Jayden de Laura ties UA record with six TD passes as Arizona crushes Colorado

On paper, the Arizona Wildcats were supposed to pile up a boatload of yards and score a bunch of points against Colorado.

But this many yards? And this many points?

Only Arizona could stop Arizona’s offense Saturday night. The Wildcats accumulated 673 yards of offense in a 43-20 victory over the Buffaloes in front of an announced crowd of 36,591 at Arizona Stadium.

The victory ended a two-game losing streak against Colorado. The Wildcats improved to 3-2, 1-1 in the Pac-12. The beleaguered Buffaloes fell to 0-5, 0-2.

Quarterback Jayden de Laura tied Tom Tunnicliffe’s 40-year-old school record with six touchdown passes as Arizona scored more than 40 points for the first time since Sept. 7, 2019, against NAU.

"I felt like everything was working," de Laura said. "All of our receivers were catching the ball. I was really happy with the O-line, their blocking. And the run after catch. That was something that really helped us out this week."

De Laura passed for 484 yards, setting a career high for the second straight week. He became the first UA quarterback to pass for 400-plus yards in consecutive games since Matt Scott in 2012.

"Jayden is continuing to get better," UA coach Jedd Fisch said of de Laura, who completed 33 of 46 passes. "Jayden has been here for five games. He has been in this offense only since January. He has not ever played in an offense like this before. If he can continue to make jumps like he's been making, then we're gonna have a really good offense."

Receivers Jacob Cowing and Dorian Singer each surpassed 100 yards. Cowing caught 12 passes for 180 yards and one touchdown. Singer had nine receptions for 163 yards and a score.

Colorado entered this week in the bottom 10 in the nation in run defense, total defense and points allowed. The Buffs have yielded at least 38 points in every game and have lost every game by at least 23 points.

The Wildcats, who were favored by 17.5 points, didn't take them lightly.

"One thing we talked about all week long was, we're always the underdog," Fisch said. "We’re Arizona football; we’re the underdog. We like that. We embrace that. We're never going to talk about being a favorite. We're never going to talk about any of that stuff."

Despite compiling 400 yards in the first half, Arizona led by only two scores, 26-13. It remained a two-possession game, 36-20, entering the fourth quarter.

On the fourth play of the period, the Wildcats made a key defensive stop. On fourth-and 3 from the UA 43, Hunter Echols forced a high throw on a swing pass toward the right flat. It deflected off Anthony Hankerson’s hand and fell to the turf.

Arizona then pieced together the decisive touchdown drive. It featured a pair of passes to Cowing for a total of 30 yards. It concluded with de Laura’s record-tying TD pass, a 5-yarder to Michael Wiley, who had two scores on the night.

"I thought our guys did a great job of playing complementary football," Fisch said. "What was fun about tonight's game is how we were able to get stops and get scores, get stops and get scores. When you play together as a team, good things happen."

Colorado threatened to get within two scores again, but Echols sacked Owen McCown at the UA 16. Paris Shand recovered the fumble. Arizona then ran out the clock.

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"It was kind of a struggle for me to get some pass rush going this whole game," Echols said. "But you gotta stick to it. You gotta fight."

The defense limited the Buffs to 340 yards one week after yielding 599 - including 354 on the ground - in a 49-31 loss at Cal.

"I was excited about our defense," Fisch said. "I thought they played with a lot of passion today. They attacked the field with great passion. They played really hard.

"There's gonna be missed tackles. There's gonna be plays that are made. If you look at the Pac-12 and the quarterbacks in the Pac-12 right now, there's gonna be a lot of plays. There's a lot of offense in our conference right now.

"I was really proud of the way they just kept coming back."

Arizona had no trouble moving the ball for most of the first half. The Wildcats’ 400 total yards included 273 through the air from de Laura. Singer had six catches for 122 yards and a touchdown in the opening 30 minutes.

Arizona had two possessions and two touchdowns in the first quarter. The first drive ended with a 7-yard touchdown pass from de Laura to Wiley. It was Arizona’s second third-down conversion of the series. It was Wiley’s ninth touchdown in his past 10 games, dating to last season. His second TD made it 10 in 10 games.

The second scoring drive required a fourth-down conversion. On fourth-and-goal from the 3, de Laura connected with Cowing for his seventh touchdown as a Wildcat. He’s four shy of matching the UA single-season record less than halfway through the season. An issue on the exchange led to a missed PAT and left the score at 13-7.

Arizona again faced fourth-and-goal on its next possession. The Wildcats failed to convert this time, as the Buffaloes stuffed Wiley for no gain from the 1.

The UA defense responded with its second consecutive stop to get the ball back. Arizona needed just three plays to expand its lead, and Singer did most of the work. His 36-yard reception moved the Wildcats to the 5. Singer then scored his first career touchdown, tipping the ball to himself near the back of the end zone.

After another defensive stand, another Wildcat scored his first career touchdown. This time it was tight end Tanner McLachlan, who caught an out route, slipped a tackle and rumbled into the end zone for an 8-yard score. That bumped Arizona’s lead to 26-7 with 3:42 left in the half.

After each team went three-and-out, Arizona was in great position to get the ball back. But instead of Colorado facing third-and-10 from its 35, a penalty for sideline interference gave the Buffs a first down at the 50. The Wildcats then missed five tackles on a 41-yard pass from McCown to Deion Smith. On the next play, McCown found Daniel Arias for a touchdown to make it 26-13.

Arizona had 1:05 to try to get another score. An absurd one-handed grab by freshman receiver Tetairoa McMillan put the Wildcats in position for a field goal. Tyler Loop missed wide right from 42 yards at the buzzer.

Extra points

• Arizona played without two regulars in its secondary. Starting free safety Jaxen Turner did not dress after injuring his shoulder last week. Cornerback Isaiah Rutherford, who splits time with Treydan Stukes, also didn’t dress. Rutherford had a brace on his right knee on the UA sideline. Fisch said Rutherford is day-to-day with a bone bruise.
• With Turner out, redshirt freshman Isaiah Taylor made his first career start. Arizona also utilized transfer DJ Warnell Jr. at free safety. Warnell previously had played only on special teams.
• Tight end Alex Lines, who started the first four games, is no longer with the team, Fisch said.
• UA defensive tackle Tiaoalii Savea got banged up in the third quarter and did not return. Fisch did not have an update on Savea's status.
• Colorado was missing the following players: tailback Alex Fontenot, tight end Brady Russell, receiver Chase Sowell, linebacker Guy Thomas, safety Isaiah Lewis and punter Ashton Logan.

Photos: Arizona Wildcats football rolls over Colorado, 43-20