The last time Khalil Tate stepped foot on the football field at the University of Colorado he set an FBS quarterback record by rushing for over 320 yards. It sparked a month of wins for the Wildcats and put Tate on the minds of college football fans around the country. Saturday there was some uncertainty about whether or not Tate would be the one taking the snaps after missing UA's game last week against UCLA with injuries to his hamstring and ankle.

Tate was the starter at quarterback Saturday afternoon at Folsom Field, but Colorado probably wishes he wasn't. The senior had another record day as he passed for more than 400 yards for the first time in his career setting a new personal record for passing yards in a single game. Instead of running the ball all over the field, Tate used his arm to help the Wildcats move to 4-1 on the year with the team's 35-30 victory over the Buffs.

He passed the ball 41 times – four attempts shy of tying his personal record – over the course of the game and completed 31 of those throws. He threw three touchdowns and his only blemish was an interception in the first half.

"Whatever we have to do to keep the offense moving is what we're gonna do," Tate told reporters after Saturday's win. "Coach [Noel] Mazzone did a great job of really making sure we kept on attacking what we thought we could attack."

The veteran UA signal caller completed 23 of his 27 attempts in the second half and was again able to find his magic in Boulder putting the Wildcats at the top of the Pac-12 South with a 2-0 conference record.

"It was a situation where they loaded it up, there were big dudes in there and we couldn't move them, " Arizona head coach Kevin Sumlin said. "And, we had to throw it in order to move the football and spread them out. We got the ball on the perimeter a lot to get some guys out of there. Those little screen passes that people get mad about, there's a reason for them.

"... In essence, that became our run game because they're all loaded up in there. We flipped it out on the perimeter to [Michael] Wiley and a bunch of running backs out there who make guys miss."

The game did not come easy for the Wildcats, however, as CU was able to keep pace for most of the game and took a 20-14 lead into the halftime break after a wild two minutes to end the first half. There were three touchdowns in the final 1:50 of the opening half after what had been a sluggish start.

Colorado receiving Tony Brown looked unstoppable at one point and he helped move things forward for the Buffaloes along with quarterback Steven Montez and running back Alex Fontenot.

The shift in momentum came to start the second half when the Wildcats scored quickly on the first drive of the second half on a drive that lasted less than two minutes and covered 65 yards on just six plays. It was capped by a 33-yard completion from Tate to receiver Brian Casteel.

It gave the Wildcats the lead back, 21-20, and helped put the team in position to pull out the win Saturday in Boulder.

While Tate and the offense will be a big part of the story heading into next week, Marcel Yates' defensive group continued to play its best when it mattered most Saturday. UA was able to hold Colorado to just one field goal in the fourth quarter continuing a trend of strong finishes that goes back a few games.

"I think you saw a couple guys make some big plays," Sumlin said of UA's most important defensive stand to hold CU to a field goal after it found itself in a first and goal situation in the fourth quarter. "Was that Trevon Mason that split the defense? They went tempo and Trevon made a play to get them a little off schedule then [Colin] Schooler makes a play. Negative-yardage plays down there. When that happens somebody's gotta make a play and in that situation we did.

"We held them to a field goal, which ended up being the difference in the game really."

UA has held its opponents to just three points (CU's field goal) over the last three games and its toughest test came Saturday as the Buffaloes pushed the defense until the final drive.

Linebacker Tony Fields II highlighted the performance on defense with 11 tackles and and a pass breakup Saturday afternoon in Boulder.

Arizona will now return home for its next game as it hosts Washington next weekend in Tucson.