Heading into Homecoming week, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders still hasn’t officially named a starting quarterback for his Colorado Buffaloes.
In the Buffs' (2-2, 0-1 Big 12) loss last weekend, redshirt freshman Julian “JuJu” Lewis was benched at halftime for transfer Isaac Wilson. Lewis finished 11/16 for 75 and led the offense to just three points. Wilson went 12/25, throwing for 156 yards and a touchdown.
For the second year in a row, Colorado has a quarterback battle, and a season-deciding move is ahead for Coach Prime.
“I haven't talked to JuJu, but I talked to Isaac. The kid is excited about the possibilities,” Sanders said. “I'm the one who makes that decision…So we're going to see how our practice plays out this week.”
With the conference’s top team, Texas Tech (4-0, 1-0 Big 12), coming into town, Wilson likely gets the nod.
However, whoever is at the helm will need to get Colorado’s offense on track. They’ve averaged just 11.3 points per game against Power 4 opponents this season. Without points, it becomes harder to win.
Even after back-to-back losses, Sanders' confidence hasn’t faded. Regardless of the outside pressure, he sees the offense righting the ship.
“Contrary to what you guys may think, we have two coordinators that are really good,” Sanders said. “ And one coordinator, [Brennan Marion], he’s averaged 33 points a game in his entire career. So we gotta fix it. We gotta score.”
On the other side of the ball, defensive coordinator Chris Marve has held teams to 24.5 points per game even with a struggling offense. Still, Sanders expects them to take a step up if they are to turn the season around.
“We got to stop breaking when we're bending. We got to, we got to stop,” Sanders said. “We're good enough not to bend and break. We're making some really good plays.”
After Texas Tech, they will have a bye, but Saturday’s performance could drastically shape the energy for the rest of the year. At 2-2, the Buffs currently have three ranked opponents scheduled for the next month.
A win builds confidence; a loss adds uncertainty for the future.
Players Mentioned
Coaches Mentioned
