Kaidon Salter completed 16 of 25 passes for 255 yards, two touchdowns and rushed for 57 yards to spring Colorado to a 24-17 upset over No. 22 Iowa State on Saturday in Boulder, Colo.
Joseph Williams had eight catches for 128 yards and a touchdown and Omarion Miller had three grabs for 83 yards and a touchdown. Tawfiq Byard added an interception, while Micah Welch had a rushing touchdown for the Buffaloes (3-4, 1-3 Big 12).
Abu Sama III had 177 rushing yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns for Iowa State (5-2, 2-2), which has lost two straight games. Rocco Becht completed 18 of 33 passes for 205 yards and an interception.
Salter hit Williams in the corner of the end zone with 4:26 left in the third quarter on what would be the go-ahead score that gave the Buffaloes a 21-17 lead. After the Colorado defense held Iowa State on a 4th down attempt from its 18-yard line, Alejandro Mata hit a 29-yard field goal to push the Buffaloes lead to 24-17 with 5:13 left in the game.
On the last play of the first quarter, Welch rumbled around right tackle for an 8-yard touchdown as the Buffaloes took a 7-0 lead. Chase Smith’s 38-yard field goal got the Cyclones on the board midway through the second quarter.
Both teams struggled to get their offenses on track in the first half. The Cyclones were 1 of 7 on third down and the Buffaloes were 2 for 6. But Becht engineered a 10 play, 96 yard scoring drive that Sama capped with a one-yard touchdown run and the Cyclones took a 10-7 halftime lead.
On the first drive of the second half, Salter completed a 70-yard bomb to Miller as the Buffaloes took a 14-10 lead. Iowa State answered right back when Sama punched in a touchdown from the 1-yard line and the Cyclones went up 17-14.
It was the first meeting between the two teams since 2010.
