TEMPE, Ariz. — On a fourth-down play early in the third quarter Saturday night, Colorado cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon reached out and deflected an Arizona State pass.
Nice play, except that ASU receiver Tim White snatched the deflected the ball out of the air, broke two tackles and raced into the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown.
It was that kind of night for the Buffs.
BOXSCORE:
Even when they did catch a break, they didn’t.
In their first Pac-12 road game of the season, the Buffs were routed 48-23 by Arizona State at Sun Devil Stadium.
CU (3-3, 0-2 Pac-12) extended its Pac-12 losing streak to 13 games and fell to 1-19 in conference games under coach Mike MacIntyre. The Buffs have also lost 13 consecutive Pac-12 road games.
As has been the case in many of those Pac-12 losses, CU was out of it by the time the fourth quarter began, as ASU (4-2, 2-1) took a 21-point lead.
The Buffs certainly didn’t play well, but they also had a series of unfortunate events throughout the night.
On ASU’s first possession of the night, the Buffs stripped the ball from Sun Devils running back Demario Richard. But it squirted right to ASU tight end Kody Kohl, who scooped it up and went 28 yards untouched for a touchdown.
Three plays later, CU quarterback Sefo Liufau was hit by an ASU defender as he threw, and had the ball picked off and returned 30 yards to the CU 15. ASU scored five plays later for a 14-0 lead.
In the second quarter, the Buffs forced an Arizona State punt, but safety Chidobe Awuzie couldn’t stop his momentum and was flagged for roughing the punter. ASU kept the ball.
Then came the deflection-turned-TD by Witherspoon, which gave ASU a 31-10 lead and, essentially, sealed the outcome.
When the Sun Devils weren’t getting fortunate bounces, they were doing what they’ve always done by dominating the Buffs. ASU is now 7-0 all time against CU, with each win coming by at least two touchdowns.
Liufau had his first 300-yard passing game of the season, finishing 25-of-40 for 389 yards.
