BOULDER — Just a few months ago, Sam Noyer started summer camp in a battle for the third quarterback spot on Colorado’s depth chart.
At the start of the second half Saturday at Folsom Field, he found himself in the Buffs’ secondary at free safety.
Such was the state of a depleted CU defense forced to take “next man up” to the extreme after safety Mikial Onu and defensive lineman Jalen Sami were knocked out of the game against Arizona by halftime — the fourth and fifth opening-night starters to go down with injuries this season.