On the back of 484 yards through the air and six touchdown passes from quarterback Jayden de Laura, which tied a school record in a single game, Arizona was able to overpower Colorado with a 43-20 win in the Pac-12 home opener Saturday night.

"That was a fun Pac-12 home opener for us," Jedd Fisch said. "We were excited. As we have said numerous times, we are all about the build. We are all about starting this thing the right way. We believe in the way we're doing it. We believe in our process of continuing to get better every day. I think today was an opportunity that we got better, but I know that we still have a long way to go to where we want to be."

The game started off with three straight touchdown drives, two by the Wildcats, with touchdown passes from de Laura to running back Michael Wiley and receiver Jacob Cowing.

Arizona got off to a blazing start offensively, taking a 26-7 lead before taking the foot off the gas pedal in the second quarter.

The Wildcats (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12) led 26-13 at half, but it didn't seem like a convincing lead given that they had 400 yards of total offense. In the opening half alone, de Laura threw for 273 yards and four touchdowns, while Dorian Singer caught six passes for 122 yards and a touchdown including a fantastic catch over his shoulder right in front of the goal line.

"Jayden played really well, there is no question about that," Fisch said. "He threw six touchdown passes... The offense was clicking tonight. There is no question about it."

Arizona was able to get a stop and score out of the half to take a 33-13 lead and never looked back. Colorado (0-5, 0-2) answered back with a touchdown to set a season-high with 20 points.

The biggest concern heading into the game for Arizona was the recent struggles against the run and the trouble, at times, with tackling. Those were still evident Saturday night against the Buffaloes as Colorado ripped off a handful of solid runs, rushing for 154 yards on 31 carries on the night.

CU had six rushing plays that went for at least 10 yards in the game including quarterback keepers that went for 13 and 20 yards, respectively.

The defense as a whole had a better performance than in last week's 49-31 loss to Cal, putting constant pressure on Buffaloes quarterback Owen McCown. However, McCown took advantage of extra aggressiveness from the UA defense including a 7-yard rushing touchdown on the opening drive for Colorado.

"I feel like coming from last week where we didn't do a good job, we stepped up big," Christian Young said. "The whole defense tried to stay in our gaps, trying to execute what coach Nansen wants us to do. I feel like we stepped up big time today."

The offense continued to show why it is one of the most dynamic units in the country on that side of the ball. The Wildcats arguably have one of the best wide receiver trios in the Pac-12 Conference, and possibly the country, as Cowing, Singer and Tetairoa McMillan all showcased their skills to combine for 433 yards receiving on 26 receptions and a touchdown each. Wiley led the running back group with 77 yards rushing on 16 carries. He also hauled in two receiving touchdowns.

"I have seen like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Tyler Vaughns, Michael Pittman and Drake London, all NFL guys," Hunter Echols said on his experience playing at USC. "This is the closest a receiver core I have seen to that."

Cowing surpassed 3,000 career receiving yards in college and got to keep the ball he surpassed that mark with while also sharing a moment with his mom after the game.

"I have been talking to her since I was maybe eight or nine years old that's something I wanted to do at [Arizona]," Cowing said. "I brought out the football, shared that moment her and we laughed."

Arizona will welcome Oregon to Tucson next Saturday as the Wildcats head into a difficult stretch beginning with the Ducks. Kickoff for next week's game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (MST) with the Pac-12 Network set to televise the matchup.

"Next week, we need everyone," Fisch said. "We need that place to be packed and we are hoping that is the case. We want the best home field advantage we can have."

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