Colorado heads to Tempe this Saturday with a fresh jolt of momentum and a chance to stack another win after finally snapping its skid.
The Buffaloes will face Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium, with kickoff set for 5:35 p.m. MT on ESPN2.
Colorado comes in at 3-5 overall and 1-4 in Big 12 play after a 27-24 overtime win over Kansas State last Saturday at Folsom Field. Arizona State is 4-4 and 2-3 after a 27-20 loss at BYU.
The matchup brings a lopsided all-time series into focus. Arizona State leads Colorado 11-4 overall and is 6-2 against the Buffs in Tempe.
The Sun Devils won the last meeting, 42-17, on Nov. 22 of last year at Folsom Field. But Colorado took the most recent trip to Mountain America Stadium, beating ASU 27-24 on Oct. 7, 2023, when Shedeur Sanders threw a touchdown and ran for another.
Colorado’s win over Kansas State came in dramatic fashion. Isaac Wilson hit Charlie Williams for an 11-yard touchdown on third-and-9 in overtime, giving the Buffs their first win on a game-ending touchdown since Brian Calhoun’s overtime run against Kansas in 2003.
CU never trailed in regulation, leading for 29:03 and tied for 30:57, with the only deficit coming after Kansas State opened overtime with a field goal. It was also Colorado’s first walk-off passing touchdown since the Miracle at Michigan, when Kordell Stewart connected with Michael Westbrook in 1994.
That victory was powered by a run game that finally showed up in a big way. Colorado piled up a season-high 222 rushing yards on 43 carries and scored three rushing touchdowns for the second time this season.
Richard Young delivered the first 100-yard game of his CU career, finishing with 24 carries for 120 yards and two scores. JaQuail Smith added a 47-yard touchdown run, the longest rush of the season for the Buffs.
In the fourth quarter, Colorado ran the ball 14 straight times without attempting a pass, then added three more runs to start overtime before Wilson’s winning throw.
The defense had its own standout stretch. Gideon ESPN Lampron posted a Colorado career high for the second straight week with 16 tackles, along with a team-high four tackles for loss and two sacks.
He has now gone 13-14-16 over the last three games. Lampron became the first ILB since Nate Landman to record multiple sacks in a game and post 4+ tackles for loss in the same contest.
Colorado finished with five sacks, its most in a game this season, with Lampron accounting for two, Yamil Talib adding two for the first sacks of his Colorado career, and Manny Ezeogu and Toby Anene sharing one. Ezeogu logged the first double-digit tackle game of his college career with 10, while Talib finished with a CU-high eight tackles.
The Buffs have recorded a sack in all eight games and now have 22 on the season.
Colorado also made a habit of answering when Kansas State scored. The Buffs responded to each Wildcats touchdown with one of their own on the next possession, and in the fourth quarter they put together a 96-yard drive from their own 4-yard line.
That march took 10 plays and ended with Young’s 22-yard run. Joseph Williams’ 38-yard catch on third-and-6 at the end of the third quarter set up the drive, and Smith converted another third-and-6 with a 7-yard run.
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