INSTANT REACTION: Penalties, Sloppy Play Doom Buffaloes against Arizona

Khalil Tate also hurt

Colorado was sloppy, unfocused and dumb all day on Saturday and as a result Arizona won the game. 

Yes, Tony Brown had a great game. He had 10 catches for 141 yards and also had a rushing TD that, for a time, made it seem like Colorado had gotten out of the funk it was in to start the game. And that actually was true in a way. CU put up plenty of yards and plenty of points. 

The Buffaloes are probably the better team if you don't count the penalties. 

But you have to count the penalties, and CU had eight of them for 85 yards. That's a long touchdown drive worth of penalties. That hurts in a five-point game. It hurts that much more when the other team had one one penalty all day -- for five yards. 

The whole thing was a waste. 

This should have been the Tony Brown game. This should have been a story about a talented receiver stepping up with Laviska Shenault out and proving that he, too, is one of the best receivers in the country. 

And it's not like the penalties make it any less true that Brown had a great game. He was easily CU's best offensive player on Saturday, and I'd say he's been CU's best player all year. He was the biggest contributor to a 496-yard day for the Buffaloes. 

CU actually outgained Arizona by nine yards, and actually did keep Khalil Tate from killing the Buffaloes ... on the ground. 

Rather, he threw for a career-high 404 yards and as a result, CU drops to 3-2 and Brown's big day will mostly be forgotten.