TEMPE, Ariz. - Colorado got a huge night from Gideon ESPN Lampron and a spark from Joseph Williams in the second half, but it still wasn’t enough to dig out of an early hole in a 20-10 loss to Arizona State on Saturday night at Mountain America Stadium.
Lampron piled up a career-high 18 tackles, including 10 solo stops, 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, yet the Buffaloes fell to 3-6 overall and 1-5 in Big 12 play. Arizona State moved to 5-4 and 3-3.
“They made plays, and we didn’t,” head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders said. “Didn’t see quit.
Didn’t see anybody being lethargic. Didn’t see them giving up, by any means.”
Colorado’s offense never found its footing in the first half. The Buffs went three-and-out four times and failed on two fourth-down tries, while an apparent 74-yard touchdown from Isaac Wilson to Ernest Campbell was wiped out by an ineligible receiver downfield penalty. By halftime, Colorado was staring at a 17-0 deficit.
Arizona State set the tone early with a six-minute opening drive. The Sun Devils took over at their own 25 after a Colorado punt and worked 61 yards on 13 plays before the Buffaloes forced them to settle for a 31-yard Carson Smith field goal and a 3-0 lead.
The second quarter brought more damage. Former Buffs wideout Omarion Miller helped fuel a long ASU march, first with a third-down catch over the middle and then with a 33-yard sideline grab that moved the Sun Devils to the CU 7. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Cardae Mack took the direct snap and flipped a pass to Jake Fette for a touchdown to make it 10-0 with 11:21 left in the half.
Colorado briefly looked like it might answer after a 4th-and-6 sack of Wilson pushed the Buffs back and gave ASU the ball in CU territory. But the defense held again until Fette found Reed Harris on 3rd-and-14 for a touchdown that sent Arizona State into halftime up 17-0.
The Buffaloes were limited to 103 total yards and just 10 rushing yards in the first half.
Colorado finally got moving after the break. Following an Arizona State interception of Wilson, the Buffs put together a 15-play drive that featured four third-down conversions. Campbell turned a 3rd-and-14 catch into a 25-yard gain, and the march eventually ended with Elliott Arnold’s 39-yard field goal as the third quarter expired, trimming the margin to 17-3.
Arizona State answered with a 21-yard field goal from Smith to stretch the lead to 20-3, but Colorado kept pushing. Wilson hit Williams for a 48-yard gain to the ASU 24, and after the drive stalled at the 15, a roughing-the-kicker penalty gave the Buffs fresh life at the 7. Wilson then found Williams at the 2, and Williams powered through four defenders into the end zone for Colorado’s only touchdown.
Williams finished with 121 yards on seven catches, and Sanders had plenty of praise for him.
“Every time he touched the ball, he was electric,” Sanders said of Williams.
Still, the Buffs couldn’t erase the gap, and the loss marked their ninth straight conference road defeat.
“The defense got a lot of stops for us today, and we didn’t execute on offense,” Williams said. “You’ll never win games putting up 10 points.”
“We’ve got some guys that the team looks up to,” Sanders added. “And they set the right example, not only on game day, but in practice as well.
So I don’t see anybody having a pity party or hanging their head or quitting whatsoever. We’ve just got to do better, and that starts with me.”
Colorado returns to Folsom Field for a Friday night game against Houston on Nov. 13.
Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. MT and the game will air on ESPN, with radio coverage on KOA 850 AM and 94.1 FM.
In Other News...
Deion Sanders And Colorado Are Drifting Toward A Bigger Reckoning
Colorados trip to Arizona State brought another frustrating afternoon for an offense that never found a rhythm, as the Buffs were repeatedly stalled by three-and-outs and turnovers in a 20-10 loss. While the scoreboard stayed within reach, the game never really tilted in Colorados favor, and the contrast was obvious as Arizona State leaned on true freshman quarterback Jake Fette, who completed 68 percent of his passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns.
There were still a few bright spots in the loss, most notably linebacker Gideon Lampron, who filled the stat sheet with 18 tackles and multiple sacks. But individual efforts only go so far when the broader problems keep surfacing, and this one felt like another reminder that Colorado is still searching for answers on both sides of the ball as the season moves deeper into November. [Read more 🡒]
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Barrington Hargress gave the Buffaloes a lift with a career-high scoring night, and Colorado did outplay the Aztecs after halftime. Still, the result underscored a problem fans are likely to keep watching closely: this team can show flashes, but the early-game lapses are costing it too much against quality opponents, especially when the margin for error is already thin. [Read more 🡒]
Joseph Williams Calls Out Whats Really Hurting Colorados Offense
Colorados offense had one of its roughest afternoons of the season in a 10-point showing against Arizona State in Week 10, even as Joseph Williams turned in a productive day with seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown. Afterward, the wide receiver pointed away from the matchup itself and toward the Buffaloes own operation, saying the bigger problem was execution.
That message lands at a critical time for Colorado, which now has little margin for error with bowl eligibility still in play. Williams stressed the need for a stronger team mentality and cleaner execution, a reminder that the Buffaloes next stretch will be judged less by flashes of individual production and more by whether the offense can put together complete drives when it matters most. [Read more 🡒]