By Aniket Prabhu
University of Colorado Season Kickoff at Folsom Field(Lily Wright | Radio 1190 News)
1st Quarter 13:53: Arizona comes firing out the gate looking to expose holes in the injury depleted Buffs defense by opening up by converting a 1st down followed by Quarterback #1 Noah Fifita completing a screen pass to Wide Receiver #12 Tre Spivey who takes it to the house after countless missed tackles by the Buffs boundary defense, what could’ve been a tackle for loss ends up being a 57 yard catch and run Touchdown (61 yards after the catch) 7-0 Arizona
1st Quarter 12:27: 3 and out for the CU Offense. 2 minimal screens followed by a 6 yard completion from QB #3 Kaidon Salter to WR #4 Omarion Miller on 3rd &10.
1st Quarter 11:31: #15 WR/PR Luke Wysong has a nifty 26 yard punt return on a 50 yard punt from CU Punter #35 Damon Greaves to give tremendous start field position for Arizona at the 50 yard line for their second drive of the game.
1st Quarter 7:56: The 2nd drive for Arizona was not as much of a beatdown as the 1st drive as #40 Graduate LB Shaun Meyers steps up and makes a couple of tackles for losses but Arizona manages to convert a 4th & 4 at the CU 44. The CU defense doesn’t let them get another 1st down after that, but Kicker Michael-Salgado-Media drills a 49 yard field goal with ease. 10-0 Arizona.
1st Quarter 7:14: On 2nd & 7 at the CU 28 Kaidon Salter fails to connect with a wide open #9 WR Sincere Brown who would’ve had nothing but turf in front of him after beating F KAT #2 Treydan Stukes at the line of scrimmage on a deep vertical route. The next play is a mind boggling scramble by Kaidon Salter where he fails to secure the ball and ends up fumbling for a loss of 16 yards and Arizona recovering the ball at the Colorado 12.
1st Quarter 7:08: Fifita immediately puts his foot on the gas throwing a 50-50 fade ball to #14 Wide Kris Hutson who has a step on #8 CB DJ McKinney and manages to catch it before stumbling out, Kris Hutson has so far been their go to guy in big moments and now has 4 catches for 36 yards.
1st Quarter 4:12: 1st charged timeout Arizona
1st Quarter 0:49: 1st charged timeout Colorado
End of 1st Quarter: Colorado is knocking on the door with 1st &10 at the Arizona 11 yard line as they slowly creep up the field on this long drive highlighted by a 4th & 7 conversion where Kaidon Salter runs straight up the middle and dives to make sure the drive doesn’t stall.
2nd Quarter 14:28: Omarion Miller “headtaps” #8 CB Jay’vion Cole despite being interfered with on 2nd & 7 at the Arizona for an 8 yard touchdown catch. Mata converts on a slightly longer PAT (5 yard delay of game penalty). Arizona up 17-7
2nd Quarter 12:38: Arizona responds with haste by a 60 yard slant catch & run for #5 Wide Receiver Gio Richardson in which no CU defender even came close to tackling him. 24-7 Arizona
2nd Quarter 12:28: Kaidon Salter connects with Sincere Brown this time after scrambling to the sideline and putting all his power on the throw for a 75 yard touchdown catch however it’s negated by a Ineligible Receiver down the field on #4 Omarion Miller, and to add insult to injury a 15 yard Unsportsmanlike Conduct Penalty is called on #59 Backup RG Yahya Attia for brandishing a weapon prior to him realizing there was a penalty on the play.
2nd Quarter 10:58: After a plethora of penalties pushing CU all the way to their own 5 yard line for a 1st &30 they get half the yardage back and punt on 4th &15.
2nd Quarter 9:31: Perhaps the most disheartening back to back plays for the CU defense. First, Fifita fumbles on a designed Quarterback draw and despite a few Buffs jumping on the ball they are unable to recover and Arizona ends up recovering for a gain of 6. The very next play is a toe dragging interception by #29 Ivan Yates after Fifita tries to thread a needle and force a pass to the sideline yet it is another big play negated by poor discipline, as #53 Linebacker Arden Walker gets called on albeit very late for Roughing the Passer.
2nd Quarter 7:54: CU is able to put a stop on Arizona’s drive as Gio Richardson drops a ball on 3rd & 9 at the CU 41.
2nd Quarter 5:39: Kaidon Salter waits too long on a sideline throw off his back foot and gets intercepted by #43 Dalton Johnson who nearly takes it to the house but Salter is able to get a shoestring tackle to hold his return of 39 yards to the CU 8.
2nd Quarter 4:53: Jet-sweep 13 yard touchdown run for #6 Wide Receiver Javin Whatley. 31-7 Arizona dominating.
2nd Quarter 3:40: Salter fails to get anywhere with his runs and it results in a 3 and out
2nd Quarter 0:35: 2nd charged timeout CU
2nd Quarter 0:35: 2nd charged timeout Arizona
2nd Quarter 0:21: Fifita steps up and finds a wide wide open #6 Wide Receiver Whatley in the endzone who manages to get a foot inbounds to make it 38-7 Arizona
HALFTIME 38-7 Arizona
3rd Quarter 14:30: Backup QB #16 Staub throws an interception on his first passing attempt (#8 Jay’vion Cole)
3rd Quarter 14:21: Arizona turns the ball over right back to Colorado via a fumble recovery forced by #7 Tawfiq Byard on Javin Whatley and is subsequently recovered by #4 Preston Hodge.
3rd Quarter 12:53: Staub cluelessly steps up into the pocket and throws it straight to #9 Ayden Garnes, despite Omarion Miller running a completely different route and Garnes returns it 59 yards to the Colorado 17.
3rd Quarter 12:06: #21 RB Ismail Mahdi runs twice through the left guard picking up 10 first, and 7 right after for an Arizona touchdown. Arizona now leads 45-7.
3rd Quarter 10:13: 3rd String 5 Star Freshman Juju Lewis’s opening drive this game is a success. He connects with #4 Omarion Miller who was once again interfered for a 59 yard touchdown catch. Note: Lewis 1st touchdown pass. Arizona’s up 45-14.
3rd Quarter 10:02: Ismail Mahdi zooms down the middle for a gain of 68 before getting pushed out of bounds by Stoutemire.
3rd Quarter 9:11: #3 Kedrick Reescano rushes up the middle for a 1 yard touchdown run on 3rd & goal. 52-14 Arizona
3rd Quarter 8:11: 3 and out for CU
3rd Quarter 6:35: 3 and out for Arizona, Backup QB #8 Braedyn Locke in.
3rd Quarter 3:29: CU’s drive comes to an end when Sincere Brown fumbles after transferring the ball on a catch, and Smith returns it 44 yards to the CU 4 yard line.
3rd Quarter 1:38: Arizona goes backward on their drive because of a holding penalty and Medina misses a 30 yard field goal.
4th Quarter 14:43: Quick 3 and out for CU
4th Quarter 10:36: Arizona has a nice 30 yard drive come to an end as they fail to convert on 4th & 2 at the Colorado 43 due to an incompletion, Locke looking for Gio Richardson.
4th Quarter 9:40: CU 4 and out. After a hot start for Lewis, he’s started to struggle with connecting with his Receivers.