Three takeaways from Colorado's 24-13 win over Arizona

The Colorado Buffaloes are 4-0.

CU beat Arizona 24-13 in the desert to remain undefeated. With a win on Friday against Utah, and a little help from UCLA when they play USC on Saturday, the Buffs will host the Pac-12 title game in Boulder.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Here’s what went down on Saturday:

Jarek Broussard is here to stay

If you had any remaining doubts about Jarek Broussard, it’s time to put the bed.

Somehow, Broussard managed to increase his rushing yards per game from the 160 that he brought into the game. In fact, he upped that number by over 20 yards per game.

Broussard put on a show, running for 301 yards on 25 carries. It was an all-time great performance that will live in Buffs lore for decades, at least.

Broussard’s vision is what makes him great. He sees holes before they develop, knows how to set up his blockers, and then takes advantage. His burst is something special, but knowing how to use it is what makes Broussard an elite running back. His contact balance doesn’t make sense for somebody his size, and neither does his strength.

That’s why Broussard’s name belongs in the All-America conversations.

The passing game could clean some things up

Sam Noyer is not flawless.

Though the senior, first-time-starter quarterback has been a welcome surprise, a couple of mistakes on Saturday continued a worrying trend; through four games, Noyer has thrown four interceptions.

One of Noyer’s two interceptions against Arizona was a great play from a leaping linebacker who was able to pull the ball in with one hand. Noyer deserves some fault for this play, but more often than not his throw would have wound up incomplete.

The second interception was worse. On a deep dig route, Noyer either didn’t see a lurking defender, or thought he could blast the ball straight through the defenders chest. Either way, the result is the same: an ugly interception that Noyer never should have considered throwing.

For the day, Noyer completed 12 of 19 passes for 92 yards and the two interceptions mentioned above. He also contributed some nice runs, but some of the most valuable runs were called back for penalties.

Noyer had a rough day but he’s still been a plus player for the Buffs this season, overall. That assessment could change with another poor performance Friday night.

The front seven is for real

Nate Landman is No. 2 in the country in tackles for loss per game.

Carson Wells is No. 3.

Pick any metric you want and Colorado’s defense will compare with the best in the country.

Pick any metric that relates to the front seven and Colorado’s defense will beat out just about any other in the country.

Even if you came into the season with high expectations, nobody could have predicted that this defense would be capable of what it has done in 2020. A few missed assignments–which seem to have been made by the No. 4 inside linebacker–may have spoiled what could have been a spotless performance, but in another way they served as a reminder of just how good the Buffs have been on the defensive side this season.