BOULDER, Colo. – The major theme across campus this week was important victories at a critical time, as most sports are either just finishing non-conference play or just beginning to compete with Pac-12 teams. With that in mind, varsity sports had some great finishes to give them an edge heading into a pivotal time in the season.

Here’s what happened:

Football

The Colorado Buffaloes improved to 3-1 on the season as they traveled into Tempe, Arizona to beat the Arizona State Sun Devils 34-31.

The Buffs offense put together its most complete game of the season on Saturday night, as quarterback Steven Montez went an astonishing 23-of-30 for 337 yards and 3 scores with no turnovers and a QBR of 95.9, fourth in all of college football for Week 4. In the first quarter, star receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. was knocked out of the game after just one catch, but transfer senior Tony Brown carried the load by hauling in nine grabs for 150 yards and all three of Montez’ touchdown passes. Again the Buffs could not put away the game until late into the fourth quarter, but this victory puts them second in the Pac-12 South with just a game behind USC. It also breaks a streak of 29 consecutive losses on the road against ranked teams.

Looking ahead, the Buffs will enjoy a much needed week off before taking on Arizona in Boulder on Oct. 5.

Soccer

The Buffs’ soccer team also enjoyed a victorious week, coming away with two wins to improve their season tally to an 8-1 mark.

After the heartbreaking loss to Florida State, the team got back on track this week when facing off against Northern Colorado and Denver. First, against UNC, the Buffs won 4-0 behind yet another impressive showing from Taylor Kornieck, putting in back-to-back goals in the tenth and sixteenth minute of the game to put her season tally up to six. Tessa Barton also put one in against UNC and followed it up with another in the 2-0 victory against Denver.

The performance was enough to garner a No.24 ranking in Tuesday’s AP Top 25 Poll and Kornieck earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors.

The Buffs now will transition into Pac-12 play, with their first matchup coming against Arizona on September 27th in Tucson, Arizona.

Volleyball

The volleyball team improved their record to 8-2 on the season with three victories in the Colorado Classic.

In the tournament they host, the Buffs welcomed Oakland, Campbell, and UMBC to Boulder and came away with three decisive victories. First, against Oakland on Friday evening, the Buffs won 3-1 behind an impressive showing by Justine Spann (21 kills). They then came back on Saturday to beat UMBC and Campbell, both by 3-0. Spann again led the way in these two matches, coming away with a total of 30 kills between them.

The volleyball team also opens up Pac-12 play this week, facing off against Utah on Wednesday and Oregon State on Friday, with both games coming on the road.

Golf

Both the men’s and women’s teams had solid outings this week, as the men traveled to Fort Collins individually and the women finished seventh at the Cougar Cup.

Only two golfers made it up north to the Annual Ram Masters Invitational, as the Buffs did not participate as a team. However, Ross Macdonald and Adam Matteson tied for 13th in the tournament finishing even par.

The women’s team traveled to Pullman for the Washington State Cougar Cup, to finish in seventh, just two strokes behind a sixth-place finish. The team was led by Malak Bouraeda, finishing in a tie for third behind a par finish. Bouraeda’s score was good enough for the fourth-lowest in school history.

Moving forward, the men will travel to Albuquerque in the William H. Tucker Invitational on Friday and Saturday, while the Women travel to Portland to compete in “The Molly” against Cal and Oregon State.

Cross Country

The Buffs’ cross country teams are coming off their second-consecutive week off and their next meet will come on Friday, Oct. 4 at the Joe Paine Invitational in Notre Dame, Indiana.