CU Buffs come up short in Julian Lewis’ debut, officially eliminated from bowl contention

The Colorado Buffaloes dropped their third straight game against West Virginia on Saturday, but Buffs quarterback Julian Lewis gave fans hope for the future in his first career start

BY TRENT FINNEGAN

Nov 8, 2025, 2:09 PM Updated: 2:17 pm

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(Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes have officially been eliminated from bowl contention as they dropped their seventh game of the season against the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday, 29-22.

True freshman quarterback Julian Lewis made the first start of his career, and gave Buffs fans a lot of hope for the future as he made plays behind an injured offensive line all day. The 18-year-old finished the day with 299 yards and two touchdowns while completing 22 of his 35 pass attempts.

He showed a willingness to throw the ball over the middle, push it downfield and also used his legs at key times to run and extend plays. He had 24 rushing yards on five carries (not including sacks).

Julian Lewis to Omarion Miller🍞🧈 pic.twitter.com/dYc1bGMHR5

— GUCCE🦬🐦‍⬛ (@gucceCU) November 8, 2025

“You can see he’s gonna be special,” Sanders said after the game.

However, the offense was playing from behind all day long. The first five drives ended in four punts, one of which was blocked for a safety, and a turnover on downs. The safety and a missed extra point from Alejandro Mata also put the Buffs in an even deeper hole, as they found themselves down an extra three points, 22-19, in the fourth quarter. Both offenses had scored two touchdowns and two field goals up to that point, which would’ve made the score 20-20 in a normal scenario, but two key miscues put Sanders and the Buffs farther back.

Nonetheless, Lewis’ performance on the road without his two starting tackles was impressive, and made many fans wonder why he wasn’t put in as the starter earlier.

Injuries and absences were also key elements for the Buffs. Star left tackle Jordan Seaton missed the game with a lower-body injury, right tackle Larry Johnson III wasn’t active, and three cornerbacks who have all played this season were out (D.J. McKinney, Makari Vickers and RJ Johnson). Johnson has been nursing an injury for a while, but McKinney and Vickers have been staples in the secondary throughout the season.

Tawfiq Byard, who has arguably when Colorado’s best defensive player this season, missed the first half due to a targeting penalty he was called for in last week’s loss against Arizona. He still finished with nine tackles from his safety position, the second-most on the team.

COACHING MISMANAGEMENT IS STILL A BIG ISSUE FOR COLORADO

Multiple coaching decisions by Sanders in the fourth quarter ended up being costly for the Buffs. The first decision came on a fourth-and-four from the Mountaineers’ 17-yard line, when Sanders opted to kick a field goal down by six points. Mata put it through the uprights on an ugly knuckleball, but that was the offense’s best chance to take the lead late.

The next decision came with 1:21 left on the clock when the Buffs were down 10. The clock was stopped after Lewis ran out of bounds on a third down that had nothing going, and the Buffs faced a fourth-and-13 from the right hash with all three timeouts available. Sanders inexplicably decided to burn a timeout before trotting the field goal unit out onto the field to cut the lead to seven.

The Buffs didn’t recover the ensuing onside kick, and they didn’t have enough timeouts to stop the clock and give their offense a chance if they forced a three-and-out. It didn’t end up mattering, as West Virginia converted on third down, but it was still one of the worst clock management decisions in Sanders’ three years in Boulder.

With no hopes for the postseason, all the focus is now on Lewis’ development through the final two games of the season. Reports on Saturday morning indicated that the plan is for him to start the rest of the season, which would burn his redshirt, but his performance showed that he’s got some real talent that could be the first aspect to having a dynamic offense back in Boulder.

Sanders did send a message to the fanbase after Saturday’s loss confirmed that two of his first three seasons in Boulder are losing campaigns.

“I promise you there’s gonna be some changes,” Sanders said postgame.

The Buffs now have a bye week before ending the season with a home bout against Arizona State and a road contest against Kansas State.