Colorado scored its most points of the season, but that still wasn't enough to keep pace with what its beleaguered defense allowed to Arizona State on Saturday night in a 42-34 loss to the Sun Devils.

Quarterback J.T. Shrout made his first home start, but a packed Folsom Field didn't bring him any extra comfort as a few bright moments were ultimately overshadowed by ill-timed passes and too many scrambles out of the pocket. Shrout created just 13 of 34 passes for 222 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception.

That might still have been enough, had the defense not allowed Arizona State (3-5, 2-3 Pac-12) a season-high 557 yards. In fact, it wasn't just a season-high for the Sun Devils, it was 138 yards more than the previous high for an offense that has had only one other 400-yard game all season. This was nothing new for the Buffs (1-7, 1-4), though, as it was their fourth game allowing at least 500 yards.

Alas, there would be no “Folsom magic,” as interim head coach Mike Sanford wanted to experience once again.

Arizona State's offensive outburst was sparked by a change at quarterback as Trenton Bourguet formally took the reins of the offense. The Buffs defense made Bourguet look like a Heisman candidate, as he completed 74 percent of his passes for 435 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.

That easily outshined Shrout's struggles to complete passes, even as the Buffs put a season-high 359 offensive yards.

“Honestly, that’s what we’re supposed to be,” Montana Lemonious-Craig said. “We’re supposed to be doing that. We need to have better production, and at the end of the day it wasn’t enough to win so it wasn’t good enough.”

First Quarter

10:37, Arizona State, Xazavian Valladay 4-yard rush (Carter Brown kick), ASU 7-0

5:51, Colorado, Cole Becker 49-yard field goal, ASU 7-3

2:39, Arizona State, Jalin Conyers 12-yard pass from Trenton Bourguet (Carter Brown kick), ASU 14-3

Second Quarter

10:52, Colorado, Montana Lemonious-Craig 7-yard pass from J.T. Shrout (Cole Becker kick), ASU 14-10

7:59, Arizona State, Xazavian Valladay 42-yard rush (Carter Brown kick), ASU 21-10

3:16, Colorado, Jordyn Tyson 58-yard pass from J.T. Shrout (Cole Becker kick), ASU 21-17

0:55, Arizona State, Xazavian Valladay 1-yard rush (Carter Brown kick), ASU 28-17

Third Quarter

8:11, Arizona State, Jalin Conyers 5-yard pass from Trenton Bourguet (Carter Brown kick), ASU 35-17

3:47, Colorado, Cole Becker 27-yard field goal, ASU 35-20

Fourth Quarter

12:40, Arizona State, Jalin Conyers 20-yard pass from Trenton Bourguet (Carter Brown kick), ASU 42-20

8:12, Colorado, Deion Smith 1-yard rush (Cole Becker kick), ASU 42-27

3:50, Colorado, Jordyn Tyson 88-yard punt return (Cole Becker kick), ASU 42-34

Xazavian Valladay was off to the races Saturday night on the way to 118 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. His 42-yard scoring dash in the second quarter provided further evidence on the many weaknesses of the Buffs' run defense.

Every time Colorado tried to close the gap, there was Valladay to extend it. It was a 14-0 game when he broke that long scoring run to make it 21-10.

Later, after Jordyn Tyson's 58-yard touchdown reception to draw Colorado within 21-17, Valladay answered again with a 1-yard touchdown to stretch the lead once more.

It wouldn't be a one-score game again until Tyson's punt return touchdown in the final minutes. But Colorado never got the ball back as Arizona State ran out the final 3:48 on the clock.

WR Jordyn Tyson

The true freshman is on a roll this season, becoming one of Colorado’s most consistent playmakers. He had his first 100-yard game, including a 58-yard receiving touchdown and an 88-yard punt return to the house, tying for CU’s sixth-longest punt return in school history. He finished with 5 catches for 115 yards.

As an honorable mention, Deion Smith made a speedy recovery after being carted off the field against Cal on Oct. 15. Making his return to the field, he brought the Buffs into scoring position early in the second quarter and led the running back unit with 111 yards and a TD on 24 carries. He surpassed his previous career-high yards 78 against Minnesota.

LB Josh Chandler-Semedo

On a night of mostly missed tackles and missed opportunities for the Buffs’ defense, Chandler-Semedo once again emerged as a the exception and a reliable defensive presence. He finished with 10 tackles and 1 tackle for loss.

“We made plays that we were capable of making in the first half,” Chandler-Semedo said. “We probably played, to my standard, [our] worst first half of football defensively this year as far as tackling. Letting up 28 points is uncharacteristic for the defense we’ve been playing over the last few weeks. So, we just had to come in and correct those.”

Tyson’s 58-yard catch in the second quarter was one of Shrout’s more favorable moments in this game.

This was supposed to be Colorado's best remaining chance at another win, but the Buffs were bogged down by inconsistencies on both sides of the ball. Shrout couldn’t capitalize on key drives in the third quarter.

Trevor Woods provided the offense with a great field position after his interception in the third, but it resulted in only a field goal. The next drive Shrout threw was an interception.

The defense regressed and couldn't contain Valladay -- yet the latest running back to have his way with the Buffs.

Passing

J.T. Shrout: 13 of 34, 222 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Rushing

Deion Smith: 24 carries for 111 yards, TD

Jayle Stacks: 8 carries for 26 yards

Charlie Offerdahl: 1 carry for 3 yards

Drew Carter: 1 carry for 2 yards

J.T. Shrout: 1 carry for -5 yards

Receiving

Jordyn Tyson: 5 catches for 115 yards, TD

Montana Lemonious-Craig: 2 catches for 45 yards, TD

RJ Sneed: 2 catches for 45 yards

Deion Smith: 1 catch for 15 yards

Jack Hestera: 1 catch for 15 yards

Brady Russell: 1 catch for 5 yards

Caleb Fauria: 1 catch for 3 yards