Colorado walked out of Mountain America Stadium with another frustrating result, falling 20-10 to Arizona State in a game that never quite got away from the Buffaloes, but also never really tilted in their favor.
The Sun Devils set the tone early and held it. Arizona State put up 17 unanswered points before Colorado finally reached the end zone in the fourth quarter, and by then the Buffaloes had already spent too much of the night chasing the game. Colorado had chances to make things interesting, especially after a few solid defensive stands, but the offense couldn’t string enough together to turn those moments into real pressure.
For Colorado, one of the few steady bright spots came from linebacker Gideon Lampron. He was active right away, piling up a pair of tackles in the opening quarter, including a sack.
He kept it rolling in the second quarter with a tackle for loss as Colorado tried to slow Arizona State down. Lampron finished with 14 total tackles, nine solo stops, and three tackles for loss, making him one of the most disruptive defenders on the field.
That kind of production has been a theme for Lampron, and it stood out again in a night where Colorado needed somebody to keep making plays. He has become a crucial piece for this team, and his impact was one of the clearest positives to come out of the loss.
On the other side of the ball, wide receiver Joseph Williams delivered Colorado’s biggest offensive moment. In the fourth quarter, he hauled in a 48-yard catch to get the Buffaloes into scoring range, then finished the drive with a touchdown grab through multiple defenders. It was the kind of play Colorado needed much earlier, but it still showed what the passing game can look like when it finds a rhythm.
Even with that late score, the Buffaloes were undone by the same issues that have kept showing up. They went scoreless in the first half, and the offense never found consistency.
A third-quarter interception by quarterback Isaac Wilson, picked off by Arizona State defensive back Ashton Stamps, killed another chance to build momentum. Colorado also came up short on multiple fourth-down tries, which only made the comeback path steeper.
Arizona State did plenty of damage before halftime. The Sun Devils cashed in on several chances, including a trick play that ended with running back Cardae Mack throwing a touchdown pass to quarterback Jake Fette. Later in the second quarter, Fette connected with Reed Harris on a 34-yard touchdown after Colorado’s secondary let Harris slip behind the defense.
There were a few signs of resistance after the break. Colorado managed some important stops and even produced a goal-line stand in the fourth quarter, forcing Arizona State to settle for a field goal. But those moments weren’t enough to erase the damage from the first half or cover for the Buffaloes’ own mistakes.
In the end, Colorado’s problems on both sides of the ball were too much to overcome. Lampron and Williams gave the Buffaloes something to build on, but the overall performance was still a disappointment, and consistency remains the clear issue moving forward.
In Other News...
Kenny Dillingham Made One Thing Clear After Arizona State Beat Colorado
Arizona State left Boulder with a 20-10 win, but the box score told a more complicated story than the final margin. Colorado actually outgained the Sun Devils in total yards, yet Arizona State found ways to survive the critical downs, and a key penalty helped extend one drive that ended in a touchdown. Kenny Dillingham made a point of crediting Colorados defensive line afterward, a nod to how much resistance the Sun Devils faced even in a game they controlled on the scoreboard.
For Colorado, the frustration was familiar. The Buffaloes did enough defensively to limit damage in the red zone, but their offense could not consistently finish possessions, especially when it came to third and fourth down. The loss also stretched their conference road skid to nine straight, another reminder that even when the overall numbers are close, the results on the road continue to slip away. [Read more 🡒]
Jake Fette Just Gave Arizona State A New Reason To Believe
Jake Fette gave Arizona State a little bit of everything in the win over Colorado, and then some. In just his second career start, the Sun Devils quarterback threw for a touchdown, caught another and matched a feat last accomplished by Jake Plummer back in 1996. He finished 13 of 19 for 222 yards, a sharp showing that helped steady ASU in a 20-10 victory.
For a program trying to keep its bowl hopes alive, the timing mattered as much as the flash. Arizona State moved to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12, and Fettes poise suggested the offense may have found another layer it can lean on down the stretch. The question now is whether this was a one-night novelty or the start of something more useful as the schedule tightens. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona State Just Sent Deion Into A Familiar Colorado Debate
Arizona States 20-10 win over Colorado on Nov. 7 did more than hand the Buffaloes another loss, it pushed Deion Sanders back into the same conversation that seems to follow every rough stretch in Boulder. The defeat dropped Colorado to 3-6 and left the program hovering near elimination from bowl eligibility, a familiar kind of pressure point for a team still trying to find consistency under Sanders.
Afterward, Sanders sounded disappointed in the performance but not in the effort, stressing that his attention remains on developing the players rather than worrying about his own job security. He also pointed to the need for cleaner play on both sides of the ball, a reminder that the Buffaloes still have a lot to sort out if they want to change the tone of this season before it slips away completely. [Read more 🡒]