Rooney: 3 extra points from CU Buffs’ road win at Arizona State

BuffZone writer Pat Rooney breaks down three reactions from Colorado’s last-minute, 27-24 victory at Arizona State.

1. (Somewhat) special teams

Head coach Deion Sanders has criticized his special teams units on occasion during the first half of the season, and with good reason. The Buffs have had multiple kicks blocked and surrendered a long kickoff return at TCU. CU has booted three kickoffs out of bounds, including two by Cristiano Palazzo at ASU. Still, the special teams units have had their moments along the way, and in Tempe they made the difference.

On a team coached by Sanders — one of just 13 NFL players with at least six punt return touchdowns during their career — you kept waiting for one of the Buffs’ athletes to break one. Xavier Weaver finally made that happen against the Sun Devils. His 51-yard burst on his first actual, non-fair catch return of the season set up the first of Alejandro Mata’s two fourth-quarter field goals, a 42-yard conversion that gave the Buffs a 24-17 lead. Opposing punters have done a good job of putting enough air under the ball to keep the Buffs out of return situations — Weaver’s big play was just the sixth returned punt all season by CU — but having those play-makers on punts and kickoffs could make a difference in the tough matchups still to come.

Mata also deserves credit for persevering through a preseason battle with Jace Feely that was awarded to Feely out of the gate. The 43-yard winner from the Jackson State transfer with 12 seconds left improved Mata’s season mark to 4-for-4. He’s 3-for-3 from 40-plus while Feely, billed as the kicker with the stronger leg, is 4-for-7 overall and 1-for-3 from 40-plus. Mata also has made all four of his field goals in pressure, fourth-quarter situations, as he had two late conversions in the overtime win against Colorado State. At this point, Mata is the man. But holding open tryouts for the kickoff duties might not be the worst idea.

2. Bend, but don’t break

For a unit that ranks last in the Pac-12 in average yards allowed (465.5) and 11th in points allowed (34.2), the CU defense nonetheless can be fun to watch. For the first time this season, the Buffs failed to generate a turnover, but five sacks and eight total tackles for loss helped keep ASU in check just enough to escape with a victory.

This is not a great defense, but somehow the group still manages to make plays. The Buffs share the Pac-12 lead with eight interceptions and are in the top half of the league with four fumble recoveries. Much of the credit goes to the athletes patrolling the secondary, and that unit is only getting stronger. Safeties Myles Slusher and Shilo Sanders returned from injury absences (although regular starter Trevor Woods was sidelined at ASU). Omarion Cooper played very well against the Sun Devils. And the absence of Travis Hunter has allowed five-star freshman Cormani McClain to escape the doghouse and instead play his way into the cusp of dawg status. Despite the general defensive woes, if Hunter returns as planned following the bye, the Buffs might boast one of the Pac-12’s most formidable secondaries over the final month of the season.

3. Avoid the trap

This point is less about reviewing ASU than looking ahead, as the Friday night home battle against Stanford represents the closest thing to a trap game remaining on CU’s schedule. For the first time this season the Buffs at times looked weary at ASU, and quarterback Shedeur Sanders appeared visibly frustrated by the constant battering he received not only at ASU, but throughout the first half of the season. After playing such an impressively clean game in the opener at TCU (six penalties for just 35 yards), the Buffs committed at least nine penalties in each of the next three games (31 total). Saturday’s effort at ASU (eight penalties, 65 yards) gave the Buffs at least 60 penalty yards in all five games since the opener.

CU should handle Stanford. But the Cardinal is coming off a bye, while the Buffs have a short week at the end of an emotionally taxing first half of the season. The Buffs need to power through one more before taking advantage of next week’s bye to regroup.