BOULDER, Colo. — Khalil Tate smiled broadly.
The Arizona Wildcats quarterback was standing outside the visitors’ locker room again at Folsom Field, almost two years to the day after his breakout for the ages in this same venue.
“Colorado holds a special place in my heart,” Tate said.
For the third time in as many tries, he broke CU’s heart.
In 2017, Tate ran wild. Last year, in Tucson, he sliced the Buffaloes apart with his arm. This time, he passed for a career-high 404 yards – and put the game away with his legs.
Tate’s dynamic performance — after he missed last week because of injuries — lifted Arizona to a 35-30 victory in front of 52,569 fans on a picturesque Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats won their fourth in a row to improve to 4-1. They own sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 South with a 2-0 conference record.
Even more significant, Arizona won on the road for the first time this season and only the second time in seven tries under Kevin Sumlin.
“We struggled on the road last year,” Sumlin said. “Like I told our team, we’re not talking about last year. This team’s different. The mentality’s different. I think they’ve shown that. They’re growing.
“In critical situations, they’ve made the right decisions. Last year, we did not. We played a bunch of games like this last year, and we lost a bunch of close games. That comes down to making good decisions at critical moments, and they’ve been doing that.”
Arizona has won two games in a row decided by five or fewer points. They were 0-4 in that scenario last season.
This game featured nine lead changes. Neither side led by more than six points at any juncture.
The defense did just enough to finish it off. After shutting out their past two opponents in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats yielded just three points to the Buffaloes (3-2, 1-1). Arizona also came up with a fourth-down stop that all but put the game on ice.
Arizona linebacker Tony Fields II, right, had a team-high 11 tackles vs. Colorado.
Colorado faced fourth-and-4 at the UA 46 with 2:29 remaining. CU coach Mel Tucker called time out. Arizona decided to bring pressure. Linebacker Tony Fields II blitzed off the left side and hit quarterback Steven Montez as he threw the ball.
“We decided to bring heat to them,” Fields said. “I talked to my D-line. I said, ‘Let’s go, help me out, slant, and we’re gonna make this play.’ Everybody got there. We made the play.
“I don’t know what happened on the back end. I was too busy rushing the quarterback.”
Montez’s pass sailed too high for Dimitri Stanley to snag it. Safety Tristan Cooper had tight coverage just in case.
Sumlin was concerned about Montez scrambling, which he had done to great effect earlier in the game. But the rushers stayed in their lanes, and Montez had nowhere to go.
“It’s definitely disappointing,” Montez said, “because we don’t practice our butts off all week to go out there and lose.”
Colorado wide receiver Tony Brown, left, greets Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate after the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, in Boulder, Colo. Arizona won 35-30. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado still had two timeouts. Arizona had to convert on third-and-6 or the Buffs would get the ball back.
Tate had run only three times for 16 yards up to that point – a far cry from his record-setting 327-yard rushing performance in Boulder in 2017. But Sumlin and offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone decided to call Tate’s number. They ran a quarterback sweep to the right side. Tate gained 7 yards.
It was an apropos way to put the game away. Tate rumbled for 31 yards on third-and-7 to secure Arizona’s 45-42 win here in ’17.
“If it’s not broke,” Tate said, “don’t fix it.”
There were serious questions about Tate’s availability entering Saturday. He sat out against UCLA because of hamstring and ankle injuries.
He practiced throughout the week, though, and at a certain point Sumlin knew Tate would be good to go.
“He wanted to play the week before,” Sumlin said. “He wasn’t right. We went through that last year.
“I knew a little bit more when he wanted to see the designed quarterback runs later in the week. I knew that he was ready to go. He wasn’t talking like that the week before.”
Tate did most of his damage with his arm. He completed 31 of 41 passes. He threw three touchdowns and one interception. He was on point throughout the second half, going 23 of 27 for 229 yards with one TD and zero turnovers.
In his past three games against Colorado, Tate has completed 60 of 76 passes for 908 yards with nine touchdowns and two picks.
“They expected him to run the ball,” Fields said. “He showed them that he’s a pocket passer this year. He showed him he can do a little bit of everything.”
Arizona could be ranked when it hosts No. 15 Washington next Saturday. It was hard to imagine the Wildcats vaulting into first place in the South Division after a disappointing opening loss at Hawaii. They’re determined to keep it going.
“I want to stay on top,” Fields said. “Let’s keep progressing. We haven’t even reached our limit yet.”
