Saturday against Baylor was not the kind of performance the Colorado Buffaloes were looking for out of quarterback Julian Lewis. Overall, the offense failed to get much going, totaling just 13 points. They have only two touchdowns and 20 points in the past two games combined.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the offense was their run game. They still tried to run the ball with a total of 39 rushing attempts, which is actually more than they had in the past two games. However, they managed only 83 rushing yards, and the quarterbacks did not help either, with -28 rushing yards after five Baylor sacks. The longest run of the day came from Micah Welch, who had a 14-yard gain.
Here is the report card from the Buffaloes' first Big 12 loss of
the season:
Quarterback
Julian Lewis: F
Isaac Wilson: C
When you get benched, you have failed. Colorado quarterback Julian Lewis was so bad in the first half that he was benched. The numbers don't actually look that bad; he had only five incompletions and no interceptions. Still, it was clear Lewis couldn't operate this offense against the Baylor defense. He continues to regress after having a great performance against Weber State in Week 2 and ultimately may have lost his job.
Isaac Wilson wasn't terrible, but he wasn't great either. Wilson's biggest impact on this offense was providing a little juice. He was ultimately able to get his first passing touchdown since November of 2024, when he was the starter for Utah in their loss against the Buffaloes. Maybe he will be the starter against Texas Tech next week?
Running Backs
Grade: D
Colorado heavily relies on their running backs, but the backs let the offense down this week. Micah Welch, JaQuail Smith and Richard Young were all held under 40 rushing yards and averaged less than four yards per carry. This was also the first game of the season the Buffaloes had under 180 rushing yards; they did not even crack 100 rushing yards. Colorado won't win many games with this kind of rushing effort, especially with some uncertainty at quarterback.
Receivers and Tight Ends
Grade: B
I have no major complaints about the receivers and tight ends except for Kam Perry. On third and four, Wilson threw a good pass to a wide-open Perry. Perry dropped the ball. It would not have counted because of a penalty, but the point is that he dropped a wide-open pass when his team needed him.
On the other hand, Colorado has Joseph Williams, who has stepped up as a true leader on this offense. He helped DeAndre Moore Jr. off the field after he sustained an apparent head injury, and while that does not show up on the stat sheet, it is a real demonstration of leadership. Williams also led the Buffaloes in receiving yards with 127 yards; he had the only touchdown of the game.
Colorado's receiver and tight end room is a mixed bag, but overall, they didn't have a bad day.
Offensive Line
Grade: C+
Baylor finished with five sacks, which isn't entirely on the offensive line, but they are partly responsible. The lack of success in the run game is also partly attributable to the offensive line, and no play shows this better than Colorado's failed fourth-down conversion on fourth-and-inches. Running back JaQuail Smith did not have a chance on that play. Especially for a group that started the season so well in the opener against Georgia Tech and had a good game against Northwestern, this was a really disappointing showing from the offensive line.
Defense
Grade: B-
Honestly, the defense was not that bad. They missed quite a few tackles, which certainly didn't help. However, they still held Baylor quarterback DJ Lagway in check with only 221 passing yards, two touchdowns and forcing an interception. Baylor's top receiver, Gavin Freeman, was also relatively contained with six receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown. Given how the defense performed, Colorado certainly could have won if the offense had performed better. Also, shoutout to Gideon ESPN Lampron, who finished the game with eight total tackles, seven solo tackles, including a tackle for loss, and defended a pass.
Special Teams
Damon Greaves: A
Everything else: D
The bright spot on special teams was punter Damon Greaves. A lot was asked of him in this game with eight total punts. On those punts, he averaged 49.5 yards per punt and had a punt that was 58 yards long. However, almost everything else on special teams could use improvement.
This was yet another game where Colorado struggled on special teams, particularly in the return game. On both kickoff and punt returns, the Buffaloes had numerous missed tackles and allowed Baylor to win the field position battle with quality returns. The mistakes highlight the need for a special teams coordinator to teach these players the basics of tackling in coverage.
Coaching
Grade: B
The coaching wasn't that bad. I agree with the decision to go for it on fourth-and-inches around midfield. With their run game, they should be able to pick up that first down. They had no choice but to go for the second fourth down since it was the last drive of the game and the Buffaloes were down by 10. It was also a smart decision to take out Julian Lewis after the first half and put Isaac Wilson in the second half. Wilson gave Colorado its best chance to win, especially with his starting experience in 2024. The coaching staff shares some responsibility for the special teams woes.
Overall
Grade: C
This was a setup from the Northwestern game, but that doesn't say much. Pretty much the entire offense took a step back, but at least the defense was better. Still, they have a lot to improve on if they are going to stand a chance against Texas Tech next week.
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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Colorado football report card after a disappointing loss to Baylor
