Game Breakdown: Colorado falls to No. 23 Arizona on late field goal

After four quarters of trading touchdowns, yellow flags flying and fourth-down decisions, Colorado fell to No. 23 Arizona, 34-31, on a 24-yard field goal as time expired Saturday at Folsom Field.

Co-defensive coordinator Pat Shurmur was seen smiling up in the booth during the TV broadcast after Shedeur Sanders through a great ball to Jimmy Horn Jr. for the 20-yard touchdown and that joy remained present in the first half as the Buffs offense finally put together a quality game while the defense collected some big stops.

However, the first half's momentum dissipated into the second half as Arizona quickly drove down the field to tie the game in the third quarter.

Another solid performance from Sheduer Sanders (22 for 35, 262 yards and two touchdowns) allowed Colorado (4-6, 1-6 Pac-12) to respond to Arizona's score at the end of the third quarter and go into the fourth with a 31-24 lead. In addition to Sanders' performance, he also reached 10,000 career yards during Saturday's matchup.

The play design on Saturday was certainly closer to CU's standard as Sanders was hitting Horn, Jr., Xavier Weaver, and Travis Hunter for big gains. However, in Shurmur's and the coaching staff's efforts to win, a crucial decision to not go for it on third-and-1 on Colorado's second to last drive in the fourth quarter may have hindered the Buffs' chances of winning.

The Buffs' run game still wasn't ideal, but better than it was against Oregon State (-7 rushing yards) in Saturday's matchup against Arizona (90 rushing yards) as the offensive line worked more effectively.

Colorado finished the day with 352 yards of offense, but Arizona (7-3, 5-2) amassed 452 and used that 24-yard field goal to seal the game

In the first half, Colorado looked to be a different team from weeks past. The Buffs put together a quality half on both offense and defense as Sanders found his stride throwing for 189 yards and a touchdown and connected with multiple pass catchers to get the chains moving.

Sanders also incorporated his legs much more and gave the Buffs the first score of the game on a 16-yard rush. Hunter, Horn Jr., Weaver and others had their share of targets and through the cohesion and efficiency of the offense, the Buffs finished four of their seven drives in the first half with scores.

The Buffs' defense worked well together in the first quarter to control the Wildcats, but its one big error came after Arizona running back Jonah Coleman bolted downfield for a 49-gain. Poor gap management and missed tackle after missed tackle, the Wildcats completed that drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Noah Fifita to Jacob Cowing.

Overall, this first half was one of Colorado’s better ones on both sides of the ball.

What came of Saturday's loss to Arizona was a culmination of quality plays, an offense that is more productive, a defense that continued to open gaps and miss tackles, a costly missed field goal and game-changing decisions that may have flipped the winning odds in Colorado's favor. Compared to the Oregon State game, the Buffs made a progressive step, but the losses are becoming a definitive theme for Colorado.

Scoring summary

Q1

CU: Shedeur Sanders 16-yard rush (PAT by Alejandro Mata GOOD), 7-0

Arizona: DJ Williams 11-yard rush (PAT by Tyler Loop GOOD), 7-7

CU: Jimmy Horn Jr. 20-yard reception (PAT KICK by Alejandro Mata GOOD) 14-7

Q2

Arizona: J.Cowing 3-yard reception (PAT KICK by Tyler Loop GOOD), 14-14

CU: Sy’veon Wilkerson 1-yard rush (PAT KICK by Alejandro Mata GOOD), 21-14

Arizona: Tyler Loop 52-yard field goal, 21-17

CU: Alejandro Mata 39-yard field goal, 24-17

Q3

Arizona: Tetairoa McMillan 2-yard reception (PAT KICK by Tyler Loop GOOD), 24-24

CU: Michael Harrison 7-yard reception (PAT KICK by Alejandro Mata GOOD), 31-24

Q4

Arizona: DJ Williams 7-yard rush (PAT KICK by Tyler Loop GOOD), 31-31

Arizona: Tyler Loop 24-yard field goal, 31-34