The Colorado football team is off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2023, and Saturday’s 52-21 win over Weber State gave the Buffs something more than a clean record. It offered a clearer look at the pieces starting to pop on both sides of the ball.
The passing game finally opened up, a few defenders made themselves hard to ignore, and Coach Prime got a better sense of which players are ready to take on bigger roles. Here are five Colorado standouts who made Week 2 count.
Julian Lewis was the headliner. The second-year quarterback turned in a career day, throwing touchdowns on two of his first three attempts and finishing 17-of-23 for 366 yards, four passing touchdowns and one rushing score. That 366-yard performance was a career high, and the 74% completion rate backed up just how sharp he was.
Lewis also cleaned up the issue that lingered from Week 1. He missed some chances for explosive plays in the opener, but that wasn’t the case against Weber State.
On throws of 20 yards or more, he hit three of five attempts for 146 yards and three touchdowns. He was even more dangerous on play-action, completing 80% of those throws for 348 yards and four touchdowns.
If that becomes a regular part of the offense, Colorado’s passing game has a real chance to keep stretching defenses.
Joseph Williams was the biggest winner from Lewis’ breakout. The junior wideout caught all four of his targets for 123 yards and two touchdowns, both of them eye-catching in different ways.
The first was pure force and speed: Williams powered through a tackle and then blew past the Weber State defense for a 63-yard score. The second showed off the other side of his game, as he went up and finished a 32-yard touchdown catch.
Through two games, Williams has been Colorado’s most steady receiver, and the connection with Lewis already looks natural.
On defense, Jah Jah Boyd kept forcing his way into the picture. The Indiana transfer was Colorado’s highest-graded player in Week 2 at 92.6, according to Pro Football Focus, and he backed that up with production everywhere.
Boyd led the Buffs with eight total tackles and five solo stops, and he also forced a fumble. His snap count rose from 17 to 31, and that kind of jump suggests his role is only growing in a secondary still searching for dependable answers.
Deion Sanders had plenty to say about Boyd afterward: “Jah Jah is the kind of kid who plays with passion and practices with passion,” Sanders said postgame. “Sometimes he goes a little too far but you can count on him to give everything he has.
He’s very emotional but he plays with that and I love that about him. I don’t want him to change a thing.”
Jason Stokes Jr. made the most of his opening, too. With Makari Vickers struggling again at nickel/slot corner - he allowed 90 yards and a touchdown on four targets against Weber State - Sanders made a switch, moving Boo Carter into that spot and putting Stokes Jr. on the field at cornerback in Carter’s place. The Utah transfer answered with three pass breakups and two tackles after logging only three snaps in the opener.
That kind of outing could put him in line to start at corner opposite Cree Thomas, with Boo Carter staying at nickel/slot.
Sanders liked what he saw from Stokes Jr. afterward: “He was ready,” Deion Sanders said of Stokes Jr. postgame. “He didn’t back down and he was working his game, understanding down and distance, situational type of football.
He did a great job. He wasn’t afraid of the moment.”
Toby Anene rounded out the breakout list. The North Dakota State transfer came close to a sack in the opener, and this time he finished the job.
Anene recorded his first sack as a Buff in Week 2, and his impact went beyond that with a strip-sack forced fumble and a batted pass. Pro Football Focus graded him as Colorado’s second-best player on the day at 92.0.
With Lamont Lester Jr. drawing the biggest chunk of attention after his four sacks, Anene has a chance to keep sneaking up on offenses and turn this into a real breakout stretch.
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