Colorado totaled 312 yards Saturday, eight more than Arizona State, yet still spent the entire game chasing the Sun Devils.
The Buffaloes lost 20-10 after an early touchdown was called back and a scoreless first half left them down 17 points. Colorado fell to 3-6 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12, suffering its ninth consecutive conference road defeat.
"The defense got a lot of stops for us today, and we didn’t execute on offense," receiver Joseph Williams said. "You’ll never win games putting up 10 points."
That was the most direct explanation of an evening that brought back familiar concerns.
Colorado keeps taking points away from itself
Isaac Wilson hit Ernest Campbell for an apparent 74-yard touchdown during Colorado's second possession; however, a penalty for an ineligible receiver downfield
wiped it out, and the Buffaloes eventually punted.
Colorado finished the first half with four punts and two failed fourth-down attempts, producing 103 total yards and 10 rushing yards.
A touchdown on that early possession would have changed the score and given an offense struggling through its opening series something to build on. The staff has to get those formations corrected before another scoring play disappears.
What Deion Sanders said following Colorado's loss at Arizona State
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The running game couldn't follow up its breakthrough
Colorado rushed for 64 yards on 34 attempts after gaining 222 yards against Kansas State a week earlier.
Richard Young finished with 47 yards on 15 carries, following his 120-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Wildcats. Colorado has now finished with 83 rushing yards or fewer in four of six conference games, according to BuffsBlog's Monday column.
Brennan Marion's offense needs more consistency up front to keep Young involved and prevent Wilson from repeatedly facing long-yardage situations. Saturday's 1.9-yard rushing average left Colorado without that support.
Lampron's performance should have been enough to help win
Gideon Lampron finished with 18 tackles, including 10 solo stops, 3.5 tackles for loss and both Colorado sacks. The Buffaloes held Arizona State to three points after halftime.
Lampron had little interest in celebrating his numbers afterward.
"I’m glad I’m putting those numbers up there," he said. "But you know, I literally don’t care if we’re not winning games. It doesn’t matter. I came here to win games, and that's why they brought all of us here."
Colorado's defense kept getting the ball back. The offense needed a roughing-the-kicker penalty to extend the possession and finally score a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The final three games put the pressure on Sanders
Colorado needs to beat Houston on Friday, win at Cincinnati and defeat UCF to reach six victories. The Buffaloes have lost six of their past seven games, leaving little recent evidence that they can sustain the finish required.
Sanders said he saw no signs of players quitting after Saturday's loss.
"We've just got to do better, and that starts with me," he said.
That responsibility includes an offense that still loses points to penalties and struggles to run the ball in November. In Sanders' fourth season, Colorado should be further along in those areas.
Houston visits Folsom Field on Friday at 8:15 p.m. MT on ESPN. The short week leaves Colorado with limited practice time to address its mistakes in Tempe, and another loss puts a six-win regular season out of reach.
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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Colorado's critical mistakes keep costing games | Opinion
