While Colorado head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders was frustrated with his team’s performance, quarterback Julian Lewis did what he needed to against Weber State.
The second-year field general threw for 366 passing yards and four touchdowns in his second career start at Folsom Field. He completed 17-of-23 passes and also ran in a short touchdown before freshman Kaneal Sweetwyne replaced him with CU up 45-14 midway through the third quarter. He broke the school record for most passing yards in a quarter (212) and passing TDs in a half (four) and currently is fourth in school history in most consecutive passes without throwing an interception (144).
The 18-year-old’s showing earned him conference-wide recognition; he was named Big 12 Freshman of the Week for Week 2 on Monday.
“Every week is a new week to prove yourself,” Lewis said in his first time addressing the media since Big 12 football media days in July. “Like I said, I think God gave me the opportunity to come out here and perform today, so I was just blessed looking at that and happy for the results.”
Of course, facing a 1-1 FCS team with a struggling defense, Lewis’s showing wasn’t unexpected. He led a game-winning drive over Georgia Tech on the road in Week 1.
Yet, while it took until the final two minutes to find his footing against the Yellow Jackets, Lewis only needed one play against the Wildcats. Lewis found wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. for a 66-yard touchdown to open the scoring. Two plays into the second drive, he hit Joseph Williams on a slant that led him 63 yards to the end zone.
“He was forcing us [to get extra work after practice], whether our legs felt good or not; he needed to get that timing with us,” Williams said after the game, describing how Lewis and receivers had at least 30 minutes of extra work after practice leading up to Weber State. “He stay on us. He watched film with us. So I just feel like each week, each day, he's getting better and better. So I'm super confident with him back there.”
Everything wasn’t perfect for Lewis; he lost a fumble after linebacker Teni Worthen sacked him on CU’s third drive. The turnover resulted in Weber State’s first score of the game, and Lewis was sacked twice more.
As Lewis showed in Atlanta, however, he wasn’t fazed by the mishaps. He stepped up and delivered a 48-yard touchdown to Ernest Campbell on the drive following the fumble, ran in one of CU’s two rushing TDs in the second quarter and found Williams for a 32-yard score before the half. After setting up a field goal in the third quarter, he was done for the day.
“Statistically? I’m happy,” Sanders said of Lewis’s showing after the game.
Beyond Lewis, Sweetwyne did his thing. He finished the day with seven completions on 10 passes for 35 yards, adding 25 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on four carries. Isaac Wilson got a handful of snaps, too.
Given Williams’ big day, other skill players and placekicker Elliot Arnold also showed up.
While Arnold missed a late 47-yard field goal, he made a 52-yarder, the longest in the Coach Prime tenure. He also booted several kickoffs out of the back of the end zone.
“Oh, my God!” Sanders said of Arnold. “He's the long-range out there…He did a great job, man. I'm really proud of him. He got his confidence. He got his swagger back.”
Coach Prime added that he and the staff have “mapped out” the starting kicker role after the game.
CU’s head coach was still displeased that WRs Danny Scudero and Kam Perry didn’t get that many touches, totaling seven. But Williams and Moore went for two of the biggest receiving performances in the last two seasons. Williams had four catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns and Moore had four receptions for 107 yards and a score.
“My brother 8-ball; he's truly a specimen out there,” Lewis said. “I think Jo’s size really helps with our wide receiver room because you know we have a lot of smaller guys, so people have to really worry about that deep game, and he makes people have to back up, and that's all you can ask for.”
The most receiving yards in a game by a receiver in 2025 was by current Arizona State wideout Omarion Miller, who had six catches for 131 yards and a touchdown in a loss to West Virginia.
Running back Micah Welch rounded out the offense’s day with 11 carries for 106 rushing yards, including a 55-yard breakaway touchdown. The longest-tenured back on the roster became the first player to rush for 100 yards in the Deion Sanders era.
“He’s the first 100-yard rusher?” Sanders responded when asked about Welch. “Dang! Dang! We were that bad? But no, I’m happy.”
Overall, Sanders, Lewis and Williams shared the sentiment that there is room to improve.
Coach Prime said offensive coordinator Brennan Marion threatened the team with running if they failed to break 70 points; they scored 52 on Saturday. The defense also gave up 21 points. Plus, special teams added a muffed punt, poor focus before Arnold’s late miss and several of CU’s 13 penalties (for 112 yards).
“It's time to grow. It's room to grow,” Lewis said. “But we're ready, and I think everybody is on the same page with that. Nobody's satisfied with where we're at. We all understand two and zero is not the end goal. Ultimately, we all want to be Big 12 champions and national champions and have a chance to really compete against those types of guys.”
Still, while 2024 was the last time the Black-and-Gold faithful saw an impressive passing performance, Welch’s aggressive running and Arnold’s 52-yard boot were firsts in the Coach Prime era, bringing more than a silver lining to the “disappointing” 52-21 victory.
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