Nate Phillips catches a 44-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Photo by Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Arizona quarterback B.J. Denker had more than 450 yards of total offense, including a career-high 192 yards on the ground, as the Wildcats pulled away for a 44-20 victory over Colorado.
Denker completed 21 of 32 passes for 265 yards, with a 44-yard strike to Nate Phillips for a touchdown. Denker helped the Cats rush for 405 yards, a season-high.
The Wildcats improve to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the Pac-12, one victory away from bowl eligibility. Colorado drops to 3-4 and 0-4.
Arizona plays at Cal next Saturday.
* * *
If that’s it for Ka’Deem Carey, his 121 rushing yards is his LOWEST total in the past 10 games.
* * *
Jake Smith wobbles in a 28-yard field goal for a 44-20 lead with 9:11 to go.
* * *
It’s “Lightning’s” turn, as Daniel Jenkins runs for 56 yards, replacing Ka’Deem Carey. With about 11 minutes to go, Carey’s night might be done. He has 23 carries for 121 yards and four touchdowns.
* * *
Arizona’s defense gets its turnover anyway, as safety Will Parks drifts to the middle of the field, reading QB Sefo Liufau, and picks off a pass at the UA 6.
* * *
Tough night for LB Marquis Flowers. He had an INT taken away by penalty and now a fumble recovery taken away by a replay reversal.
* * *
Ka’Deem Carey has nine rushing touchdowns in the past two games against Colorado and 39 for his career. The junior is five behind the school record of 44, held by Art Luppino.
* * *
Yep. Ka’Deem Carey into the end zone for the fourth time tonight, this one from 6 yards with 14:30 to go in the game. Arizona up 41-20.
* * *
Colorado comes out and tries a fake punt from inside its 20 but the Cats are ready and stuff Darragh O’Neill for a gain of 1 on fourth-and-5. Arizona, taking over at Buffs 18, can deal a knockout blow.
* * *
End of the third quarter. Arizona up 34-20.
* * *
Perhaps Colorado is paying too much attention to Ka’Deem Carey. B.J. Denker has 448 yards of total offense late in the third quarter, including 180 on the ground.
* * *
A stop from the Arizona defense on fourth-and-goal from the 4. The Cats chase Sefo Liufau from the pocket, and he eventually throws incomplete through the end zone.
* * *
Trainers attending to LB Jake Fischer with 5:32 to go in the third quarter. He limps off the field.
* * *
Jourdon Grandon’s INT near midfield is nullified by a face mask penalty on Jonathan McKnight, who is having tough time with WR Paul Richardson tonight. Arizona is in good shape right now but is in danger of beating itself with mistakes and lack of discipline.
* * *
The Wildcats cross up Colorado on fourth-and-2 from the Buffs 44 by throwing a quick sideline pass to Terrence Miller to beat a corner blitz. Miller spins out of a tackle and takes the ball to the 1. Ka’Deem Carey does the rest from there, scoring his third touchdown of the game as Arizona goes back by 14 points, 34-20, with 7:55 to go in the third quarter.
* * *
Arizona squanders six points as B.J. Denker misses maybe his easiest pass of the night, overthrowing Garic Wharton for a sure TD.
* * *
Colorado sees Arizona’s field goal and raises the Cats a touchdown. A nice drive by the Buffs and QB Sefo Liufau ends in a 1-yard TD run by Michael Adkins to cut the lead to 27-20. It’s easy to see Colorado is improved over last season and it’s not giving UA any breathing room.
* * *
Not sure I’ve seen (or heard) this one. Arizona linebacker Marquis Flowers just got penalized 15 yards for what was called “abusive language.”
* * *
Arizona starts the second half with two runs from B.J. Denker — 11 yards and then a 54-yard sprint. The drive stalls in the red zone, though, as the Cats settle for a 26-yard field goal from Jake Smith. That pushed the lead to 27-13 with 13:25 to go in the third quarter.
Quirky stat: Denker has more than 100 yards rushing (109) and Ka’Deem Carey does not (he’s at 98).
Denker, who entered the game as the Pac-12′s second-leading QB runner behind Marcus Mariota, has hit triple digits on the ground for the first time in his career.
* * *
Ka’Deem Carey has a rushing TD in 14 of his past 15 games.
* * *
Arizona finishes strong to take a 24-13 lead at halftime. B.J. Denker is 17 of 24 for 210 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Ka’Deem carey has 17 carries for 97 yards and two scores.
* * *
There’s another late TD from Arizona. Ka’Deem Carey starts the drive with a 30-yard run and then B.J. Denker, having his best game, connects deep with Nate Phillips, who makes the over-the-shoulder catch for a 44-yard score. The Cats are up 24-13 with 50 seconds left before halftime … and they get the ball to start the second half.
* * *
Arizona with another chance to score before halftime after forcing a punt. Scooby Wright got pressure on QB Sefo Liufau, forcing an incompletion on third down. Not enough of that from Arizona tonight.
* * *
Colorado is doing a nice job on Ka’Deem Carey, but he’s still getting his yards. As usual, he’s earning it. He gets into the end zone for the second time tonight by calling up for extra horsepower while fighting off tackles and reaching for the goal line to finish off a 7-yard run.
Arizona re-takes the lead at 17-13 with 2:28 to go before halftime.
* * *
Now, Will Oliver is back on track for Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors by hitting a 48-yard field goal for a 13-10 lead with 5:07 left. CU has scored six points off Arizona turnovers.
* * *
B.J. Denker makes a bad decision and throws an interception in coverage near midfield. It’s only his third interception of the season (the other two coming in the loss at Washington). The Cats trail the turnover battle 2-0 and is flirting with trouble by giving the underdog Buffs good chances in front of the home crowd.
* * *
Colorado’s Will Oliver, good from 53 yards earlier, misses wide left from 52 yards.
* * *
Colorado keeps taking shots deep and this time gets a mostly phantom interference call on Jonathan McKnight, who immediately gives the “who me?” sign. Colorado WR Paul Richardson doing plenty of jawing to the entire secondary, not just his cousin. Could see some fireworks there later in the game.
* * *
Arizona’s secondary gets beat deep again, but Sefo Liufau overthrows his receiver. Cats catch a break because that was an easy six points.
* * *
Arizona confuses Colorado (and itself?) by sending out punter Drew Riggleman and quarterback B.J. Denker on the field on fourth-and-3 from the CU 48. The Buffs call timeout.
That’s about the only good thing to happen for the Wildcats, as Riggleman gets the call after the timeout and launches an 18-yard punt.
* * *
Steven Gurrola back in at center for Arizona. No harm done when Carter Wood was in there.
* * *
Colorado gets three points off the turnover as Will Oliver rewards coach Mike MacIntyre’s faith by making a 53-yard field goal. That ties the game at 10. (Remember when Arizona used to be able to make 50-plus yard FGs?)
* * *
B.J. Denker was 12 of 14 vs. Colorado last season. He was 12 of 14 vs. Colorado in the first quarter tonight.
* * *
First quarter comes to an end with the Wildcats up 10-7 and having made two big mistakes — giving up 75-yard TD pass and a lost fumble.
* * *
Everything working for B.J. Denker, who drops the snap, picks it up and then makes a good sideline throw to Garic Wharton for 29 yards. But a few plays later, Wharton coughs up the football on a screen pass as he bumps into his blocker and loses control. Colorado recovers at its 45, just as the Cats looked to claim momentum as their own.
* * *
It wasn’t pretty — style points don’t count — as Jake Smith floats a 37-yard field goal inside the left upright to give Arizona a 10-7 lead with 4:34 to go in the first quarter. B.J. Denker stays hot, as he’s 10 of 11 through the air.
* * *
Starting center Steven Gurrola is down on the field with 6:34 to go in the first quarter. His backup is Carter Wood, a sophomore walk-on, who is the son of former UA standout DT David Wood.
* * *
Utah answers in one play, going to its best player — receiver Paul Richardson. The junior gets man coverage from Jonathan McKnight, gets the cornerback turning the wrong way and breaks wide open down the middle of the field. Freshman QB Sefo Liufau can certainly complete that throw … and Richardson is really, really fast.
He zips in for the 75-yard touchdown as CU ties it at 7.
* * *
Nothing wrong with B.J. Denker on the opening drive as he completes 5 of 5 passes for 51 yards and turns things over to Ka’Deem Carey, who pushes across the goal line on a 1-yard run. Arizona up 7-0, showing a nice mix of play calls, including pitches around right end that should soften up the middle of the field later in the game.
* * *
Arizona has good coverage downfield on third-and-9, forces an incompletion and a punt. True freshman Nate Phillips has won back the punt return job (at least until he bobbles one), taking over for Johnny Jackson.
* * *
Safety Tra’Mayne Bondutant was already ruled out because of a concussion. Safety Jared Tevis (knee) was considered questionable, but he’s not in the starting lineup as Will Parks gets his second consecutive start. Tevis is in uniform; we’ll see if he plays.
* * *
The Wildcats will start on defense. Arizona wins the toss and defers.
* * *
Rick Neuheisel on Pac-12 Networks before the game: “I want to see Arizona come out like a team that wants to win the South.” In other words, no messing around with a lesser opponent.
* * *
Arizona will be wearing red helmets tonight, with white jerseys and white pants. That’s a new combination since the Cats brought back red helmets last season.
UA is 1-2 in its red helmets, including a loss to Washington last month.
For the uniform combination database (2005-present), check out WildcatUniverse.com.
* * *
The Arizona Wildcats take on Colorado tonight (5 p.m., Pac-12 Networks), trying to take a step closer to bowl eligibility.
Arizona is 4-2 overall, 1-2 in the Pac-12 and is likely to be favored in three more games this season — Colorado (the Wildcats are 13-point favorites), at Cal next week and home vs. Washington State on Nov. 16.
The Buffs are 3-3 overall and 0-3 in conference. Two of those victories have come against lower-division Central Arkansas and Charleston Southern.
Beyond the Ka’Deem Carey storyline, here are three things to watch tonight:
1. Pressuring the QB
Colorado true freshman quarterback Sefo Liufau is making his second career start after a break-in game against Charleston Southern last week. Sacking the quarterback hasn’t been an Arizona strength, although the Cats did come up with three sacks vs. Utah last week.
Can the Wildcats rattle him into freshman mistakes?
Liufau has completed 32 of 46 passes, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
“He looked pretty comfortable. He did,” Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said of Liufau against Charleston Southern.
“They ran the ball well and they were in manageable situations it seemed like the whole game. But he played with a lot confidence, made some nice throws, threw the ball in some tight windows and played pretty well, I thought.”
2. Injuries
Arizona safety Tra’Mayne Bondurant, the defense’s top playmaker, has been ruled out today because of a concussion suffered in the first quarter of last week’s game.
He will be replaced by sophomore Anthony Lopez, who made four tackles last week and was “solid” in relief of Bondurant, according to coach Rich Rodriguez.
The Wildcats could also be without another safety in their 3-3-5 scheme, as Jared Tevis is questionable because of a knee injury that kept him out of the Utah game. His replacement is sophomores Will Parks.
3. Cousin vs. cousin
Arizona cornerback Shaquille Richardson and Colorado receiver Paul Richardson have been close since childhood, even signing together with UCLA in 2010. They separated after they, and another UCLA signee, were dismissed from the team that summer after a theft arrest.
The cousins met on the field in 2011, although both were suffering from injuries at the time and their interactions were limited.
Paul Richardson missed the 2012 season because of an ACL injury.
He’s back now as Colorado’s main weapon and one of the best receivers in the conference (ranking fourth nationally with 130.3 yards per game).
Shaquille is playing well, having overcome shoulder problems that kept him out of spring ball. He has two interceptions, including a pretty over-the-shoulder grab on a deep ball last week against Utah. He moves to safety when Arizona uses its third-down SWAT team defense.
The cousins figure to be frequently matched up tonight.
“His mental ability, he takes the game to another level,” Shaquille told the Denver Post this week. “He’ll see something and attack it. As the play’s going on, he adjusts. You can’t show him the same look the whole game and expect it to work.”
PREDICTION
A lot of Ka’Deem Carey and continued efficiency from B.J. Denker should do the trick. Denker’s only two interceptions of the season came in the rainstorm in Seattle, and he’ll be happy to find that the weather will be fine in Boulder tonight (chilly by Wildcat standards but not wet).
Colorado has lost its three Pac-12 games by an average of 36.3 points, falling to Oregon State, Oregon and Arizona State.
The Wildcats’ offense isn’t as explosive as those teams, but I like the Cats to continue the six-quarter roll it has been on since halftime of the USC game.
No need for huge analysis. The Buffs have lost 11 consecutive Pac-12 games, and only one — a home loss to Utah to end last season — was within 25 points. Colorado might be incrementally on its way back, but the Wildcats will safely bank their fifth victory as long as they don’t play giveaway with the football.
Arizona 42, Colorado 24.
PREGAME LINKS
Ka’Deem Carey ready for his encore vs. Colorado
Brad Allis has his pregame podcast, breaking down the matchup as well as Ka’Deem Carey’s legacy, UA’s bowl chances and last weekend’s recruiting haul.
Javier Morales: Arizona double-digit favorites but going against interesting odds today
Boulder Daily Camera: Mental game key for Buffs
Denver Post: CU could make splash in Pac-12 with watershed opportunity
Greg Hansen’s Mr. Football column at the Arizona Daily Star