Colorado heads back on the road Saturday night with a chance to keep its fast start rolling, and the trip brings the Buffaloes into Big Ten territory for a meeting with Northwestern at Medicine Field at Martin Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. MT, with the game airing nationally on Fox.
Colorado enters at 2-0 after pounding Weber State 52-21 last Saturday, while Northwestern is 1-0 and has had extra time to prepare after its only game so far, a 34-18 win over South Dakota State on Sept. 5.
This will be just the third time the programs have shared a field. Northwestern won the first matchup, 35-14, at home in 1951.
Colorado answered with a 55-7 win at Folsom Field in 1978. Saturday also opens a home-and-home series, with Northwestern set to come to Folsom Field next season.
The Buffs’ offense is carrying plenty of momentum into the trip. Julian Lewis put together a staggering debut against Weber State, completing 17 of 23 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns while also adding a rushing score for a 265.0 rating.
The performance set or tied at least 10 school records. His 212 passing yards and three touchdown passes in the first quarter both set or tied CU marks, and his pass efficiency was the best in program history among quarterbacks with at least 20 attempts.
Colorado’s numbers from that game were just as eye-catching. The 52 points, 578 total yards and 42 first-half points all set or tied Coach Prime Era highs. It was the third time in that era the Buffs topped 550 total yards, and the 54th time that has happened in program history.
Micah Welch also gave Colorado something it hadn’t seen in a long time. He ran for 106 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, becoming the first 100-yard rusher of the Coach Prime Era and ending a run of 40 straight games without one that dated back to Nov. 11, 2022.
The receiving corps piled on too. Joseph Williams caught four passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns, while DeAndre Moore Jr. added four catches for 107 yards and a score.
With Welch’s production on the ground, Colorado had two 100-yard receivers and a 100-yard rusher in the same game for only the third time in school history. The Buffs also did it against Nebraska in 2009 and Colorado State in 2018.
Saturday’s game also carries a small bit of history for Colorado beyond the matchup itself: the Buffs are still searching for their first win in the state of Illinois. Their previous trips there came at Chicago in 1921, at Northwestern in 1951 and at Illinois in 1990, with that last loss standing as the only blemish in CU’s 11-1-1 national championship season.
FOX will carry the broadcast with Noah Reed, Devin Gardner and sideline reporter Josh Sims on the call. On radio, fans can tune in to the Colorado Football Radio Network, Flagship 850 AM KOA Denver or SiriusXM 269 (App 978), with Mark Johnson, Gary Barnett and Jeff Campbell handling the action.
Colorado fans can also follow live stats at cubuffs.com/livestats and keep up with updates on Instagram, X, Threads, Facebook and TikTok at @CUBuffsFootball. Postgame press conferences with Coach Prime and players will be available shortly after the game on the official YouTube channel of Colorado Athletics, BuffsTV.
In Other News...
Colorado May Have Found A Key Piece To Protect Julian Lewis
Colorados recent push on the high school recruiting trail has started to show up where it matters most, in the trenches. The Buffaloes have made a bigger commitment to building through prep prospects, and that effort got a boost with four-star offensive tackle Dewey Young at the front of their 2027 class. ESPN analysts singled out Young as the Colorado commit most likely to help sooner rather than later, which fits the broader need to keep the pocket cleaner for quarterback Julian Lewis.
Youngs path to Boulder also gives the commitment some added weight. He had family ties to Michigan State and had several other programs in the mix before choosing Colorado, a sign the Buffs had to win a real recruiting fight for a player they view as part of the offensive-line rebuild. For a program trying to strengthen protection up front, landing a tackle with early-impact potential is exactly the kind of step that can shape what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Deion Sanders Leaving Colorado Would Take More Than Florida State Interest
Deion Sanders has Colorado off to a 2-0 start in 2026, a welcome change after last years 3-9 finish and another reminder of how quickly he has reset the tone around the program. Even with Florida State looming as a possible opening, the situation is not as simple as a nostalgic reunion. Sanders has built real footing in Boulder, where the fit has centered on control, confidence and a staff structure he helped shape.
Florida State is expected to search for a new head coach after the firing of its athletic director and the likely departure of Mike Norvell, which naturally puts Sanders in the conversation. But any move would have to clear more than one hurdle, including his Colorado buyout, the history of FSU passing on him before, and the question of whether he would walk away from the autonomy and salary he has in Boulder. The interest is real enough to keep the speculation alive, but the path from rumor to reality still looks complicated. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Just Lost A Key Recruiting Stage At A Tough Time
Colorados home opener against Northwestern comes with an unusual recruiting wrinkle, because the game is being played on the road and there will be no official in-state recruiting visits at Folsom Field. Under NCAA rules, those visits are tied to home games, so the Buffaloes lose one of the most visible chances to sell prospects on the full campus experience at a time when every detail matters.
Recruits can still attend the Northwestern game on their own, but the standard visit setup Colorado usually leans on is off the table for this date. The good news is the Buffaloes will get that stage back for their next home game against Texas Tech, when the program can again bring prospects into the building and show off what Saturdays in Boulder look like at full volume. [Read more 🡒]