Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Fall in Home Finale
November 22, 2025 | Football
BOULDER — Colorado took to the field behind Ralphie for the final time this season Saturday night at Folsom Field, but the result was not how the Buffaloes had hoped to close out the home slate. No. 25 Arizona State scored 21 unanswered fourth-quarter points on its way to the 42-17 win over the Buffs.
The night was closely contested through the first three quarters, with the Sun Devils clinging to a 21-17 lead as the clock turned to the fourth quarter. ASU shutout the Buffs in the final 15 minutes and outscored CU 21-0 in the final frame to pull away.
"The goal was not to inflict any wounds on ourselves, and we did that," head coach Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders said postgame. "The goal was to stop the running game because we figured they wouldn't throw the pass, and we gave up 355 yards rushing: four turnovers but only three points off turnovers.
"Two plays to me changed the whole course of the game," Coach Prime continued. "The [fourth quarter] fumble and the explosion [88-yard score] right after the fumble."
Arizona State (7-4, 6-2 Big 12) controlled the line of scrimmage, totaling 580 yards on offense, despite having four turnovers on the night. Raleek Brown led the charge for the Sun Devils, closing with 255 yards rushing, 33 yards receiving and two scores. Quarterback Jeff Sims finished 11-for-24 for 206 yards passing and two touchdowns.
"Defensively, we have to do much better," Coach Prime added. "We forced turnovers, and offensively, we have to score. We didn't do any of that."
Julian Lewis completed 19-of-38 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown, leading the offensive efforts for the Buffaloes. Omarion Miller had three receptions for 35 yards and caught his eighth touchdown of the season. Dallan Hayden led the ground attack, rushing for 65 yards on 10 carries and finding the end zone once.
On defense, John Slaughter recorded six tackles and was responsible for two of the four ASU turnovers, forcing a fumble and securing an interception. Preston Hodge led the team in stops with eight total tackles and a pass breakup.
"I'm not going to say it's demoralizing," Coach Prime noted about the team's three points on four turnovers. "It's tough that we don't have more in the tank to come up with some things to take advantage of those situations. That's situation football and we have to be much better than that."
Colorado held ASU to just 3-for-13 on third downs on the night, but the Sun Devils had success on fourth down, converting on 3-for-4 attempts. The Buffs were just 5-for-18 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth conversions.
"We all know the last home game and Senior Day, we wanted to come out of here with a win," Reginald Huges lamented. "But the outcome was unfortunate. Still got to keep the main thing, the main thing. We have one more week to play. We have to go win next week against Kansas State and just keep the main thing. My emotions aren't the important part of this situation right now. We have to be better. Come back in, get back to the drawing board, get back on the grass and work."
The loss drops the Buffs to 3-8 on the season and 1-7 in the Big 12.
How it Happened
Both teams had lackluster opening drives, trading three-and-outs, but the Sun Devils got the ball moving in their second drive with a 42-yard pass from Jeff Sims to former Buff Jordan Tyson, who helped set up a 39-yard field goal to put ASU up 3-0 with 9:23 to go in the opening quarter.
Defensive back Tawfiq Byard forced a fumble deep in ASU territory but couldn't capitalize. CU came up short on 3-and-9 and then failed to convert on a QB sneak on 4th-and-1, giving the ball back to the Sun Devils on their own 13.
Colorado forced a three-and-out on ASU's ensuing possession, leading to a punt, and the Buffs' offense took on its own 43. Micha Welch opened the drive with a 39-yard scamper down the far sideline, and three plays later, Dallan Hayden capped off the four-play drive with a 7-yard rush to the endzone, his second as a Buff, to give CU the 7-3 lead before the expiration of the quarter.
ASU's offense stalled to open the second quarter, but the Sun Devils caught the Buffs off guard on a fake punt for 19 yards on 4th-and-7 to keep the drive alive. ASU tried for a second fourth-down conversion later in the drive, this time a 4th-and-2 from the CU 17, but this time CU's defense held firm, forcing the turnover on downs.
ASU got the ball back with 8:24 to go before the half and worked its way into CU territory before facing another fourth-down decision. This time, it was a 4th-and-2 from the CU 33, and Sims faked a handoff, hit Brown at the 10-yard line, and Brown ran in for the score. The extra point from Jesus Gomez was good, and the Sun Devils regained the lead, 10-7.
The Buffs turned the ball over on downs with under two minutes to play in the half, but got the ball right back on an interception from John Slaughter, his second in as many games, with 1:35 to play. Lewis and Co. couldn't get moving, punting the ball back to the Sun Devils, who took over from their own 16 with 1:01 left on the clock. Two plays later, Brown sprinted 59 yards down to the CU 21 to set up Gomez's second 39-yard field goal of the night to put ASU ahead 13-7 at the half.
"The first half was incredible," Coach Prime expressed. "After the first half, we've given them everything they got. Then we go down and score. We got to come back. We went down and got some points, but we just have to do better. We're right there. I can't be happy with being close, because I expect to win. So, I'm not into some consolation prize in football. You can't be happy just because you're in the game. You're supposed to be winning the game. I'm not built like that. I want to win. I don't want to be close to make y'all feel better, make the fans feel better. I don't want to be close. I want to win."
Colorado opened the second half on offense, and on the third play of the half, Hayden ripped off a 42-yard rush down to the ASU 28 for the Buffs' longest play from scrimmage. Three plays later, Lewis hit Miller for a 22-yard pass and catch to go back in front, 14-13.
"He's not a guy you can guard in man coverage," Lewis said of Miller. "I think he's shown that tonight. They dropped in those zones, like I said, and kind of changed me and him things. Next week, we have to get back in the lab and get ready for the next week."
Arizona State answered with a quick 68-yard strike and converted the two-point conversion to take a 21-14 lead with 10:35 to play in the quarter.
Colorado forced a third ASU turnover, this time Shaun Myers forced a Sims fumble as he tried to escape the CU pursuit, putting CU in striking distance inside the ASU 10. The Buffs had to settle for a Mata 28-yard field goal, narrowing the ASU lead to 21-17 with 5:25 to go in the frame.
The third quarter ended with another ASU turnover on the backend of a 20-yard rush from Brown, who went airborne and had the ball knocked out by Slaughter. Isaiah Hardge recovered at the ASU 46 and Colorado was in prime position to start the fourth. The Buffs ended up behind the sticks on a 3rd-and-23, but Lewis dumped it off to Sincere Brown for a 33-yard gain. Just as Colorado looked like it was mounting a drive, Ronald Coleman fumbled on the next play, handing the ball back to the Sun Devils on their own 12.
"Clearly, fighting. We definitely wanted to score," Lewis said of the offense before the fumble. "It's a missed opportunity. Realistically, can't blame that play. We've got to do better all-around, clean up, and get ready for next year."
ASU wasted no time adding to its lead, with Brown taking the handoff from Sims and going up the middle of the field for an 88-yard score, his second score of the night, giving ASU the 28-17 lead.
Arizona State added fourth-quarter scores from Kanye Udho and Jason Brown Jr. before the game's expiration.
Up Next
The Buffs will close out the 2025 season next Saturday, Nov. 29, at Kansas State.
The night was closely contested through the first three quarters, with the Sun Devils clinging to a 21-17 lead as the clock turned to the fourth quarter. ASU shutout the Buffs in the final 15 minutes and outscored CU 21-0 in the final frame to pull away.
"The goal was not to inflict any wounds on ourselves, and we did that," head coach Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders said postgame. "The goal was to stop the running game because we figured they wouldn't throw the pass, and we gave up 355 yards rushing: four turnovers but only three points off turnovers.
"Two plays to me changed the whole course of the game," Coach Prime continued. "The [fourth quarter] fumble and the explosion [88-yard score] right after the fumble."
Arizona State (7-4, 6-2 Big 12) controlled the line of scrimmage, totaling 580 yards on offense, despite having four turnovers on the night. Raleek Brown led the charge for the Sun Devils, closing with 255 yards rushing, 33 yards receiving and two scores. Quarterback Jeff Sims finished 11-for-24 for 206 yards passing and two touchdowns.
"Defensively, we have to do much better," Coach Prime added. "We forced turnovers, and offensively, we have to score. We didn't do any of that."
Julian Lewis completed 19-of-38 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown, leading the offensive efforts for the Buffaloes. Omarion Miller had three receptions for 35 yards and caught his eighth touchdown of the season. Dallan Hayden led the ground attack, rushing for 65 yards on 10 carries and finding the end zone once.
On defense, John Slaughter recorded six tackles and was responsible for two of the four ASU turnovers, forcing a fumble and securing an interception. Preston Hodge led the team in stops with eight total tackles and a pass breakup.
"I'm not going to say it's demoralizing," Coach Prime noted about the team's three points on four turnovers. "It's tough that we don't have more in the tank to come up with some things to take advantage of those situations. That's situation football and we have to be much better than that."
Colorado held ASU to just 3-for-13 on third downs on the night, but the Sun Devils had success on fourth down, converting on 3-for-4 attempts. The Buffs were just 5-for-18 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth conversions.
"We all know the last home game and Senior Day, we wanted to come out of here with a win," Reginald Huges lamented. "But the outcome was unfortunate. Still got to keep the main thing, the main thing. We have one more week to play. We have to go win next week against Kansas State and just keep the main thing. My emotions aren't the important part of this situation right now. We have to be better. Come back in, get back to the drawing board, get back on the grass and work."
The loss drops the Buffs to 3-8 on the season and 1-7 in the Big 12.
How it Happened
Both teams had lackluster opening drives, trading three-and-outs, but the Sun Devils got the ball moving in their second drive with a 42-yard pass from Jeff Sims to former Buff Jordan Tyson, who helped set up a 39-yard field goal to put ASU up 3-0 with 9:23 to go in the opening quarter.
Defensive back Tawfiq Byard forced a fumble deep in ASU territory but couldn't capitalize. CU came up short on 3-and-9 and then failed to convert on a QB sneak on 4th-and-1, giving the ball back to the Sun Devils on their own 13.
Colorado forced a three-and-out on ASU's ensuing possession, leading to a punt, and the Buffs' offense took on its own 43. Micha Welch opened the drive with a 39-yard scamper down the far sideline, and three plays later, Dallan Hayden capped off the four-play drive with a 7-yard rush to the endzone, his second as a Buff, to give CU the 7-3 lead before the expiration of the quarter.
ASU's offense stalled to open the second quarter, but the Sun Devils caught the Buffs off guard on a fake punt for 19 yards on 4th-and-7 to keep the drive alive. ASU tried for a second fourth-down conversion later in the drive, this time a 4th-and-2 from the CU 17, but this time CU's defense held firm, forcing the turnover on downs.
ASU got the ball back with 8:24 to go before the half and worked its way into CU territory before facing another fourth-down decision. This time, it was a 4th-and-2 from the CU 33, and Sims faked a handoff, hit Brown at the 10-yard line, and Brown ran in for the score. The extra point from Jesus Gomez was good, and the Sun Devils regained the lead, 10-7.
The Buffs turned the ball over on downs with under two minutes to play in the half, but got the ball right back on an interception from John Slaughter, his second in as many games, with 1:35 to play. Lewis and Co. couldn't get moving, punting the ball back to the Sun Devils, who took over from their own 16 with 1:01 left on the clock. Two plays later, Brown sprinted 59 yards down to the CU 21 to set up Gomez's second 39-yard field goal of the night to put ASU ahead 13-7 at the half.
"The first half was incredible," Coach Prime expressed. "After the first half, we've given them everything they got. Then we go down and score. We got to come back. We went down and got some points, but we just have to do better. We're right there. I can't be happy with being close, because I expect to win. So, I'm not into some consolation prize in football. You can't be happy just because you're in the game. You're supposed to be winning the game. I'm not built like that. I want to win. I don't want to be close to make y'all feel better, make the fans feel better. I don't want to be close. I want to win."
Colorado opened the second half on offense, and on the third play of the half, Hayden ripped off a 42-yard rush down to the ASU 28 for the Buffs' longest play from scrimmage. Three plays later, Lewis hit Miller for a 22-yard pass and catch to go back in front, 14-13.
"He's not a guy you can guard in man coverage," Lewis said of Miller. "I think he's shown that tonight. They dropped in those zones, like I said, and kind of changed me and him things. Next week, we have to get back in the lab and get ready for the next week."
Arizona State answered with a quick 68-yard strike and converted the two-point conversion to take a 21-14 lead with 10:35 to play in the quarter.
Colorado forced a third ASU turnover, this time Shaun Myers forced a Sims fumble as he tried to escape the CU pursuit, putting CU in striking distance inside the ASU 10. The Buffs had to settle for a Mata 28-yard field goal, narrowing the ASU lead to 21-17 with 5:25 to go in the frame.
The third quarter ended with another ASU turnover on the backend of a 20-yard rush from Brown, who went airborne and had the ball knocked out by Slaughter. Isaiah Hardge recovered at the ASU 46 and Colorado was in prime position to start the fourth. The Buffs ended up behind the sticks on a 3rd-and-23, but Lewis dumped it off to Sincere Brown for a 33-yard gain. Just as Colorado looked like it was mounting a drive, Ronald Coleman fumbled on the next play, handing the ball back to the Sun Devils on their own 12.
"Clearly, fighting. We definitely wanted to score," Lewis said of the offense before the fumble. "It's a missed opportunity. Realistically, can't blame that play. We've got to do better all-around, clean up, and get ready for next year."
ASU wasted no time adding to its lead, with Brown taking the handoff from Sims and going up the middle of the field for an 88-yard score, his second score of the night, giving ASU the 28-17 lead.
Arizona State added fourth-quarter scores from Kanye Udho and Jason Brown Jr. before the game's expiration.
Up Next
The Buffs will close out the 2025 season next Saturday, Nov. 29, at Kansas State.
Players Mentioned
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