Late kick puts an end to Buffaloes' conference slide
TEMPE, ARIZ. » Colorado's offense sputtered for large chunks of the game and the defense gave up a tying 96-yard scoring drive. Even special teams weren't so special outside of one big punt return.
With the game on the line, Shedeur Sanders came through — as he usually does — to end the Buffaloes' eight-game Pac-12 losing streak.
Sanders accounted for two touchdowns and hit Javon Antonio on a 43-yard pass to set up Alejandro Mata's 43-yard field goal with 12 seconds left, lifting Colorado to a 27-24 win over Arizona State on Saturday.
“It's like we're waiting on him to put on his cape and do what he does,” said Colorado coach Deion Sanders, Shedeur's father. “That's what he does every week.”
The Sun Devils sacked Sanders five times and gave him little time to find receivers downfield. Sanders, the nation's secondleading passer at 356 yards per game, was held to 239 yards on 26-of-42 passing.
The coach's son was still effective when he needed to be, running for a touchdown in the first half and hitting Antonio on a 9-yard score in the fourth quarter. After Arizona State tied it with 50 seconds left, Sanders steered Colorado (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) to its first conference win in a year.
“Pops doesn't talk to me that much during the game. He lets me be me,” Shedeur Sanders said. “I've been living with him my whole life so he couldn't tell me anything I haven't heard before. I just looked down the sideline, just seeing everybody's body language — the coaches and everybody — they knew what time it was.”
Arizona State (1-5, 0-3 Pac-12) labored offensively much of the afternoon without three starting offensive linemen and two key backups due to injuries.
The Sun Devils found the right gear at the right time, moving 94 yards in 13 plays to set up Trenton Bourguet's 15-yard touchdown pass to Troy Omeire to tie the game at 24.
Bourguet threw for 335 yards and a touchdown on 32-of-49 passing, but was under near constant pressure. Arizona State lost its seventh straight Pac-12 game and is off to its worst start since 1942.