Colorado finally got the full explosive package Saturday, and Micah Welch was the missing piece.
The Buffaloes rolled past Weber State 52-21 at Folsom Field, piling up 578 total yards in what became a Deion Sanders-era record. The 52 points matched the high mark of the Sanders era, and the 42 first-half points set a new standard all by themselves.
Colorado also did something rare in the process: it put two 100-yard receivers and a 100-yard rusher on the same field in the same game, only the third time that has happened in program history. The other two came against Nebraska in 2009 and Colorado State in 2018.
Joseph Williams led the air show with four catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns. DeAndre Moore Jr. added four grabs for 107 yards and a score. Welch, meanwhile, gave Colorado the ground threat it has been waiting on, finishing with 106 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
Welch’s day carried extra weight because it snapped a long drought. He became the first 100-yard rusher of the Sanders era and Colorado’s first since Alex Fontenot ran for 108 against Southern California in November 2022, a stretch that covered nearly four seasons. His 55-yard touchdown was the 10th of his career.
Running backs coach Johnnie Mack said this week that Welch has started to see things more clearly in his third year in Boulder.
“The game is starting to slow down for him now,” Mack said. “You’ve been seeing the same thing for the last two years, and now it’s his third year, so everything should be a lot slower. And Micah’s having fun.”
Sanders echoed that theme with a grin.
“Micah is my dog, man,” Sanders said. “Every time he runs one, he comes back and says ‘I told you I got you. I told you I got you.'”
Williams had his own simpler scouting report on the running back.
“Whenever someone is in his way, get out the way,” Williams said. “He’s coming with a full head of steam. He’s going to run through you.”
Colorado’s defense produced a big statistical day of its own, breaking up 11 passes, its most since a 2007 game against Nebraska. The Buffs also logged 10 quarterback hurries and nine tackles for loss, both their best marks since last season’s Utah game. Jason Stokes Jr. had three pass breakups, Randon Fontenette picked off a pass in the first quarter, and Lamont Lester Jr. recorded a sack for the second straight game.
Even with those numbers, the defense gave up 372 total yards and three touchdown passes to a true freshman quarterback. Weber State’s Nate Dahle completed 20 of 48 passes for 244 yards, while Noah Kjar, the son of first-year Wildcats coach Eric Kjar, caught seven passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
Fontenette said the unit knows there’s still more to clean up.
“We’re really disappointed with our performance,” Fontenette said. “The scheme is there, the play call is there. We’ve just got to trust each other and win your leverage and just do your job, and then we’ll stop the explosives.”
Colorado also made a defensive adjustment during the game, moving Boo Carter inside to nickel. Fontenette said that switch helped create the opportunities for Stokes and could change things on the outside too.
“It probably makes it better, having a playmaker in nickel that can cover the man, blitz and do everything,” Fontenette said. “It’ll definitely open up more pass game to the boundary my way when he’s shutting down the field his way.”
The game got so out of hand that Colorado’s next quarterback in was not the veteran with seven career starts. True freshman Kaneal Sweetwyne took over for Julian Lewis in the third quarter and went 7 of 10 passing while also scoring on a 9-yard run. Utah transfer Isaac Wilson came in after that and attempted two passes.
Sanders was quick to praise Sweetwyne afterward.
“I love Sweetwyne, man. Great kid,” Sanders said. “That kid has a tremendous future ahead of him.”
Lewis, meanwhile, continued to pile up numbers of his own, setting or tying at least 10 school records. That list included a 265.0 pass efficiency and four touchdown passes, which are the most ever by a Colorado freshman, though Lewis is considered a ‘second year’ on the Buffs roster.
There were a few rough edges around the big offensive day. Colorado was penalized 13 times for 107 yards, and Elliot Arnold made a 52-yard field goal and all seven extra points before missing from 47.
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