Four reasons Arizona State will defeat Colorado on Senior Day

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In their final home game of 2025, the Colorado Buffaloes play host to the defending Big 12 Conference champions, the Arizona State Sun Devils.

It's a matchup that should prove competitive thanks to both teams finally finding a quarterback to steady a turbulent ship. Those two players are doing so in opposite ways: the Buffs trotting out their star true freshman Julian Lewis, and the Sun Devils letting journeyman redshirt senior Jeff Sims have a shot at glory. Arizona State sits a game back of a chance at the Big 12 title game, making this a must-win for Kenny Dillingham and his team, looking to repeat.

While Colorado should put up a spirited fight, here are four reasons the Sun Devils will escape Folsom Field with a victory.

Holding on for dear life

The Colorado Buffaloes' offensive line was banged up against West Virginia and allowed seven sacks on Lewis in his debut start. The Buffs could be missing two key pieces in Larry Johnson III and Jordan Seaton again, now facing the team with the tenth most sacks in the nation. Arizona State's front seven has dominated offensive lines, averaging around three sacks per game. If Johnson and Seaton are out, things could get ugly quickly for the Buffs' offense.

The wrong kind of homecoming

Sun Devils star wideout Jordyn Tyson is set to make his return to the lineup in the very place he first made a name for himself. Tyson's explosive playmaking ability will be a lot for Colorado's already-injured and struggling secondary to deal with. The Buffs have struggled to contain a team's best wide receiver all year. Look no further than the Houston or TCU games, where the Buffs failed to match up correctly and paid the price. It will only take one play by Tyson to flip the game on its head, and after missing a couple of weeks, he's bound to have one in the bank.

Stuck in neutral

While Lewis was nearly perfect in his performance against West Virginia, the one knock on his game was that he started very shaky. It's understandable in his first start on the road, but he will not have the luxury of throwing away even one drive to begin Saturday's game. Even behind a patchwork offensive line, the Buffs will need Lewis to be excellent again. Especially out of the bye week, the Buffs cannot afford to have another Utah game on their hands.

You can't stop this

Much has hampered the Buffaloes' defense throughout 2025, whether it's injuries or poor tackling, but the one constant is the QB run game. Colorado has been killed with it in nearly every single game this season, even by quarterbacks who don't usually escape the pocket.

Unluckily for them, their next matchup is Jeff Sims, a true do-it-all quarterback who has the legs to make an undisciplined defender pay. Colorado could be without starting linebacker Jeremiah Brown, which means it'll be critical for the pass rush to keep contain, something they haven't proven they can do.

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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Colorado football loss reasons Arizona State

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