BOULER, Colo. (AP) — Noah Fifita threw four first-half touchdown passes and the Arizona Wildcats forced five turnovers in rebounding from a couple of close losses with a 52-17 win over the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday night.

The Wildcats (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) raced to a 38-7 halftime lead by scoring on six of their first seven drives, and the Buffaloes (3-6, 1-5) trudged into the locker room with more penalties (nine) than points.

Buffaloes QB Kaidon Salter was benched late in the first half for Ryan Staub, who was also benched after both of his passes were intercepted in the third quarter. Freshman Ju-Ju Lewis came on and threw a 59-yard touchdown strike — the first of his career — to Omarion Miller. The pass also was 10 yards longer than the 49 yards passing that Salter managed while completing 11 of 15.

Colorado's two most damaging first-half flags wiped out a 75-yard touchdown catch and an interception.

Miller was whistled as an ineligible receiver downfield on Sincere Brown's long TD catch from Salter, and defensive end Arden Walker's roughing-the-passer penalty wiped away Ivan Yates' interception,

Fifita got the rout started just three snaps into the game when he threw a short pass to Tre Spivey, who eluded six tacklers and outraced two others to the end zone for a 57-yard touchdown — his seventh TD in just a dozen touches this season.

After a field goal made it 10-0, linebacker Chase Kennedy strip-sacked Salter and defensive tackle Leroy Palu recovered at the Colorado 12. On the next snap, Fifita found Kris Hutson for the score and a 17-0 lead.

The Buffaloes finally got on the board with Salter's 8-yard strike to Miller that capped a 17-play, 75-yard drive which took nearly eight minutes and prompted returning alum Shedeur Sanders, now a backup QB for the Cleveland Browns, to pull up a folding chair at midfield along the Buffs' sideline.

The takeaway

Arizona: Fifita directed the 'Cats on eight scoring drives in 10 possessions before giving way to backup Braedyn Locke. He completed 11 of 19 passes for 213 yards. The Wildcats got touchdowns from seven different players. Their 18 takeaways are two more than they had all of last season.

Colorado: The Buffaloes were still hung over from their 53-7 bashing at Utah a week earlier. Over their last two games, the Buffs have been outscored by halftime 81-7.

Up Next

Arizona: Hosts the University of Kansas on Saturday.

Colorado: Visits West Virginia on Saturday.

Lamson throws 3 TD passes in Montana State's 55-7 win over Northern Colorado

GREELEY, Colo. (AP) — Justin Lamson threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to lead Montana State to a 55-7 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday for the Bobcats' seventh consecutive victory.

Lamson’s pitch to Rocky Lencioni, Adam Jones’ 2-yard run and two Myles Sansted field goals made it 20-0 by halftime.

Lamson threw a pair of TD passes to Taco Dowler and ran 24 yards for another score to break the game open in the third quarter. One of Dowler’s TDs came on a screen pass that he turned into a 67-yard score.

Talon Marsh, a 280-pound defensive lineman, took a tipped pass for an 80-yard pick-6 for the Bobcats (7-2, 5-0 Big Sky Conference), ranked No. 4 in the FCS coaches' poll.

Northern Colorado (3-6, 1-4) avoided the shutout with 1:31 left on Kieryus Boone's short TD run.

Montana State has beaten Northern Colorado 13 straight times.

Kurashev scores 1:48 into OT, Sharks beat Avalanche 3-2

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Philipp Kurashev scored his second goal of the game 1:48 into overtime, and the San Jose Sharks beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Saturday.

Kurashev took a pass at the Colorado blue line, skated to the right circle and beat Mackenzie Blackwood with a wrister over the left shoulder.

San Jose’s 19-year-old star Macklin Celebrini scored his seventh goal of the season and Yaroslav Askarov stopped 36 shots.

Blackwood made 20 saves in his season debut for the Avalanche. He missed the first 12 games after having offseason surgery on a lower-body injury and didn’t face his first shot until midway through the first period.

Colorado remained winless in five games decided after regulation despite outshooting the Sharks 38-23.

Martin Necas and Nathan MacKinnon scored for the Avalanche, who earned three of a possible four points in their second back-to-back set of the season.

Necas gave Colorado the lead 30 seconds in, the second straight day he scored in the first minute, and Celebrini tied it with 1:39 left in the first period.

The Sharks took the lead on Kurashev’s fourth goal 4:07 into the second but MacKinnon tied it later in the period on an awarded goal.

On the play, MacKinnon came in alone on Askarov, who made the initial save on the backhander. The puck sat in the crease behind Askarov and just before MacKinnon tapped it over the goal line right after the Sharks' Jeff Skinner crashed into the right post and knocked the net off of its moorings.

MacKinnon was awarded the goal after a league review, his league-leading 10th of the season.

Taylor Makar, brother of Cale Makar, made his NHL debut. It is the first time since the franchise relocated to Colorado that brothers have played in the same game for the Avalanche.

Up next

Sharks: Host Detroit on Sunday night.

Avalanche: Host Tampa Bay on Tuesday night.

Dawson Jones makes game-winning field goal on final play to give Army a 20-17 victory over Air Force

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) — Cale Hellums threw a 42-yard pass to Brady Anderson with 24 seconds left and Dawson Jones made a game-winning 27-yard field goal on the final play to give Army a 20-17 victory over Air Force on Saturday.

Army (4-4) has won seven of the last nine meetings with Air Force (2-6), including three in a row — its first three-game streak in the series since 1976-78.

It was a wild final two minutes.

Hellums was stopped on a fourth-and-1 sneak deep in Army territory with 2:10 left. The Falcons took advantage of the great field position, and a pass interference call in the end zone, to tie it at 17-all on Liam Szarka's 2-yard sneak with 1:26 left.

Hellums started the game-winning drive with a 10-yard pass and then Army ran it four straight plays. Hellums' ninth pass attempt, and fifth completion, went to Anderson, who had run past the defense over the middle.

Hellums threw for 102 yards with a touchdown, and he carried it 26 times for 98 yards and another score. Briggs Bartosh added 74 yards rushing.

Szarka was 13 of 17 for 161 yards but he was intercepted twice for Air Force, which also lost a fumble for a three-turnover game. Szarka had two touchdowns on the ground and 91 yards.

Air Force had not scored a touchdown against Army in 32 straight possessions until Szarka's 3-yard run midway through the third quarter to tie it at 10-all.