Colorado nearly picked up a huge win in Boulder on Saturday against Kansas State, but it fell just short after a fourth-quarter comeback. Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson got the last laugh, with a 50-yard touchdown in the final minutes to hand the Buffs their second loss of the season.
After its first Big 12 loss of the year, Colorado still has all of its goals in front of it, and there is plenty to build off of on tape. Here are some takeaways of things that the Buffs did well to compete with the highest-ranked team on their schedule, and the things that cost them the game in the end.
Tackling disparity was evident
The biggest thing that jumped off the screen, both live and on the rewatch, was the tackling. Kansas State performed pretty well in that area throughout the game, missing only seven tackles. Part of that, of course, was made possible by the injuries to Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn Jr., two of the Buffs’ best playmakers after the catch.
On the other side, the tackling from the Colorado defense was downright atrocious, especially at the second level. Kansas State forced 17 missed tackles, and 12 of them came from DJ Giddens. Dylan Edwards forced his share of misses as well, and the two backs hurt the Colorado defense from the opening kick to the final whistle.
Giddens ran for 181 yards on Saturday, knifing through a Colorado run defense that had been stout through the first five games. In all, 140 of those yards came after contact, so he was earning most of his pay throughout the night.
