BOULDER — The final Pac-12 game at Folsom Field was a good one.

In Deion Sanders’ final home game in his first season at Colorado, he’s probably going to be thinking about this one for a while.

The Buffaloes had multiple chances to win on Senior Day, but it was Arizona who put together a game-winning drive and kicked the winning 24-yard field goal as time expired for a 34-31 win.

CU now has to win its final two games to reach a bowl game after a fourth-straight loss.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

Buffs offense has most complete performance since TCU

It’s been said countless times over the last two months, but the CU offense simply hasn’t been able to replicate the performance from the season opener at TCU.

The Buffs got as close as they have all season to doing so on Saturday against Arizona.

They didn’t put up the same jaw-dropping numbers they did that day in Fort Worth, but this was the most rhythm and flow the offense has had over the course of a full game since Week 1.

It didn’t result in a win and the Buffs offense will rue the multiple chances it had to retake the lead in the second half, but the most important part is that they found their identity again with Shedeur Sanders feeding the likes of Travis Hunter and Xavier Weaver in space.

CU defense can’t overcome big plays

From the eye test, it was another step in the right direction for a Buffs defense that has looked like a completely different unit since the bye week.

The stats still weren’t great as Arizona finished with 421 yards of offense in the game, and CU was able to get off the field in key moments — until the very end of the game.

It was the big plays that haunted them. The Wildcats broke off runs of 49 and 54 yards that set up touchdowns and had a couple more big runs on the game-winning touchdown drive, while quarterback Noah Fifita had six completions of 15 or more yards in the game.

Shedeur’s much-needed scrambles

Maybe Shedeur got an injection in his ankle before the game because the CU quarterback was a lot more mobile on Saturday than he had been in the previous two games.

The star Buffs quarterback ran for a 16-yard touchdown to open the scoring and had plenty of other key scrambles when his team needed them on third down. Even with a couple of Arizona sacks, Sanders finished with 42 rushing yards in the game, despite clearly still dealing with an ankle injury.

At this point, there should be no questioning his toughness.

GAME RECAP

What happened: Colorado fell to No. 23 Arizona on a walk-off 24-yard field goal in the final home game of 2023. The Buffaloes fall to 4-6 in Deion Sanders’ first season and need to win their final two games to reach a bowl.

On offense: The Buffs put together their second-best first half performance of the season with 250 yards, but they couldn’t parlay into a victory. Shedeur Sanders threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns. Xavier Weaver had five catches for 84 yards in his final home game with the Buffs.

On defense: The CU defense got plenty of stops in the second half, but couldn’t get the one it needed in the final minutes as Arizona drove down the field for 67 yards to set up the game-winning field goal as time expired. Shilo Sanders led the way with seven tackles.

Up next: The Buffs have a day less to prepare for next Friday’s game on the road against Washington State. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. in the Palouse.