Colorado left Waco with a loss, but not everyone in a Buffaloes uniform walked out in the same place. The 23-13 defeat to Baylor pushed Colorado to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in Big 12 play, yet the game also revealed a clear split: a few players helped the Buffaloes find life, while others left costly fingerprints all over the result.
Colorado actually outgained Baylor 363-337 and had the game tied 13-13 early in the fourth quarter before the Bears closed with the final 10 points. That backdrop matters, because the performance wasn’t a total collapse. It was a game shaped by a halftime quarterback switch, a handful of encouraging individual efforts and several mistakes that Baylor turned into points.
Isaac Wilson was one of the biggest reasons Colorado had a pulse after the break. The Utah transfer entered at halftime with the Buffaloes down 10-3 and gave the offense a steadier rhythm.
He went 12 of 25 for 156 yards and a touchdown, and he also guided the 12-play, 95-yard march that pulled Colorado even at 13. The numbers weren’t spotless - Wilson was sacked twice and later drew an intentional grounding penalty - but Colorado finally finished a long drive in the end zone with him at the controls.
There was also visible support from his teammates before he took over. In a sideline clip shared after the game, players could be heard rallying him with, “Go be legendary.
I know you gonna pop it. Go be you.
Have fun. Just like practice.
We got your back. Be that guy,”
Joseph Williams gave Colorado a dependable target no matter who was under center. The wide receiver caught 11 passes for 127 yards and the 17-yard touchdown that tied the score.
That 11-catch day tied for the ninth most in a game in Colorado history. He also threw the 49-yard trick-play pass to Quanell Farrakhan Jr. and converted a third-and-17 with a 20-yard catch on Wilson’s first full drive.
On defense, Gideon Lampron kept showing up. He didn’t fill the highlight packages, but he did fill the stat sheet with eight tackles, seven solo stops, one tackle for loss, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.
Only Liona Lefau had more tackles for Colorado with nine. Lampron followed up a 10-tackle game at Northwestern with another active afternoon, and he was around the ball all game long, including a first-quarter breakup on a deep throw intended for Baylor’s Hawkins Polley and a hurry on DJ Lagway.
The Buffaloes also had a few players whose afternoon turned sour in a hurry. JaQuail Smith ran for 33 yards on 10 carries, but two plays defined the wrong kind of impact.
Baylor stuffed him for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-1 at the Colorado 49 in the second quarter, then later Smith fumbled at the Colorado 45 with 4:04 left and Colorado trailing 23-13. Baylor recovered, and that was essentially the end of the comeback hope.
Cree Thomas had a rough day in coverage and in the penalty column. He was flagged twice for defensive pass interference and once for holding, with the three penalties totaling 37 yards and each one producing a first down for Baylor.
His first interference call came right after Smith’s failed fourth-down run and helped set up Baylor’s touchdown drive. His holding penalty in the third quarter extended a possession that ended with a field goal.
The biggest stock drop, though, belonged to Julian Lewis. The 19-year-old completed 11 of 16 passes for 75 yards, but Colorado managed only three first-half points with him at quarterback, and he was sacked three times before Wilson took over at halftime. Lewis deserves some patience given the protection issues and a run game that didn’t make life easier, but the bottom line was still the same: the offense didn’t produce enough before the change.
After the game, Deion Sanders was asked why he made the switch and said the decision went beyond what people saw from the stands. He also took ownership for it.
“It’s not oftentimes what you guys may see on the field that determine things,” Sanders said. “We’re on the headset and it’s a lot of things you guys don’t know, a lot of things that you’re not privy to, we don’t want you to be privy to.
But it was a decision that we made. I’ll take the blame for that.
Not the blame, I’ll take the responsibility. It’s a decision that I made because I was trying to get us going.
We gotta get going, we gotta score some points.”
In Other News...
Baylor Fans Suddenly Have A Wild Dave Aranda Debate
Baylors coaching conversation has taken a sharp turn beyond the usual week-to-week questions, with Dave Arandas long-term future suddenly becoming a topic of real debate among fans. Aranda is under contract through the 2029 season, but the feeling around the program still hinges on performance, which is why any discussion of what comes next has started to pick up steam.
Lincoln Rileys name has now entered the chatter as a possible replacement if Baylor ever moved on from Aranda, even though there is no official connection between the sides. The USC coach also comes with a major buyout hurdle, which is why analysts have treated the idea as more of a high-end what-if than a clear path forward, but it is still the kind of speculation that can tell you how restless a fan base is getting. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Just Turned Baylor's QB Problem Into A Bigger Big 12 Story
Colorados quarterback situation took another turn during its game against Baylor, when Julian Lewis lost the starting job after two difficult performances and was replaced by Isaac Wilson in the middle of the matchup. Even with the change, Deion Sanders made a point of saying Lewis is still in the mix to reclaim the role, a reminder that the Buffaloes are treating this as a live competition rather than a permanent handoff.
For Baylor, it adds another layer to a Big 12 race already full of moving parts, because Colorado now has to settle on a starter before next weeks game against Texas Tech. Wilson is in the conversation, Lewis is still there, and Kaneal Sweetwyne gives Sanders another option, which means the Buffaloes are suddenly trying to sort out their most important position while the conference schedule keeps rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Gets A Needed Secondary Boost Ahead Of Arizona State
Baylors secondary got a timely lift this week as senior defensive back Micah Gifford is expected to be available for the matchup against Arizona State. Gifford left the Week 4 game against Colorado with a leg injury, but teammate Bo Onu said he should play, a welcome development for a defense that has been juggling injuries and recent returns in the back end.
Gifford had been off to a strong start before leaving that Colorado game, and his presence matters even more now with Baylor trying to steady a secondary that has had to piece things together. Against an Arizona State team that can test coverage in a hurry, getting an experienced defensive back back on the field gives the Bears a better chance to settle in and avoid another week of improvising on the fly. [Read more 🡒]