Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate bolts away from the Colorado defense for a touchdown in the second half of Arizona’s 2017 win over the Buffaloes. Tate rushed for 327 yards — the most by a quarterback in FBS history — and completed 12 of 13 passes for 154 yards.
BOULDER, Colo. – The Arizona Wildcats were clinging to a three-point lead. Their defense was exhausted. They needed 7 yards to secure a potential course-changing victory. And everyone in the building knew who was going to get the ball.
Quarterback Khalil Tate had 296 rushing yards at that point. Standing on the edge of the Colorado Buffalo logo in the middle of Folsom Field, Tate took the snap from center Nathan Eldridge and ran to the right.
The entire Colorado defense pursued him. Several Buffaloes got a piece of him. But Tate kept on trucking.
Tate’s tackle-breaking run clinched a wild victory and secured a place for the 18-year-old sophomore in the history books. That final run gave Tate 327 yards for the game – the most by a quarterback in FBS history – and put the finishing touch on a 45-42 Arizona victory.
“I knew I had to get it,” Tate said afterward. “And if I didn’t get it, it was on me. I got hit pretty soon, but I kept my feet moving.”
Tate dragged tacklers for 31 yards. It was merely his fifth-longest run of the night.
“He was phenomenal,” UA coach Rich Rodriguez said.
Tate broke the QB rushing record of 321 yards set by Northern Illinois’ Jordan Lynch in November 2013. It was the second-highest single-game rushing total by a Wildcat behind Ka’Deem Carey’s 366 yards, also against Colorado, in 2012.
Oh, by the way: Tate completed 11 of 12 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown. He accounted for five of Arizona’s six TDs.
“I was really proud of the way he ran the football,” Rodriguez said. “But his composure when he got in there, his game management, seeing the field … Khalil certainly was the big difference today.”
And to think, Tate wasn’t even supposed to play.
“I didn’t even know his number, if I’m going to be quite honest,” Colorado safety Ryan Moeller said.
Brandon Dawkins started his fifth straight game for the Wildcats. Although Tate finally was healthy after enduring a sprained shoulder for the past month, Rodriguez had given no indication that he would shuffle his quarterbacks.
But on the ninth play from scrimmage, Colorado’s Isaiah Oliver and others drove Dawkins into the Buffaloes bench. He got up but seemed shaky. Rodriguez said later that Dawkins was “a little nicked up then” but could have come back into the game.
Tate was playing too well for Rodriguez to go back to Dawkins.
Arizona’s Shun Brown lost a fumble on that first drive. The Wildcats’ second possession consisted of one play: a 58-yard Tate touchdown run. He followed with TD runs of 28, 47 and 75 yards.
Asked if Tate would be the starting quarterback moving forward, Rodriguez said: “It’s hard to justify not starting him after this, right?”
The Wildcats (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12) defeated the Buffs (3-3, 0-3) for the fifth time in six tries under Rodriguez. Arizona next faces UCLA, whom Rodriguez has yet to beat as UA coach.
The Wildcats needed every Tate yard to defeat the Buffaloes and probably will need a better defensive performance to beat the Bruins.
After three straight solid outings, Arizona’s defense couldn’t get Colorado off the field. CU running back Phillip Lindsay gashed the Wildcats defense for 281 yards on a school-record 41 carries. Tate and Lindsay’s combined 608 rushing yards were the most ever by opposing players in a game, according to ESPN.
“It looked like were gassed on the second series,” Rodriguez said. “We were rolling guys in and out of there. We’ve gotta play a lot better defensively, and we can.”
Colorado gained 551 yards and converted 13 of 21 third downs. The Buffs ran 90 plays to the fast-scoring Wildcats’ 56, eventually wearing down the UA defense.
Colorado scored touchdowns on each of its final four possessions, marching 75 yards each time. Arizona responded with two touchdowns, a field goal and the clock-killing final drive.
Tate said the offense’s mindset was to “keep putting points on the board. The defense was struggling a little bit. We knew we had to hold up our end.”
The Wildcats converted two third downs on the last possession. The first, a third-and-4, came via an 8-yard pass from Tate to freshman tight end Bryce Wolma. Tate’s lone incomplete pass, in the second quarter, was a catchable ball that Tyrell Johnson dropped.
All the while, a sellout crowd of 49,976 roared. Tate remained calm.
“He is always calm,” guard Jacob Alsadek said. “He is a laid-back guy, super reserved and quiet. I think that he handled it really well.”
The victory was significant for several reasons. It was Arizona’s first Pac-12 road win since Oct. 17, 2015, at Colorado, another game in which Rodriguez played multiple quarterbacks. It was also a close game that the Wildcats found a way to win – unlike one-score losses to Houston and Utah.
“The best thing for confidence is winning,” Rodriguez said. “Winning close games, winning big games, there’s no question that that helps with their confidence.
“I’m proud of our guys. Two weeks ago when we lost (vs. Utah), there was nobody hanging their head. We were mad. Genuinely made. I was mad. We were all mad.
“We’ve gotta start pulling these close ones out. That’s what you gotta do if you want to have a great season. It was good to pull this one out in a tough environment.”
