Khalil Tate returned to the lineup to pass for 404 yards and three touchdowns, Nathan Tilford ran for two scores, and the Arizona Wildcats beat the Colorado Buffaloes 35-30 in Boulder, Colo., on Saturday.

Tate was 31 of 41 passing after missing last week's win over UCLA with hamstring and ankle injuries.

Cedric Peterson had three receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown, Brian Casteel had seven catches for 74 yards and a score and Stanley Berryhill III had the other TD catch for the Wildcats (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12).

Steven Montez completed 28 of 42 passes for 299 yards and a touchdown for the Buffaloes (3-2, 1-1). Tony Brown had 10 receptions for 141 yards and also ran for a score. Dimitri Stanley had four catches for 75 yards and a touchdown, and Brady Russell also had a TD catch for the Buffaloes.

Colorado played without its top receiver, Laviska Shenault Jr., due to a core muscle injury suffered Sept. 21 at Arizona State, and defensive end Mustafa Johnson (ankle).

The Buffaloes took a 30-28 lead with James Stefanou's 20-yard field goal with 11:29 left. Arizona answered with a 13-play drive which Tilford finished with a 5-yard TD run with 6:51 left in the fourth quarter.

Colorado drove just past midfield but Montez's fourth-down pass was incomplete with 2:23 left and Arizona ran out the clock.

Arizona led 7-3 late into the second quarter but the teams combined to score 24 points in the final 2:37 of the first half.

Colorado got touchdown passes by Montez and receiver K.D. Nixon and a field goal by Stefanou around Tate's 75-yard scoring strike to Peterson to give the Buffaloes a 20-14 halftime lead.

Early in the third, Tate found Casteel from 33 yards out to cap a six-play, 65-yard drive that took just 1 minute, 49 seconds. Colorado used 1:11 to take a 27-21 lead on Brown's 15-yard TD run, but Tilford answered with a 5-yard rushing touchdown to finish an 85-yard drive that covered just 1:29.

--Field Level Media