. He has become so prolific in the fourth quarter that Colorado fans now believe if the Buffs are close down the stretch, Sanders will deliver.
2. Still too many unforced errors. The Buffs finished with eight penalties for 65 yards — not an inordinate amount, but the timing of the flags was not good.
Two of the penalties, one on a punt and one on a kickoff, gave the Sun Devils decent field position and led to scores. CU also had a couple of false start penalties and a defensive offside penalty that helped keep an ASU scoring drive alive.
The good news is those mistakes didn't cost the Buffs the game Saturday. But against a better opponent, that might not be the case.
3. Brett Bartolone's wide receivers just keep producing. On a day when CU leading receiver Xavier Weaver was held to two catches for 17 yards, yet another wideout stepped up with a big game.
This time, it was Javon Antonio, who caught five passes for 81 yards and a touchdown and also had the 43-yard catch on Colorado's final drive that set up the game-winning field goal.
In six games this year, five different Buffs have led CU in receptions. That's the kind of depth that makes opposing defensive coordinators miserable.
4. Pass protection is still a problem. Colorado has allowed 31 sacks this year — the most of any FBS team — with Sanders absorbing 30 of those.
Somehow, he takes the licking and keeps on ticking. But the Buffs are playing with fire here, because every sack increases the chance of injury. Offensive coordinator Sean Lewis has tried to reduce the number of sacks by giving Sanders more quick reads on shorter routes.
But somehow, some way, the Buffs have to figure out a way to keep Sanders from getting pummeled regularly.
5. Run game is still a work in progress. This is one area that would help reduce the pressure on Sanders — if the Buffs could find some consistency.
But after a solid effort against USC on the ground, Colorado reverted back to the mean, finishing with 56 yards on the ground — and only 94 even when adjusting for sack yardage.
Early on Saturday, it looked like the Buffs might have some steady success on the ground. Anthony Hankerson had a couple of nice runs early on CU's first scoring drive.
But CU never developed anything resembling a rhythm on the ground as the game progressed, opening the door for ASU to bring pressure on the passing game from every angle.
6. PFF grades. Four defensive players graded out above 70 according to Pro Football Focus, led by cornerback Omarion Cooper (79.3). Others in the solid green included safety Rodrick Ward, OLB Arden Walker and true freshman cornerback Carter Stoutmire.
Stoutmire, by the way, played 66 snaps and continues to become a more and more reliable defender.
Offensively, wide receiver Antonio graded out at 89.3 with center Van Wells checking in at a solid 78.0.
7. Special teams make progress. We already mentioned the penalties on CU special teams that set up a pair of ASU scores, unforced errors that need to be eliminated.
But on the bright side, field goal kicker Alejandro Mata hit both of his attempts and he is 4-for-4 for the year. Colorado also blocked an ASU field goal attempt and the Buffs didn't give up any big returns.
8. Slow starts are still an issue. Coach Prime is obviously concerned about Colorado's tendency to start slow, then lean on big second half comebacks. Not since the opening win over TCU have the Buffs really had solid, consistent production in the first half and Saturday, the struggles stretched through the third quarter.
The Buffs have no problem scoring in the fourth quarter, when they've outscored opponents 74-35. It's one very big reason they are 4-2 and not 2-4.
But Coach Prime is correct — it's an issue Colorado needs to resolve headed into the second half of the season.
9. Defense provides opportunities. After giving up an opening touchdown drive Saturday, Colorado's defense bounced back to force three straight three-and-outs, giving the offense multiple chances to get on the board.
In the second half, Charles Kelly's defense blanked ASU for nearly two full quarters before finally giving up a long scoring drive in the final minutes.
Overall, the defense did its job Saturday, giving the offense plenty of chances to score. That's all you can ask.
10. Living on the edge. Take all of these areas, add them up and you have a competitive team capable of beating a lot of folks — and just as capable of losing to many of those same teams.
The Buffs have needed miracle comebacks to beat Colorado State and Arizona State — but they did produce those comebacks. They had an outstanding offensive effort in the opening win over TCU, and did enough things well on both sides of the ball to get a win over Nebraska.
Again, you can't escape the fact that Colorado is 4-2. The Buffs have done enough things well to have a winning record at the halfway point of the season.
But truth is, the Buffs have yet to play a complete game on both sides of the ball. Unforced errors, missed assignments and untimely breakdowns have added drama, and much of it unnecessary.
Much was made of Colorado's September schedule, and for good reason — it included two top-10 teams and two rivals.
But the second half schedule might be just as daunting, if not more so. Four of CU's final six opponents — Utah, Oregon State, UCLA and Washington State — are ranked in the latest AP top 25.
That's a schedule that has little margin for error. Sooner or later, the Buffs will have to stop living on the edge.
