Colorado Buffaloes cornerback K.J. Trujillo (17) and safety Mark Perry (5) slam into Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Brian Casteel (5) exchanging the pass interference for a sure touchdown in the fourth quarter of their Pac12 football game at Arizona Stadium,Tucson, Ariz., December 5, 2020.

 Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

The Arizona Wildcats couldn’t stop the run. They couldn’t stop the blitz. They couldn’t stop their losing streak.

Despite three takeaways, Arizona lost to Colorado 24-13 Saturday night at Arizona Stadium.

The defeat extended the Wildcats’ school-record losing streak to 11 games. It also snapped a three-game winning streak against the Buffaloes.

Arizona fell to 0-4 and did nothing to quell the rampant speculation about third-year coach Kevin Sumlin’s future. Colorado improved to 4-0 under first-year coach Karl Dorrell.

"We’re playing with effort," Sumlin said. "We talked at length this week about execution. It was sporadic. Effort has not been an issue. Execution has been. I think everybody in that locker room is down, but we’re certainly together."

CU tailback Jarek Broussard rushed for 301 yards – the most ever by an opposing player against Arizona. The Buffs had 407 yards on the ground.

The Wildcats surrendered five sacks, the third time this season they have allowed four or more.

Arizona’s last scheduled game is Friday against rival Arizona State, which returned to action against UCLA after a three-week layoff.

Arizona played without quarterback Grant Gunnell, who sat out because of a shoulder injury suffered last week at UCLA. Freshman Will Plummer made his first career start, and the offense struggled to move the ball consistently.

Colorado safety Isaiah Lewis drags down Arizona quarterback Will Plummer on fourth down in the last seconds of the fourth quarter, ending the Wildcats' last hope in a 24-13 loss at Arizona Stadium on Dec. 5, 2020.

Despite shuffling some personnel, the offensive line had another rough outing. At one point, four of five UA possessions ended with third-down sacks. More often than not, Plummer either didn’t have time to throw or couldn’t find anyone open. Plummer finished 19 of 32 for 154 yards with one interception.

"There’s 10 other guys on the field too," Sumlin said. "With a young guy like that, the game plan, we (wanted to) take some pressure off him by running the ball. But in those third-down situations, we were 3 of 14, That’s just not good enough. That’s not all on the quarterback."

The Wildcats did run the ball with authority, especially in the second half, and twice advanced inside the CU 5-yard line. They came away with nary a point on those two possessions. The first one ended with an interception, the second with an incomplete pass on fourth down.

"We were able to run it in the middle of the field," said Sumlin, whose team rushed for 268 yards. "We got some zero coverage and blitz that we didn’t handle. They brought a lot of pressure, we didn’t handle it, we didn’t pick it up. We didn’t make plays down there.

It was still a one-score game after the second red-zone failure, with 6:07 remaining, but Arizona couldn’t contain Broussard. He ripped off a 72-yard run that set up Evan Price’s 19-yard field goal with 2:26 left. That score accounted for the final margin.

"We let up too many big plays," UA defensive tackle Roy Lopez said. "You take those away, it’s a completely different game. We had a lot of missed tackles, including myself. Just corrections that we need to continue to make."

The Wildcats led 13-0 early in the second quarter – their first double-figure lead since the Texas Tech game last year (Sept. 14). It evaporated by halftime, and Colorado extended its advantage to 21-13 on quarterback Sam Noyer’s 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Noyer twisted away from a tackler and extended the ball over the goal line two plays after dashing through the UA defense for 54 yards.

Arizona was in position to possibly tie the score later in the third quarter after Michael Wiley’s 41-yard run to the CU 5-yard line. But on the second-and-goal from the 4, Plummer’s pass toward Ma’Jon Wright was tipped at the line by Terrance Lang. Nigel Bethel intercepted the pass at the 1. The score remained 21-13 entering the fourth quarter.

Arizona Wildcats defensive lineman Regen Terry (17) slams into Colorado Buffaloes running back Jarek Broussard (23) at the line in the first quarter of their Pac12 football game at Arizona Stadium,Tucson, Ariz., December 5, 2020.

Although Arizona gave up a handful of long runs, the defense did its job for the most part and gave the Wildcats a chance to win. The UA recorded three takeaways – its first forced turnovers of the season – including a pair of interceptions by linebacker Anthony Pandy in the second half.

However, those turnovers led to only three points.

"Those are wasted opportunities in a game like that," Sumlin said.

Unlike most games during the streak, Arizona got off to a strong start.

Wearing their well-received “Battle Gray” uniforms on Military Appreciation Night, the Wildcats took a 7-0 lead on Gary Brightwell’s 26-yard touchdown run 4:34 into the game. Arizona had excellent field position – at the CU 40-yard line – thanks to Jamarye Joiner’s 33-yard punt return.

Brightwell (113 yards) and Wiley (126) each rushed for more than 100 yards.

"He blew me away, man," Brightwell said. "He was very decisive in his running. He saw the hole, and he took it. He wasted no time. ... Hopefully we can go back and do it next week."

After a penalty-aided defensive stand, the Wildcats got the ball back at their 5. Two big Wiley runs – covering 29 and 45 yards – advanced the ball into scoring range. Lucas Havrisik’s 38-yard field goal bumped the UA lead to 10-0.

The next series featured something new – a takeaway by the Wildcats. Arizona had been the only team in the Pac-12 without a forced turnover until safety Isaiah Mays poked the ball away from La’Vontae Shenault late in the first quarter. Lorenzo Burns recovered the fumble at the UA 47.

The Wildcats advanced to the CU 23, but the drive stalled there. Havrisik’s 42-yard field goal made it 13-0 with 13:36 left in the half.

Arizona appeared to have Colorado pinned in its own territory later in the quarter. That’s when the dam broke.

The Star's Michael Lev, Alec White and Justin Spears recap what went wrong for the Arizona Wildcats in their 24-13 loss to Colorado at Arizona Stadium. 

The UA defense, which had registered four straight stops to start the game, allowed a 75-yard run to Broussard. Three plays later, Ashaad Clayton plowed in from the one to make it 13-7.

After a three-and-out, Broussard broke free again, this time for 59 yards. Clayton again finished off the drive. His 4-yard touchdown run gave Colorado its first lead, 14-13, with three minutes left in the half.

Just like the previous week at UCLA, the Wildcats were within strike distance in the fourth quarter. They again couldn't make the plays to change the outcome.

"A lot of these games, we should have won," Lopez said. "We feel that way. We really do. If people don’t believe that, at least the team does.

"We’re gonna keep fighting. We’re gonna show up at practice tomorrow. We got a short week. We’re gonna do what we gotta do to get ready."

Extra points

  • Sumlin is uncertain whether Gunnell will be back for the ASU game. "I don't know yet, to be honest with you," Sumlin said.
  • UA outside linebacker Jalen Harris did not dress. He suffered a strained groin during practice. Issaiah Johnson made his first career start in Harris’ place.
  • Left tackle Jordan Morgan missed his second straight game. The Marana High School product had a boot on his right foot. Donovan Laie, who had been playing left guard, shifted to left tackle. Josh Donovan started at left guard. Freshman Josh Baker also rotated in at that spot.
  • Freshman tailback Frank Brown, who missed the first three games because of a knee injury, made his UA debut. He started on the kickoff-return team.
  • Receiver Tayvian Cunningham did not play. He appeared to suffer an upper-body injury vs. UCLA.
  • Safety Jarrius Wallace missed his third straight game because of an undisclosed injury.
  • Colorado guard Chance Lytle got hurt in the third quarter and had to be carted off.

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Contact sports reporter Michael Lev at 573-4148 or mlev@tucson.com. On Twitter @michaeljlev