Kaidon Salter shines as Colorado upsets No. 22 Iowa State
Kaidon Salter completed 16 of 25 passes for 255 yards, two touchdowns and rushed for 57 yards to spring Colorado to a 24-17 upset over No. 22 Iowa State on Saturday in Boulder, Colo.
Joseph Williams had eight catches for 128 yards and a touchdown and Omarion Miller had three grabs for 83 yards and a touchdown. Tawfiq Byard added an interception, while Micah Welch had a rushing touchdown for the Buffaloes (3-4, 1-3 Big 12).
Abu Sama III had 177 rushing yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns for Iowa State (5-2, 2-2), which has lost two straight games. Rocco Becht completed 18 of 33 passes for 205 yards and an interception.
Salter hit Williams in the corner of the end zone with 4:26 left in the third quarter on what would be the go-ahead score that gave the Buffaloes a 21-17 lead. After the Colorado defense held Iowa State on a 4th down attempt from its 18-yard line, Alejandro Mata hit a 29-yard field goal to push the Buffaloes lead to 24-17 with 5:13 left in the game.
On the last play of the first quarter, Welch rumbled around right tackle for an 8-yard touchdown as the Buffaloes took a 7-0 lead. Chase Smith’s 38-yard field goal got the Cyclones on the board midway through the second quarter.
Both teams struggled to get their offenses on track in the first half. The Cyclones were 1 of 7 on third down and the Buffaloes were 2 for 6. But Becht engineered a 10 play, 96 yard scoring drive that Sama capped with a one-yard touchdown run and the Cyclones took a 10-7 halftime lead.
On the first drive of the second half, Salter completed a 70-yard bomb to Miller as the Buffaloes took a 14-10 lead. Iowa State answered right back when Sama punched in a touchdown from the 1-yard line and the Cyclones went up 17-14.
It was the first meeting between the two teams since 2010.
–Field Level Media
