Colorado’s offense left plenty on the table in Week 10, and Joseph Williams didn’t spend much time sugarcoating why.
The Buffaloes managed just 10 points against Arizona State, a defense that entered the game ranked 15th out of 16 Big 12 teams in points allowed per game at 29.5. Williams was one of the few Colorado players who found any rhythm, finishing with seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown. Even so, after the loss, he made it clear he believed the problem was more self-inflicted than anything the Sun Devils did.
“They’re really not that good on defense,” Williams said. “In the back end, they didn’t really have many guys.
One of their starters went out early in the game. They were rotating a lot; they had a freshman out there and then a guy I haven’t even seen on tape out there.
So, it wasn’t anything special that they did; it was really us. We’ve got to execute; we’ve just got to take coaching and trust it so we can come out with wins.
But they weren’t really that good on defense.”
Arizona State turned in its best defensive showing against a Power Four opponent in the game, but Williams pointed the finger back at Colorado’s own offense. For him, the issue was less about being outplayed and more about failing to do the basics well enough.
That same theme carried over when he talked about Colorado’s bowl hopes. The Buffaloes are still alive mathematically, but the path is narrow: they need to win out, with No. 17 Houston, Cincinnati and UCF still ahead.
“We’ve got to win out to get to [a bowl game],” Williams said. “If we want to do it, we’ve got to all step up as one, come together and, excuse my language, but drop our nuts at some point. We’ve got to win three games in a row to get to a bowl game, so, yeah.”
Colorado came into the season expecting a jolt from offensive coordinator Brennan Marion and his ‘Go-Go’ offense, but that surge hasn’t shown up. Through nine games and six losses, the Buffs have yet to produce the kind of output fans were hoping for, and Williams said the issue isn’t a lack of creativity so much as a failure to carry it onto the field.
The Buffaloes haven’t gotten deep into his bag of tricks in any game except their Week 2 win over the Weber State Wildcats of the FCS.
“I can’t speak for coach Marion as to why we haven’t gotten to many plays, but we have a lot of new plays every week,” Williams said. “So we’re seeing a lot of new plays; we’re seeing a lot of new stuff from the ‘Go-Go,’ so it’s not really on coach Marion; it’s on us. So we’ve just got to execute and drop our nuts to win the game.”
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 🡒]
Buffs Loss Exposed A Problem Fans Cant Ignore
The Colorado mens basketball team left the National University Bill Walton Classic with a loss to San Diego State, but the bigger takeaway was how uneven the performance looked before the Buffaloes ever found their footing. In a game that marked the first meeting between the programs in 50 years and served as part of a hometown tribute to Walton, Colorado spent the opening stretch digging a hole it could not fully escape, even with a much better second-half effort.
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 🡒]
Colorado Finally Got Defensive Fight But One Problem Still Sank Them
For all the frustration that has followed Colorado this season, there was at least a different feel to the defensive side in Saturdays 20-10 loss at Arizona State. Gideon Lampron was everywhere at Mountain America Stadium, piling up a career-high 18 tackles as the Buffaloes tried to match the Sun Devils physicality, and the teams second-half response offered a sharper edge than the first-half lull that helped put them behind.
Colorado still left Tempe with a loss that pushed it to 3-6 overall and 1-5 in Big 12 play, and the offenses slow start remained the biggest obstacle. The Buffs did score twice after halftime, which is why the postgame conversation from Deion Sanders and several players centered on effort as much as result, but the margin for error has become so thin that a better defensive fight alone was not enough to change the outcome. [Read more 🡒]