# 2022 Colorado Buffaloes football team

The 2022 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado Boulder as a member of the Pac-12 Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Buffaloes played their home games on campus at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado. After losing the first five games of the season, third-year head coach Karl Dorrell and defensive coordinator Chris Wilson were fired on October 2; offensive coordinator Mike Sanford Jr. was named the interim head coach of the Buffaloes for the remainder of the season, who named Clay Patterson as the offensive coordinator and Gerald Chatman as the defensive coordinator.
The Buffaloes finished the season with only one win over California in overtime, their first one-win season since 2012 and their fourth since 1917. This was one of the worst seasons in program history as Colorado lost all but three games by at least 25 points.
After the season on December 3, Deion Sanders was hired as the head coach for 2023. A Hall of Fame cornerback in the National Football League (NFL), he was previously the head coach for three years at Jackson State of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

## Schedule

The Colorado Buffaloes and the Pac-12 announced the 2022 football schedule on December 16, 2021.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 8:00 p.m. | TCU* | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | ESPN | L 13–38 | 47,868 |
| September 10 | 1:30 p.m. | at Air Force* | Falcon StadiumColorado Springs, CO | CBS | L 10–41 | 33,647 |
| September 17 | 1:30 p.m. | at Minnesota* | Huntington Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ESPN2 | L 7–49 | 42,101 |
| September 24 | 12:00 p.m. | UCLA | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | P12N | L 17–45 | 42,848 |
| October 1 | 7:30 p.m. | at Arizona | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ | P12N | L 20–43 | 36,591 |
| October 15 | 12:00 p.m. | California | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | P12N | W 20–13 $^{OT}$ | 50,471 |
| October 22 | 6:00 p.m. | at Oregon State | Reser StadiumCorvallis, OR | P12N | L 9–42 | 27,679 |
| October 29 | 5:30 p.m. | Arizona State | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | ESPNU | L 34–42 | 40,334 |
| November 5 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 8 Oregon | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | ESPN | L 10–49 | 42,089 |
| November 11 | 7:30 p.m. | at No. 8 USC | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | FS1 | L 17–55 | 61,206 |
| November 19 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 17 Washington | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | P12N | L 7–54 | 67,969 |
| November 26 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 14 Utah | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO (Rumble in the Rockies) | P12N | L 21–63 | 33,474 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 1) - Released prior to gameAll times are in Mountain time |||||||

## Game summaries
### vs TCU

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Horned Frogs | 0 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 38 |
| Buffaloes | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
at Folsom Field • Boulder, CO
* Date: September 2, 2022
* Game time: 8:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny, 73 °F (23 °C)
* Game attendance: 47,868
* Referee: Matt Richards
* TV announcers (ESPN): Brian Custer (play-by-play), Dustin Fox (analyst), Taylor McGregor (sideline)
| Statistics | TCU | COL |
| First downs | 17 | 20 |
| Total yards | 413 | 348 |
| Rushes/yards | 30–275 | 29–113 |
| Passing yards | 138 | 235 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 15–23–0 | 26–41–0 |
| Time of possession | 26:42 | 33:18 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| TCU | Passing | Chandler Morris | 13/20, 111 yards |
| TCU | Rushing | Kendre Miller | 8 carries, 52 yards, TD |
| TCU | Receiving | Savion Williams | 3 receptions, 31 yards |
| Colorado | Passing | J. T. Shrout | 13/21, 157 yards, TD |
| Colorado | Rushing | Brendon Lewis | 8 carries, 42 yards |
| Colorado | Receiving | Daniel Arias | 4 receptions, 66 yards |

### at Air Force

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Falcons | 13 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 41 |
at Falcon Stadium • Air Force Academy, CO
* Date: September 10, 2022
* Game time: 1:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Cloudy, 55 °F (13 °C)
* Game attendance: 33,647
* Referee: Mike McCabe
* TV announcers (CBS): Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Aaron Taylor (analyst), Sherree Burch (sideline)
| Statistics | COL | AFA |
| First downs | 8 | 25 |
| Total yards | 162 | 443 |
| Rushes/yards | 32–111 | 70–435 |
| Passing yards | 51 | 8 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 5–21–1 | 1–5–0 |
| Time of possession | 21:38 | 38:22 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Colorado | Passing | J. T. Shrout | 5/21, 51 yards, INT |
| Colorado | Rushing | Deion Smith | 11 carries, 59 yards, TD |
| Colorado | Receiving | Daniel Arias | 2 receptions, 36 yards |
| Air Force | Passing | Haaziq Daniels | 1/5, 8 yards |
| Air Force | Rushing | Brad Roberts | 24 carries, 174 yards, 3 TD |
| Air Force | Receiving | Dane Kinamon | 1 reception, 8 yards |

### at Minnesota

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Golden Gophers | 14 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 49 |
at Huntington Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN
* Date: September 17, 2022
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 77 °F (25 °C)
* Game attendance: 42,101
* Referee: Ron Snodgrass
* TV announcers (ESPN): Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Kirk Morrison (analyst), Stormy Buonantony (sideline)
| Statistics | COL | MINN |
| First downs | 14 | 29 |
| Total yards | 226 | 500 |
| Rushes/yards | 34–136 | 52–334 |
| Passing yards | 90 | 166 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 10–24–0 | 12–20–1 |
| Time of possession | 23:53 | 36:07 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Colorado | Passing | Owen McCown | 4/7, 52 yards |
| Colorado | Rushing | Deion Smith | 10 carries, 70 yards |
| Colorado | Receiving | Jaylon Jackson | 1 reception, 28 yards |
| Minnesota | Passing | Tanner Morgan | 11/16, 157 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| Minnesota | Rushing | Mohamed Ibrahim | 23 carries, 202 yards, 3 TD |
| Minnesota | Receiving | Chris Autman-Bell | 3 receptions, 58 yards, TD |

### vs UCLA

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bruins | 14 | 7 | 17 | 7 | 45 |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
at Folsom Field • Boulder, CO
* Date: September 24, 2022
* Game time: 12:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny, 72 °F (22 °C)
* Game attendance: 42,848
* Referee: Michael Mothershed
* TV announcers (Pac-12 Network): Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play), Lincoln Kennedy (analyst)
| Statistics | UCLA | COL |
| First downs | 25 | 19 |
| Total yards | 515 | 309 |
| Rushes/yards | 34–249 | 34–51 |
| Passing yards | 266 | 258 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 22–29–0 | 26–42–1 |
| Time of possession | 25:53 | 34:07 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UCLA | Passing | Dorian Thompson-Robinson | 19/23, 234 yards, 2 TD |
| UCLA | Rushing | Zach Charbonnet | 9 carries, 104 yards, 3 TD |
| UCLA | Receiving | Jake Bobo | 4 receptions, 53 yards |
| Colorado | Passing | Owen McCown | 26/42, 258 yards, TD, INT |
| Colorado | Rushing | Charlie Offerdahl | 14 carries, 47 yards |
| Colorado | Receiving | Daniel Arias | 4 receptions, 82 yards |

### at Arizona

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
| Wildcats | 13 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 43 |
at Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ
* Date: October 1, 2022
* Game time: 6:30 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Cloudy, 81 °F (27 °C)
* Game attendance: 36,591
* Referee: Steven Strimling
* TV announcers (Pac-12 Network): J. B. Long (play-by-play), Max Browne (analyst)
| Statistics | COL | ARIZ |
| First downs | 19 | 36 |
| Total yards | 340 | 673 |
| Rushes/yards | 31–154 | 34–178 |
| Passing yards | 186 | 495 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 14–30–0 | 34–49–0 |
| Time of possession | 24:43 | 35:17 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Colorado | Passing | Owen McCown | 14/30, 186 yards, TD |
| Colorado | Rushing | Anthony Hankerson | 12 carries, 68 yards, TD |
| Colorado | Receiving | Jordyn Tyson | 1 reception, 42 yards |
| Arizona | Passing | Jayden de Laura | 33/46, 484 yards, 6 TD |
| Arizona | Rushing | Michael Wiley | 16 carries, 77 yards |
| Arizona | Receiving | Jacob Cowing | 12 receptions, 180 yards, TD |

### vs California

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Golden Bears | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 20 |
at Folsom Field • Boulder, CO
* Date: October 15, 2022
* Game time: 12:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Cloudy, 65 °F (18 °C)
* Game attendance: 50,471
* Referee: Matthew Richards
* TV announcers (Pac-12 Network): J. B. Long (play-by-play), Max Browne (analyst)
| Statistics | COL | CAL |
| First downs | 17 | 19 |
| Total yards | 328 | 297 |
| Rushes/yards | 35–118 | 22–35 |
| Passing yards | 210 | 262 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 22–34–1 | 29–52–1 |
| Time of possession | 29:54 | 30:06 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Colorado | Passing | Owen McCown | 13/21, 104 yards, INT |
| Colorado | Rushing | Deion Smith | 12 carries, 48 yards |
| Colorado | Receiving | Montana Lemonious-Craig | 8 receptions, 119 yards, TD |
| California | Passing | Jack Plummer | 29/52, 262 yards, TD, INT |
| California | Rushing | Jaydn Ott | 16 carries, 47 yards |
| California | Receiving | Mavin Anderson | 6 receptions, 61 yards |

### at Oregon State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| Beavers | 7 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
at Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR
* Date: October 22, 2022
* Game time: 5:00 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Cloudy, 57 °F (14 °C)
* Game attendance: 27,679
* Referee: Chris Coyte
* TV announcers (Pac-12 Network): Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play), Lincoln Kennedy (analyst)
| Statistics | COL | OSU |
| First downs | 17 | 26 |
| Total yards | 290 | 427 |
| Rushes/yards | 28–84 | 44–270 |
| Passing yards | 206 | 202 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 13–29–2 | 14–22–0 |
| Time of possession | 25:39 | 34:21 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Colorado | Passing | J. T. Shrout | 13/29, 206 yards, 2 INT |
| Colorado | Rushing | Jayle Stacks | 8 carries, 50 yards, TD |
| Colorado | Receiving | Jordyn Tyson | 3 receptions, 92 yards |
| Oregon State | Passing | Ben Gulbranson | 14/22, 202 yards, 2 TD |
| Oregon State | Rushing | Damien Martinez | 22 carries, 178 yards, 3 TD |
| Oregon State | Receiving | Jack Velling | 1 reception, 60 yards, TD |

### vs Arizona State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Sun Devils | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| Buffaloes | 3 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 34 |
at Folsom Field • Boulder, CO
* Date: October 29, 2022
* Game time: 5:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny, 50 °F (10 °C)
* Game attendance: 54,949
* Referee: Steve Strimling
* TV announcers (ESPNU): Drew Carter (play-by-play), Rene Ingoglia (analyst)
| Statistics | ASU | COL |
| First downs | 22 | 20 |
| Total yards | 557 | 359 |
| Rushes/yards | 33–122 | 35–137 |
| Passing yards | 435 | 222 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 32–43–1 | 13–34–1 |
| Time of possession | 33:21 | 26:39 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Arizona State | Passing | Trenton Bourguet | 32/43, 435 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| Arizona State | Rushing | Xazavian Valladay | 23 carries, 118 yards, 3 TD |
| Arizona State | Receiving | Elijhah Badger | 8 receptions, 137 yards |
| Colorado | Passing | J. T. Shrout | 13/34, 222 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Colorado | Rushing | Deion Smith | 24 carries, 111 yards, TD |
| Colorado | Receiving | Jordyn Tyson | 5 receptions, 115 yards, TD |

### vs No. 8 Oregon

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 8 Ducks | 14 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 49 |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
at Folsom Field • Boulder, CO
* Date: November 5, 2022
* Game time: 1:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 55 °F (13 °C)
* Game attendance: 42,089
* Referee: Matt Richards
* TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Monaco (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst), Tiffany Blackmon (sideline)
| Statistics | COL | ORE |
| First downs | 20 | 21 |
| Total yards | 367 | 479 |
| Rushes/yards | 36–120 | 39–195 |
| Passing yards | 247 | 284 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 17–34–2 | 22–27–0 |
| Time of possession | 31:24 | 28:36 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Colorado | Passing | J. T. Shrout | 17/34, 247 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| Colorado | Rushing | Anthony Hankerson | 11 carries, 54 yards |
| Colorado | Receiving | Jordyn Tyson | 5 receptions, 137 yards, TD |
| Oregon | Passing | Bo Nix | 20/24, 274 yards, 2 TD |
| Oregon | Rushing | Bucky Irving | 11 carries, 120 yards |
| Oregon | Receiving | Kris Hutson | 4 receptions, 80 yards |

### at No. 8 USC

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| No. 8 Trojans | 2 | 24 | 15 | 14 | 55 |
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA
* Date: November 11, 2022
* Game time: 6:30 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Clear, 71 °F (22 °C)
* Game attendance: 61,206
* Referee: Mike McCabe
* TV announcers (FS1): Alex Faust (play-by-play), Petros Papadakis (analyst)
| Statistics | COL | USC |
| First downs | 14 | 27 |
| Total yards | 259 | 351 |
| Rushes/yards | 35–135 | 41–185 |
| Passing yards | 124 | 346 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 11–21–1 | 20–33–1 |
| Time of possession | 25:30 | 34:30 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Colorado | Passing | J. T. Shrout | 11/21, 124 yards, INT |
| Colorado | Rushing | Alex Fontenot | 20 carries, 108 yards, TD |
| Colorado | Receiving | Jack Hestera | 3 receptions, 39 yards |
| USC | Passing | Caleb Williams | 14/26, 268 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| USC | Rushing | Austin Jones | 11 carries, 74 yards |
| USC | Receiving | Kyle Ford | 3 receptions, 73 yards |

### at No. 17 Washington

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 17 Huskies | 14 | 19 | 14 | 7 | 54 |
at Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA
* Date: November 19, 2022
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Clear, 38 °F (3 °C)
* Game attendance: 67,969
* Referee: Jim Wharrie
* TV announcers (Pac-12 Network): Ted Robinson (play-by-play), Yogi Roth (analyst)
| Statistics | COL | WASH |
| First downs | 10 | 29 |
| Total yards | 202 | 575 |
| Rushes/yards | 33–79 | 43–280 |
| Passing yards | 123 | 295 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 7–22–1 | 23–38–1 |
| Time of possession | 27:13 | 32:47 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Colorado | Passing | J. T. Shrout | 6/18, 120 yards, TD, INT |
| Colorado | Rushing | Alex Fontenot | 11 carries, 71 yards |
| Colorado | Receiving | Montana Lemonius-Craig | 1 reception, 69 yards, TD |
| Washington | Passing | Michael Penix Jr. | 19/31, 229 yards, TD |
| Washington | Rushing | Wayne Taulapapa | 11 carries, 107 yards, 2 TD |
| Washington | Receiving | Jalen McMillan | 8 receptions, 98 yards, TD |

### vs No. 14 Utah

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Utes | 14 | 28 | 14 | 7 | 63 |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 21 |
at Folsom Field • Boulder, CO
* Date: November 26, 2022
* Game time: 2:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny, 58 °F (14 °C)
* Game attendance: 33,474
* Referee: Francisco Villar
* TV announcers (Pac-12 Network): Ted Robinson (play-by-play), Yogi Roth (analyst)
| Statistics | UTAH | COL |
| First downs | 32 | 12 |
| Total yards | 662 | 185 |
| Rushes/yards | 43–383 | 25–62 |
| Passing yards | 279 | 123 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 21–24–1 | 15–28–0 |
| Time of possession | 35:20 | 24:40 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Utah | Passing | Cameron Rising | 17/19, 234 yards, 3 TD |
| Utah | Rushing | Ja'Quinden Jackson | 10 carries, 117 yards, 3 TD |
| Utah | Receiving | Dalton Kincaid | 5 receptions, 102 yards, TD |
| Colorado | Passing | Maddox Kopp | 15/28, 123 yards, TD |
| Colorado | Rushing | Anthony Hankerson | 8 carries, 46 yards, TD |
| Colorado | Receiving | Brady Russell | 4 receptions, 39 yards |