Colorado Defeats Iowa State 24-17 Behind Salter's Passing
Colorado defeated Iowa State 24-17 on Saturday in Week 7, with the Buffaloes' defense forcing critical turnovers late in the contest. The home team covered the 3-point spread in a defensive struggle that finished under the 52.5-point total.
Colorado quarterback Kaidon Salter led the offensive effort, completing 255 passing yards. His most explosive play came in the third quarter when he connected with Omarion Miller on a 70-yard touchdown pass. Salter also orchestrated a crucial fourth-quarter drive, completing a 38-yard pass to Joseph Williams to set up scoring opportunities.
Iowa State mounted early offensive challenges, with quarterback Rocco Becht connecting with Eli Green on a 21-yard completion in the second quarter. However, the Cyclones' passing attack broke down in the fourth quarter, with Becht throwing critical interceptions to Colorado's Tawfiq Byard that effectively sealed the game.
Colorado's defense made the decisive plays when it mattered most, forcing turnovers to preserve the victory at home. The game saw 16 lead changes, creating a competitive back-and-forth contest before the Buffaloes pulled away late.
AI-generated recap · Aug 9, 2026
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Iowa State | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
 Colorado | 7 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 24 |
Scoring Timeline
Drive Chart
Box Score
| Statistic | Iowa State | Colorado |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | 18-33 | 16-25 |
| Pass Yards | 205 | 255 |
| Rush Yards | 236 | 148 |
| Total Yards | 441 | 403 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| 3rd Down | 2-12 | 7-15 |
| Penalties | 7-59 | 6-43 |
| Possession | 29:57 | 30:03 |
Player Leaders
Player Leaders
Play-by-Play
Rocco Becht pass complete to Gabe Burkle for 14 yds to the ISU 39 for a 1ST down
Rocco Becht run for 6 yds to the ISU 45
Abu Sama III run for 12 yds to the COLO 43 for a 1ST down
Rocco Becht pass incomplete to Benjamin Brahmer
Abu Sama III run for 17 yds to the COLO 26 for a 1ST down
Iowa State Penalty, Offensive Holding (-10 Yards) to the COLO 28
Rocco Becht pass incomplete to Brett Eskildsen
Rocco Becht pass incomplete to Brett Eskildsen
Rocco Becht pass incomplete to Gabe Burkle
(12:05) PENALTY ISU Delay Of Game 5 yards from COLO28 to COLO33. NO PLAY.
Tyler Perkins punt for 28 yds
Micah Welch run for 1 yd to the COLO 6
Kam Mikell run for no gain to the COLO 6
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Joseph Williams for 6 yds to the COLO 12
Damon Greaves punt for 41 yds, fair catch by Aiden Flora at the ISU 47
Abu Sama III run for 3 yds to the 50 yard line
Rocco Becht pass complete to Ryver Peppers for 5 yds to the ISU 45
Rocco Becht run for 1 yd to the ISU 46
Tyler Perkins punt for 41 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the COLO 13
Micah Welch run for 1 yd to the COLO 14
Kaidon Salter run for 6 yds to the COLO 20
Micah Welch run for 2 yds to the COLO 22
Damon Greaves punt for 41 yds, fair catch by Aiden Flora at the ISU 37
Rocco Becht pass complete to Gabe Burkle for 15 yds to the COLO 48 for a 1ST down
Rocco Becht pass incomplete to Xavier Townsend
Abu Sama III run for a loss of 2 yards to the 50 yard line
Iowa State Penalty, Ineligible Downfield on Pass (Yards) declined
Tyler Perkins punt for 36 yds
Kaidon Salter pass incomplete to Micah Welch
Kaidon Salter pass incomplete to Kam Mikell
Kaidon Salter pass incomplete to Joseph Williams
Kaidon Salter run for 24 yds to the COLO 47 for a 1ST down
Dallan Hayden run for 3 yds to the 50 yard line
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Omarion Miller for 8 yds to the ISU 42 for a 1ST down
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Sincere Brown for 7 yds to the ISU 35
Kaidon Salter run for 7 yds to the ISU 28 for a 1ST down
(02:04) No Huddle-Shotgun Salter,Kaidon pass incomplete deep left to Miller,Omarion thrown to ISU00 PENALTY ISU Pass Interference (Taylor,Quentin) 15 yards from ISU28 to ISU13, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Micah Welch run for 7 yds to the ISU 6
Kaidon Salter pass incomplete to Micah Welch
Micah Welch run for 3 yds to the ISU 3 for a 1ST down
PENALTY COLO False Start (Crisler,Zy) 5 yards from ISU03 to ISU08. NO PLAY.
Micah Welch run for 8 yds for a TD (Alejandro Mata KICK)
Rocco Becht pass complete to Xavier Townsend for 19 yds to the ISU 44 for a 1ST down
Rocco Becht pass complete to Xavier Townsend for 9 yds to the COLO 47
Dylan Lee run for 3 yds to the COLO 44 for a 1ST down
Abu Sama III run for a loss of 2 yards to the COLO 46
Rocco Becht pass incomplete to Chase Sowell
Rocco Becht pass complete to Brett Eskildsen for 3 yds to the COLO 43
Tyler Perkins punt for 43 yds for a touchback
Kam Mikell run for 8 yds to the COLO 28
Kam Mikell run for a loss of 3 yards to the COLO 25
Kaidon Salter pass incomplete to Zach Atkins
Damon Greaves punt for 44 yds, fair catch by Aiden Flora at the ISU 31
Abu Sama III run for 3 yds to the ISU 34
Rocco Becht pass incomplete to Xavier Townsend
Rocco Becht pass complete to Eli Green for 21 yds to the COLO 45 for a 1ST down
Abu Sama III run for 26 yds to the COLO 19 for a 1ST down
Abu Sama III run for 6 yds to the COLO 13
(08:18) PENALTY ISU False Start (Miller,Tyler) 5 yards from COLO13 to COLO18. NO PLAY.
Xavier Townsend run for 4 yds to the COLO 14
(07:14) PENALTY ISU False Start (Black,Brendan) 5 yards from COLO14 to COLO19. NO PLAY.
Rocco Becht pass incomplete to Brett Eskildsen
Chase Smith 38 yd FG GOOD
Chase Smith kickoff for 58 yds , Quentin Gibson return for 17 yds to the COLO 24
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Joseph Williams for 30 yds to the ISU 46 for a 1ST down
Micah Welch run for 3 yds to the ISU 43
Kaidon Salter pass incomplete to Quentin Gibson
Kaidon Salter pass incomplete to Quentin Gibson
Damon Greaves punt for 37 yds, fair catch by Aiden Flora at the ISU 6
Rocco Becht run for 3 yds to the ISU 9
Rocco Becht pass incomplete to Carson Brown
Rocco Becht pass incomplete to Abu Sama III
Tyler Perkins punt for 43 yds, fair catch by Quanell Farrakhan Jr. at the COLO 48
Micah Welch run for no gain to the COLO 48
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Zach Atkins for 4 yds to the ISU 48
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Omarion Miller for 4 yds to the ISU 44
PENALTY COLO Delay Of Game 5 yards from ISU44 to ISU49. NO PLAY.
Damon Greaves punt for 41 yds, fair catch by Aiden Flora at the ISU 8
Damon Greaves punt for 41 yds, fair catch by Aiden Flora at the ISU 4
Abu Sama III run for 2 yds to the ISU 6
Rocco Becht pass complete to Aiden Flora for 13 yds to the ISU 19 for a 1ST down
Rocco Becht pass complete to Aiden Flora for 12 yds to the ISU 31 for a 1ST down
Rocco Becht pass complete to Brett Eskildsen for 10 yds to the ISU 41 for a 1ST down
Rocco Becht pass complete to Chase Sowell for 16 yds to the COLO 43 for a 1ST down
Rocco Becht pass complete to Benjamin Brahmer for 7 yds to the COLO 36
Rocco Becht pass complete to Benjamin Brahmer for 16 yds to the COLO 20 for a 1ST down
Rocco Becht pass incomplete to Eli Green
Rocco Becht run for 19 yds to the COLO 1 for a 1ST down
Abu Sama III run for 1 yd for a TD (Chase Smith KICK)
Chase Smith kickoff for 61 yds , Quentin Gibson return for 36 yds to the COLO 40
Kaidon Salter run for 4 yds to the COLO 44
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Sincere Brown for 17 yds to the ISU 39 for a 1ST down
Buck Buchanan 57 yd FG MISSED
End of 2nd Quarter
Chase Smith kickoff for 58 yds , Quentin Gibson return for 20 yds to the COLO 27
Micah Welch run for 3 yds to the COLO 30
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Omarion Miller for 70 yds for a TD (Alejandro Mata KICK)
Abu Sama III run for 8 yds to the ISU 33
Abu Sama III run for 38 yds to the COLO 29 for a 1ST down
Abu Sama III run for 4 yds to the COLO 25
Dylan Lee run for 8 yds to the COLO 17 for a 1ST down
Dylan Lee run for 7 yds to the COLO 10
Abu Sama III run for 5 yds to the COLO 5 for a 1ST down
Abu Sama III run for no gain to the COLO 5
Abu Sama III run for 4 yds to the COLO 1
Abu Sama III run for 1 yd for a TD (Chase Smith KICK)
PENALTY ISU UNS: Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Moore,Tyler) 15 yards from ISU35 to ISU20. NO PLAY.
Carson Rhodes kickoff for 62 yds , Quentin Gibson return for 30 yds to the COLO 48
Dallan Hayden run for 4 yds to the ISU 48
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Joseph Williams for 14 yds to the ISU 34 for a 1ST down
Kaidon Salter pass incomplete
PENALTY COLO False Start (McGill,Zarian) 5 yards from ISU34 to ISU39. NO PLAY.
Dallan Hayden run for 6 yds to the ISU 33
Kaidon Salter run for 13 yds to the ISU 20 for a 1ST down
Dallan Hayden run for 3 yds to the ISU 17
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Joseph Williams for 8 yds to the ISU 9 for a 1ST down
Dallan Hayden run for 4 yds to the ISU 5
Dallan Hayden run for 2 yds to the ISU 3
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Joseph Williams for 3 yds for a TD (Alejandro Mata KICK)
Rocco Becht pass complete to Gabe Burkle for 13 yds to the ISU 38 for a 1ST down
Abu Sama III run for 3 yds to the ISU 41
Rocco Becht pass complete to Chase Sowell for 9 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Rocco Becht pass incomplete to Chase Sowell
Abu Sama III run for 36 yds to the COLO 14 for a 1ST down
Rocco Becht run for 3 yds to the COLO 11
Dylan Lee run for 5 yds to the COLO 6
Gabe Burkle run for 1 yd to the COLO 5
(00:06) PENALTY COLO Offside (Barnes Jr.,Anquin) 3 yards from COLO05 to COLO02, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Abu Sama III run for a loss of 2 yards to the COLO 4
Abu Sama III run for a loss of 3 yards to the COLO 7
Rocco Becht pass intercepted Tawfiq Byard return for 18 yds to the COLO 19
Rocco Becht pass intercepted Tawfiq Byard return for 18 yds to the COLO 19
Dallan Hayden run for 1 yd to the COLO 20
Kaidon Salter pass incomplete to Omarion Miller
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Joseph Williams for 16 yds to the COLO 36 for a 1ST down Colorado Penalty, unsportsmanlike conduct (Joseph Williams) to the COLO 21 for a 1ST down
Kaidon Salter pass incomplete to Sincere Brown
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Zach Atkins for 7 yds to the COLO 28
Dallan Hayden run for 8 yds to the COLO 36 for a 1ST down
Dallan Hayden run for a loss of 1 yard to the COLO 35
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Quentin Gibson for 10 yds to the COLO 45
Micah Welch run for a loss of 1 yard to the COLO 44
Damon Greaves punt for 47 yds, fair catch by Aiden Flora at the ISU 9
Abu Sama III run for 9 yds to the ISU 18
Rocco Becht run for a loss of 3 yards to the ISU 15
Rocco Becht pass complete to Benjamin Brahmer for 3 yds to the ISU 18
Abu Sama III run for no gain to the ISU 18
Kaidon Salter run for 4 yds to the ISU 14
Kaidon Salter run for 3 yds to the ISU 11
Kaidon Salter run for no gain to the ISU 11
Alejandro Mata 29 yd FG GOOD
Rocco Becht pass complete to Benjamin Brahmer for 26 yds to the COLO 49 for a 1ST down
Rocco Becht pass incomplete to Gabe Burkle
Rocco Becht pass incomplete to Chase Sowell
Rocco Becht run for 2 yds to the COLO 47
Tyler Perkins punt for 32 yds
Kam Mikell run for 3 yds to the COLO 18
Dallan Hayden run for 17 yds to the COLO 35 for a 1ST down
Dallan Hayden run for 10 yds to the COLO 45 Colorado Penalty, Offensive Holding (Omarion Miller) to the COLO 35
Kam Mikell run for a loss of 2 yards to the COLO 33
Kaidon Salter run for a loss of 4 yards to the COLO 29
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Joseph Williams for 38 yds to the ISU 33 for a 1ST down
Dallan Hayden run for 1 yd to the ISU 32
K. Salter takes a knee
K. Salter takes a knee
K. Salter takes a knee