Colorado’s first four games have left the Buffaloes sitting at 2-2, and the split has come with a little bit of everything: promising moments, frustrating stretches, and now a two-game skid heading into October.
If there’s one issue that keeps rising to the top, it’s what Colorado is getting - and not getting - from quarterback Julian Lewis. Coach Deion Sanders was blunt before the Sept. 26 Baylor game when he addressed Lewis’s leadership traits.
"I told y’all he’ll be coming around the mountain, so what does that mean…He ain’t there yet … I can’t expect something out of you that’s not in you. That’s not an insult," Sanders explained with a raised voice during a press conference held on Sept. 23.
Lewis’s benching in the loss to Baylor only sharpened the concern. Colorado’s quarterback play has not just been uneven; it has raised real questions about command and confidence at the position.
Offensive coordinator Brennan Marion even went viral for shouting "stop playing scared" toward Lewis, and that moment captured the vibe around the offense pretty well. Lewis has looked truly comfortable only against Weber State, and that game came against a team Colorado was expected to handle anyway.
The pressure now shifts toward what happens next under center. Isaac Wilson is clearly in the mix if the job changes hands, but if he gets the nod, he’ll need to bring a spark too.
On the other side of the ball, defensive coordinator Chris Marve has been carrying a heavy load. Colorado’s defense has kept the Buffaloes in games, and Marve has quietly put together one of the most valuable coaching jobs on the staff. Still, the last two weeks have exposed how fragile things can get when the help around that unit thins out.
Depth on the interior defensive line has become a real problem. The Buffaloes are without Ezra Christensen because of eligibility issues and Malachi Brown because of a torn labrum that will keep him out for 2026. That has forced Colorado to move Santana Hopper down from edge rusher and even use offensive guard Chauncey Gooden on both sides of the ball.
The run defense did improve from the Northwestern game, and Baylor was held to 3.3 yards per carry. Even so, the Bears still managed 116 rushing yards, which tells the story well enough: better, but not clean.
The broader issue, though, is that Colorado’s offense keeps putting the defense in bad spots. Turnovers and missed chances on third down have fed directly into the wear and tear on the other side of the ball. That’s where the bigger problem sits for the Buffaloes.
Through four games, the offense has been the slowest part of the start. Colorado has scored just 34 combined points against non-Football Bowl Subdivision opponents, though it did put up 52 against FCS foe Weber State.
The running game has flashed, but it has also coughed up costly turnovers. The passing game has been shakier still.
Prized transfer and 2025 NCAA receiving yardage leader Danny Scudero has not been healthy. DeAndre Moore Jr. left the Baylor game early with an injury of his own. Joseph Williams has been the most reliable target, leading the team with 22 catches, but that still works out to only 5.5 receptions per game.
Beyond Williams and Moore, nobody else on the roster has topped double-digit catches. For Colorado to have any real shot at a bowl push, that has to change. The Buffaloes need the passing game to become the engine of the "Go-Go" offense, because right now the inconsistency is too easy to see and too hard to ignore.
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Colorado Showed The Fight Fans Wanted In Big 12 Play
Colorados first Big 12 home test had the kind of edge and energy that can set a tone for a league season. The 21st-ranked Buffaloes outlasted Arizona in a five-set battle at the CU Events Center, improving to 10-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play while leaning on a balanced effort that included Ana Burilovics aces and kills and a team-wide push after losing two sets.
Jesse Mahoney had to like the response as much as the result. Colorado kept finding ways to answer when the match tightened, and that competitiveness was the clearest sign the Buffs can carry into the rest of league play, especially with the early scramble in the Big 12 already showing how thin the margin can be. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Is Treating Colorados Quarterback Drama One Surprising Way
Texas Tech is taking a notably cautious approach to Colorados quarterback situation ahead of their Week 5 matchup, with Joey McGuire saying his staff is preparing for both Julian Lewis and Isaac Wilson. For the Red Raiders, the uncertainty behind center is only part of the challenge, since McGuire pointed to Brennan Marions offense as one built around the run game and designed to stress defenses before it ever opens up the passing attack.
That leaves Texas Tech focused on the basics it can control, starting with stopping the run and staying disciplined when Colorado leans into play action. McGuires message was clear enough: the quarterback picture may still be unsettled, but the Buffs offense can still punish a defense that loses its eye discipline, and that is the part Texas Tech has to be ready for. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Locksley Is Suddenly In A Conversation Maryland Fans Dread
The early part of the 2026 college football season has already turned into a stress test for several high-profile head coaches, and Mike Locksley has found himself mentioned in the same uneasy breath as a few others whose programs expected more. Marylands recent losses have put added scrutiny on the job security conversation, especially with buyout figures now part of every postgame discussion and every bad Saturday carrying extra weight for athletic departments trying to decide how long patience should last.
For Colorado fans, this kind of pressure is familiar in a broader sense because Deion Sanders has been part of the same national conversation about expectations, results and what happens when a season starts to wobble. Around the sport, coaches have begun taking responsibility in different ways, but the bigger picture is unchanged: once the losses pile up, the question shifts from what a team needs next to how much longer a school can afford to wait before making a move. [Read more 🡒]