It's game day once again and Arizona is on the road Saturday afternoon to take on Colorado in its return to Boulder for the first time since 2017 when Khalil Tate had one of the most impressive performances you will see by a quarterback rushing for over 300 yards against the Buffalos. As I mentioned yesterday, Tate will make his return to the field Saturday after missing last week's game against UCLA with injuries to his hamstring and ankle.
As always you are welcome to join the conversation throughout the game and follow along for updates throughout the afternoon.
Pregame
- As of this time both Tate and JJ Taylor are expected today. It is not yet clear if Taylor will get the start but Tate will take the first snaps for the Wildcats in this game. As I mentioned yesterday, Grant Gunnell will not be far away as the staff will not hesitate to make a move if Tate doesn't look right in any way.
Coin toss: Arizona wins, opts to defer
1st QTR
- Drive No. 1 (ball on the CU 25)
Alex Fontenot gets 6 yards on his first run of the game; Steven Montez finds Daniel Arias for 6 yards on the next play as the Buffs get a first down, after a short Fontenot run, Montez finds Tony Brown for 9 yards; Montez with a couple more passes to get CU another first down; Montez to Brown for 11 yards and Fontenot gets 12; the CU drive stalls after a big tackle for loss from Anthony Pandy on Fontenot and the Buffs will have to settle for a field goal [SCORE UPDATE: Colorado 3 Arizona 0 - 9:02]
- Drive No. 2 (ball on the UA 17)
Khalil Tate leads the offense on the field to start the game; JJ Taylor gets the first play of the game as he gains 4 yards on a handoff; Michael Wiley gains 4 yards on the next play; Tate runs for 6 yards and a first down; Brightwell getting his chance to do some work now as he runs one then is found by Tate for a short gain; Tate runs again and gets a first down for UA; Tate goes to the air three times but there's some good defense from Colorado and the Wildcats will have to punt
- Drive No. 3 (ball on the CU 25)
A big play to open the drive as Montez finds Brown for 20 yards on the first play; Fontenot gets 7 yards on the next play but CU gets called for an unsportsmanlike penalty at the end of the play; Montez can't find Fontenot bringing up third down; there's a hold on the next play and CU ends up punting it away to Brian Casteel who fumbles it after a booming punt but he recovers;
- Drive No. 4 (ball on the UA 10)
Brightwell gains 3 yards on the first play; Tate hits Jalen Johnson for a yard; Tate gets the ball to Cedric Peterson down the field for an 18-yard gain and a first down; Bam Smith with a couple yards on the next play; Tate finds Tayvian Cunningham for a big gain of 49 yards plus a horse-collar penalty moves UA inside the 10; Tate finds Casteel open in the end zone but he drops the ball bringing up second down; Bam Smith with a couple yards on the next play; Tate hits Stanley Berryhill III in the end zone and he makes an impressive grab for the score [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 7 Colorado 3 - 0:15]
- Drive No. 5 (ball on the CU 25)
Jaren Mangham runs for 2 yards to open the drive ... END OF THE 1ST QUARTER
2nd QTR
- Drive No. 5 continued ... Mangham catches a pass from Montez and he goes 8 yards for the first down; Mangham has a short run on the next play; A block in the back pushes Colorado back after it has another first down so it brings up second down again; Montez finds Stanley for another first down but a few incomplete passes later and the Buffs have to punt it again but Colorado has had opportunities including a pass that was dropped in the end zone
- Drive No. 6 (ball on the UA 9)
Tate hits Boobie Curry for 19 yards on the first play of the drive; UA goes on the ground the next couple plays with only a couple yards gained on each; Tate is forced out of the pocket and he throws it up but it's incomplete as he looks for Jamarye Joiner meaning UA will punt it away
- Drive No. 7 (ball on the CU 28)
Montez can't find Brady Russell on the first play of the drive; Fontenot with a big run as he goes for 22 yards on the next play for CU; Jalen Harris gets some pressure on Montez and it ends with an incomplete pass; Fontenot for a couple yards bringing up third down; Montez can't find any receiver and he throws the ball away bringing up yet another punt for the Buffs and it pins the Wildcats deep as Casteel calls for a fair catch inside the 5
- Drive No. 8 (ball on the UA 4)
Brightwell opens the drive with a couple carries but only gets 3 yards out of them; Tate runs it but is brought down short of the marker and UA will punt it away once again as both teams have had to punt on three of their first four drives
- Drive No. 9 (ball on the UA 49)
Fontenot runs it for 8 yards on the first play of the drive for CU; Montez hits Brown for 12 yards and a first down; after an incompletion from Montez he runs it for 1 yard bringing up another 3rd and long; Montez goes to Brown on a screen pass but Arizona gets to him and Colorado will kick a field goal ... which is made by James Stefanou from 39 yards out [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 7 Colorado 6 - 2:37]
- Drive No. 10 (ball on the UA 25)
Brightwell runs for 3 yards on the first play of the drive; Casteel gains a yard on the next play and CU calls a timeout as UA looks to convert another 3rd down try; Tate forces a pass into coverage and he is picked off by Mikial Onu
Drive No. 11 (ball on the UA 38)
KD Nixon to Stanley for 38 yards on the trick play to get CU out in front [SCORE UPDATE: Colorado 13 Arizona 7 - 1:50]
Drive No. 12 (ball on the UA 25)
Tate hits Cedric Peterson for 75 yards on the first play for a long touchdown to get the Wildcats back out in front in what has become a wild sequence in this game [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 14 Colorado 13 - 1:40]
Drive No. 13 (ball on the CU 25)
A couple completed passes moves CU down the field 24 yards; Montez moving the team down the field with his arm and he collects a couple first downs for the Buffs; Montez runs it for 7 yards setting up a big third down; Montez hits Brady Russell for a 12-yard touchdown after he scrambles to avoid trouble making it a huge play for the Buffs [SCORE UPDATE: Colorado 20 Arizona 14 - 0:03]
Drive No. 14
Jamarye Joiner returns a squib quick for a touchdown but he's called out of bounds and that is how the half will end
Halftime: Colorado 20 Arizona 13
As always you are welcome to join the conversation throughout the game and follow along for updates throughout the afternoon.
Pregame
- As of this time both Tate and JJ Taylor are expected today. It is not yet clear if Taylor will get the start but Tate will take the first snaps for the Wildcats in this game. As I mentioned yesterday, Grant Gunnell will not be far away as the staff will not hesitate to make a move if Tate doesn't look right in any way.
Coin toss: Arizona wins, opts to defer
1st QTR
- Drive No. 1 (ball on the CU 25)
Alex Fontenot gets 6 yards on his first run of the game; Steven Montez finds Daniel Arias for 6 yards on the next play as the Buffs get a first down, after a short Fontenot run, Montez finds Tony Brown for 9 yards; Montez with a couple more passes to get CU another first down; Montez to Brown for 11 yards and Fontenot gets 12; the CU drive stalls after a big tackle for loss from Anthony Pandy on Fontenot and the Buffs will have to settle for a field goal [SCORE UPDATE: Colorado 3 Arizona 0 - 9:02]
- Drive No. 2 (ball on the UA 17)
Khalil Tate leads the offense on the field to start the game; JJ Taylor gets the first play of the game as he gains 4 yards on a handoff; Michael Wiley gains 4 yards on the next play; Tate runs for 6 yards and a first down; Brightwell getting his chance to do some work now as he runs one then is found by Tate for a short gain; Tate runs again and gets a first down for UA; Tate goes to the air three times but there's some good defense from Colorado and the Wildcats will have to punt
- Drive No. 3 (ball on the CU 25)
A big play to open the drive as Montez finds Brown for 20 yards on the first play; Fontenot gets 7 yards on the next play but CU gets called for an unsportsmanlike penalty at the end of the play; Montez can't find Fontenot bringing up third down; there's a hold on the next play and CU ends up punting it away to Brian Casteel who fumbles it after a booming punt but he recovers;
- Drive No. 4 (ball on the UA 10)
Brightwell gains 3 yards on the first play; Tate hits Jalen Johnson for a yard; Tate gets the ball to Cedric Peterson down the field for an 18-yard gain and a first down; Bam Smith with a couple yards on the next play; Tate finds Tayvian Cunningham for a big gain of 49 yards plus a horse-collar penalty moves UA inside the 10; Tate finds Casteel open in the end zone but he drops the ball bringing up second down; Bam Smith with a couple yards on the next play; Tate hits Stanley Berryhill III in the end zone and he makes an impressive grab for the score [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 7 Colorado 3 - 0:15]
- Drive No. 5 (ball on the CU 25)
Jaren Mangham runs for 2 yards to open the drive ... END OF THE 1ST QUARTER
2nd QTR
- Drive No. 5 continued ... Mangham catches a pass from Montez and he goes 8 yards for the first down; Mangham has a short run on the next play; A block in the back pushes Colorado back after it has another first down so it brings up second down again; Montez finds Stanley for another first down but a few incomplete passes later and the Buffs have to punt it again but Colorado has had opportunities including a pass that was dropped in the end zone
- Drive No. 6 (ball on the UA 9)
Tate hits Boobie Curry for 19 yards on the first play of the drive; UA goes on the ground the next couple plays with only a couple yards gained on each; Tate is forced out of the pocket and he throws it up but it's incomplete as he looks for Jamarye Joiner meaning UA will punt it away
- Drive No. 7 (ball on the CU 28)
Montez can't find Brady Russell on the first play of the drive; Fontenot with a big run as he goes for 22 yards on the next play for CU; Jalen Harris gets some pressure on Montez and it ends with an incomplete pass; Fontenot for a couple yards bringing up third down; Montez can't find any receiver and he throws the ball away bringing up yet another punt for the Buffs and it pins the Wildcats deep as Casteel calls for a fair catch inside the 5
- Drive No. 8 (ball on the UA 4)
Brightwell opens the drive with a couple carries but only gets 3 yards out of them; Tate runs it but is brought down short of the marker and UA will punt it away once again as both teams have had to punt on three of their first four drives
- Drive No. 9 (ball on the UA 49)
Fontenot runs it for 8 yards on the first play of the drive for CU; Montez hits Brown for 12 yards and a first down; after an incompletion from Montez he runs it for 1 yard bringing up another 3rd and long; Montez goes to Brown on a screen pass but Arizona gets to him and Colorado will kick a field goal ... which is made by James Stefanou from 39 yards out [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 7 Colorado 6 - 2:37]
- Drive No. 10 (ball on the UA 25)
Brightwell runs for 3 yards on the first play of the drive; Casteel gains a yard on the next play and CU calls a timeout as UA looks to convert another 3rd down try; Tate forces a pass into coverage and he is picked off by Mikial Onu
Drive No. 11 (ball on the UA 38)
KD Nixon to Stanley for 38 yards on the trick play to get CU out in front [SCORE UPDATE: Colorado 13 Arizona 7 - 1:50]
Drive No. 12 (ball on the UA 25)
Tate hits Cedric Peterson for 75 yards on the first play for a long touchdown to get the Wildcats back out in front in what has become a wild sequence in this game [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 14 Colorado 13 - 1:40]
Drive No. 13 (ball on the CU 25)
A couple completed passes moves CU down the field 24 yards; Montez moving the team down the field with his arm and he collects a couple first downs for the Buffs; Montez runs it for 7 yards setting up a big third down; Montez hits Brady Russell for a 12-yard touchdown after he scrambles to avoid trouble making it a huge play for the Buffs [SCORE UPDATE: Colorado 20 Arizona 14 - 0:03]
Drive No. 14
Jamarye Joiner returns a squib quick for a touchdown but he's called out of bounds and that is how the half will end
Halftime: Colorado 20 Arizona 13
