Recap: Colorado crushed by Arizona in second consecutive blowout loss

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It’s déjà vu in Boulder. For the second straight week, the Buffaloes have gotten thoroughly demolished by Big 12 opponents. This week’s rendition came in the form of a 52-17 loss to the Arizona Wildcats. 

This game was ugly from start to finish, and one that CU fans will undoubtedly be clamming to forget. Let’s walk through how and why this happened, and where the Buffs need to go from here.

1st Half

After a second play touchdown was given up last week to start the game, the last thing Buffs fans wanted to see to start this game was a big Arizona touchdown, but that’s exactly what they got when the Wildcats were able to take advantage of a misaligned coverage and took a screen pass to the house for a 57 yard touchdown on the third play of the night.

On Colorado’s first drive, they would come out with two back-to-back screens, a Pat Shurmur classic, that would net no yards and would ultimately lead to a three-and-out and a punt. Bad coverage would give the Wildcats the ball at midfield, but luckily the defense would hold sound and give up only a field goal, extending Arizona’s early lead to 10-0.

With the ball back, the Buffs would get an opportunity for a big answer with Sincere Brown streaking wide open down the sideline. Unfortunately, Salter overthrew Brown and then would go on to compound things with a terrible fumble on the very next play. This would set the Arizona offense up with the ball in the red zone, and as you could’ve guessed, they punched the ball into the end zone to move out to a very early 17– 0 lead.

At this point, especially given the outcome in Utah last weekend, most fans may have been feeling pessimistic but the Buffs actually put together their longest touchdown drive of the year that came off of a mind-boggling 17 play, 75-yard drive that was capped off on a nicely thrown back-shoulder ball to Omarion Miller.

It felt like the Buffs had captured some momentum at last, but this came to a quick halt as Arizona immediately answered with a long 60 yard touchdown of their own. This is where things began to spiral for Buffs, and it felt like they just couldn’t catch a break the rest of the half. 

Colorado tried to keep some momentum going on offense, as Salter delivered a 75-yard strike on the first play of the drive for a Sincere Brown touchdown, but it was called back on an illegal man downfield call on Omarion Miller. I am still not 100% sure how a receiver can be an illegal man downfield, but nonetheless this drive would stall after offensive line penalties backed them up even more.

On Arizona’s following drive, they would punt the ball back to the Buffs. If CU was going to rebound, they would need to start here. Instead, Salter proceeded throw a bad interception that was nearly returned for six and to make things truly desperate for the Buffs. Arizona would only need two plays to capitalize, punching it in the endzone.

In the sake of time, the Buffs would punt and Arizona would have no problem adding one last touchdown to the score, and guaranteeing the Buffs were defeated before halftime.

Score at Half

Colorado 7

Arizona 38

2nd Half

To nobody’s surprise, Ryan Staub would get the nod to start the second half following Salter’s costly turnovers and missed opportunities. Staub would only throw the ball twice, and both would end up picked off, cutting his time short.

At long last, in came the highly recruited and anticipated true freshman Julian “JuJu” Lewis. JuJu entered the game to applause from the fans, and would have no problem getting this offense jump-started, finding Omarion Miller for a 59 yard touchdown, as the Buffs finally regained some life.

The Buffs defensive struggles would continue into the second half, as they would give up two more touchdown drives. All fans were really watching from this point on was the JuJu Lewis experiment, as the Buffs look to at least address the offensive side of the ball.

By the time it was all said and done, JuJu would avoid making any mistakes, but his deep ball to Omarion would be the only big play of his time in the game. The Buffs struggled to move the ball through the air, and Juju finished his day 9/17 with 121 passing yards with a touchdown. Not a bad outing for JuJu and something the Buffs will undoubtedly look to build on.

Final Score

Colorado 17

Arizona 52

Players of the Game

• Omarion Miller: It’s hard to acknowledge individuals when the team’s play as a whole is so poor, however Omarion did have a big game. His 80 yards and two touchdown grabs were the only offensive momentum the Buffs were able to capture all game.
• Shaun Meyers: A name Buffs haven’t heard called much this season, Myers had a more than productive night despite the blowout loss. Meyers finished his day with two tackles for loss and a forced fumble. A much needed performance for the senior, and a guy who should expect more playing time in the last three games.

Outlook

Things may look more bleak than they have since 2022, as Buffs fans will now live with the reality that 2025 was a rebuilding year and bowl hopes become further and further out of reach. The Buffs will need to win out to be bowl eligible, which seems unlikely, but this does seem like the perfect opportunity to give JuJu meaningful reps in conference play.

In the postgame presser, Deion wasn’t willing to make a full commitment to JuJu going forward, but did say “that’s where we’re at right now”, meaning a JuJu Lewis start for next week is probable. Deion also was asked about JuJu’s impending redshirt status, which could be in jeopardy if JuJu plays out the season. Deion mentioned that the desires of JuJu and his family, in regards to his redshirt status, may supersede the needs of the team going forward. Only time will tell, but it’s safe to see we’ll see a healthy dose of JuJu before this season is said and done.

The Buffs will be travelling to Morgantown, West Virginia, next week to take on a WVU team that is heating up. The Buffs will undoubtedly have an uphill battle ahead of them, but be sure to tune in next Saturday morning at 10 a.m. to see if the Buffs can start to get the train back on the track.

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