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Arizona keeps Colorado winless in Pac-12 play

Nov 9, 2014 - 7:32 AM Tucson, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Anu Solomon tossed two of his four touchdown passes to Semajie Grant and No. 21 Arizona pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat Colorado 38-20 on Saturday night.

Solomon was 21-of-38 for 211 yards and added 115 yards on the ground, while Grant recorded 83 yards on six catches for Arizona (7-2, 4-2 Pac-12), which had dropped two of its previous three games coming in.

"Every game you win now you kind of climb up the bowl ladder. Certainly we're in a spot, as are a couple of other teams in the Pac-12 South, that it's all going to be settled here in the next few weeks," Wildcats coach Rich Rodriguez said.

Nick Wilson posted 153 of the Wildcats' 288 rushing yards in the triumph.

Sefo Liufau completed 24-of-33 passes for 252 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for the Buffaloes (2-8, 0-7), who have lost six in a row. He left the game early in the fourth after taking a big hit following an interception.

"I don't know if it's a concussion or all the things right now, but it's something to do with his head," Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said.

The Buffaloes hung around and were within 24-20 heading into the fourth quarter, but a pair of Arizona touchdowns during the middle stages of the frame put the game away.

Devin Holiday intercepted Liufau on a 3rd-and-10 at Colorado's own 38 and returned the pick 16 yards to the Buffaloes' 31. Arizona found the end zone four plays later when Solomon fired a bullet to Grant running a post pattern for a 27-yard score with 9:50 left.

Following a Colorado three-and-out, Solomon hit Grant again for a touchdown, this time from 20 yards out on a 3rd-and-9 for a 38-20 advantage with 5:49 to go.

Earlier, Colorado found the end zone on its first play from scrimmage.

Shay Fields burned cornerback Cam Denson on a deep post and broke free down the middle of the field to haul in a perfectly thrown ball from Liufau for a 75-yard touchdown.

The Wildcats responded with a pair of touchdowns within a span of just under four minutes in between the first and second quarters.

Anthony Lopez strip-sacked Liufau from behind on a 3rd-and-11 and Tra'Mayne Bondurant scooped up the loose ball and raced the other way for a 22-yard score with 1:12 left in the first.

Another Arizona strip-sack on Colorado's next possession, this time by Jared Tevis, gave the Wildcats the ball at the Buffaloes' 31. Five plays later, Solomon found Tyrell Johnson in the right flat on a play-action bootleg for an 8-yard score to put Arizona in front.

The Buffaloes posted the next 10 points, including a touchdown on their ensuing sequence.

Phillip Lindsay's 36-yard run preceded Liufau's 7-yard TD catch from Nelson Spruce. Will Oliver's 19-yard field goal gave Colorado a 17-14 edge with 4:09 left in the half.

Solomon flipped a 1-yard score to David Richards in the waning seconds of the second quarter to give the Wildcats a 21-17 margin heading into the break.

Arizona's Casey Skowron and Oliver traded field goals of 37 and 33 yards, respectively, to start the third.

Game Notes

The Wildcats outgained the Buffaloes 499-353 ... Arizona was 7-of-17 on third down, while Colorado finished 5-of-16 ... Fields caught five passes for 94 yards.