Why Colorado's upset of Arizona State was more than just a win

Laviska Shenault.

Mustafa Johnson.

Delrick Abrams.

Jaren Mangham.

Alex Fontenot.

Chris Miller.

Mikial Onu.

Probably a handful of others, who I’m forgetting.

All of these Colorado Buffaloes went down with injuries Saturday night at Arizona State. Some sat out for the majority of the game, while others only missed a few snaps.

Either way, that’s a heck of a lot of talent to be missing.

But it didn’t matter.

When Shenault went down in the first quarter after picking up a big gain on a jet sweep, it was disappointing. This was the game he was set to shine in. He was coming off the strongest showing of his season and taking on a team that didn’t plan to double-team him. But after he tweaked his shoulder, he spent the rest of the night on the sideline in street clothes.

I wondered whether the Buffs’ passing attack — which started piping hot — would die without its catalyst.

Then, Tony Brown stepped into the No. 1 receiver role and picked up 150 receiving yards on nine catches, including three touchdowns.

And Brown wasn’t alone.

Janaz Jordan stepped up.

Jacob Callier stepped up.

Deion Smith stepped up.

K.J. Trujillo stepped up.

So did plenty of others who either played significant snaps for the first time this season or saw their role expand due to injuries suffered by the guys who typically line up around them.

Coaches love to talk about the importance of resilience and grit and a “next-man-up” mentality. Head caoch Mel Tucker’s Buffaloes put on a master class in all three.

That’s exactly the attitude you expect from a team that boarded the plane in custom suits. The Buffs were just taking care of business.

Walking into Sun Devil Stadium and picking up a win is no small feat. In the last three seasons, Arizona State only lost five total games at home despite holding a .500 record. Prior to Saturday night, the Buffs were 2-8 all-time against the Sun Devils. They’d never won in Tempe.

This was head coach Mel Tucker’s first road game and he came out with a win over a ranked opponent. In the last 17 years, Colorado has played 29 ranked opponents on the road. Do you know how many of those games the Buffs won?

Zero.

Mike MacIntyre never beat a ranked opponent on the road.

Jon Embree never beat a ranked opponent on the road.

Dan Hawkins never beat a ranked opponent on the road.

You know who did beat a ranked opponent on the road?

Gary Barnett. Twice. And the second win was the most recent time the Buffs beat a ranked opponent on the road, way back in 2002.

Chris Brown ran for 188 yards and three touchdowns in the Rose Bowl. Bobby Purify added 87 more. Freshman Joel Klatt watched from the sidelines.

Hopefully this is enough to put in perspective just how rare a Top 25 road win is for Colorado. Or at least how rare it was. Maybe winning games against good teams can become the new normal.

Okay, one more stat: Do you know how many road wins Jim Harbaugh has at Michigan over ranked teams?

One.

The same number as Mel Tucker, who has coached the Buffs’ through all of four games.

And Mel did it in shorts.