ASU Football: Arizona State vs. Colorado Instant Recap

Pac-12 play officially began for the Arizona State Sun Devils as the Colorado Buffaloes made a visit to Tempe. The Sun Devils came in ranked No. 24 after upsetting the Michigan State Spartans last week.

The Sun Devils ultimately fell to the Buffaloes 34-31 and are now 3-1, while the Buffaloes are now 3-1.

The Buffaloes came out onto the field hot going 75 yards in 10 plays and putting up the first points of the game. That is the first time this season that the Sun Devils have allowed points in the first half.

The Sun Devils had their chance to get their first points of the game, but after failing to convert on third down kicker Cristian Zendejas came out onto the field and missed a 48-yard field goal falling just short of the goal posts.

Going into the second quarter, the Sun Devils were down 14-0 but they were able to find a rhythm when quarterback Jayden Daniels found receiver Brandon Aiyuk on a 53-yard pass, making the score 14-7.

The Sun Devils got the ball back after Colorado fumbled on the kickoff which was recovered by Kejuan Markham. Eno Benjamin later rushed into the end zone which tied the game up 14-14.

Heading into the half, Colorado led 24-21 putting up a field goal late in the second quarter. The Sun Devils had given up a total of 21 points in their previous three games, and now had given that many up in one half. Neither team had punted during the first half.

Zendejas made a 23-yard field goal to tie the game 24-24 late in the third quarter.

The Buffaloes answered when quarterback Steven Montez connected with Tony Brown for his third touchdown of the night giving them a 31-24 lead to end the third quarter.

Starting off the fourth quarter, Daniels lobbed a pass 39 yards in the air, after receiving some pressure, and was able to find Frank Darby in the end zone to tie the game up 31-31.

The Sun Devils were able to stop the Buffaloes on third down and started on the Colorado 30-yard line after the punt. Daniels threw his first interception as a Sun Devil, but the defense was able to shut down the Buffaloes on third-and-two and get the ball back on their own 28-yard line.

With 2:03 left in the game, Colorado’s James Stefanou kicked a 44-yard field goal to put the Buffaloes up 34-31.

The Sun Devils weren’t able to respond after many incomplete passes and an attempt on 4th down.

Daniels ended the game 24-for-39 throwing for 345 yards. He threw to eight different receivers. The leading receiver was Aiyuk with 122 yards. Benjamin finished with 2 touchdowns and 83 rushing yards. The Sun Devils had 453 total yards.