MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – As JuJu Lewis ran around Milan Puskar Stadium, showing off his arm and his youth, he did his best to try to will the Colorado Buffaloes to a victory Saturday.
It was, at least, a possible glimpse into the future for CU — a future that became of greater importance by the time the game was over.
CU’s season was already trending toward a disappointing finish, but a 29-22 loss to host West Virginia ended any hopes for a postseason appearance. At 3-7 (1-6 Big 12), CU was eliminated from bowl contention, securing a fourth losing season in five years.
“This is not who we are,” Deion Sanders said when asked about his second losing season in three years as the Buffs’ head coach. “We’re better than this, and (the fans) deserve better than this. I want better than this. I feel like I coach better than this. I feel like we got players that are so much better than what the production that we’re putting out.
“You got to identify the coaches. That’s us, and that starts with me because I feel like we got the nucleus inside the locker room that we should be getting it done. I don’t think we played a team that’s athletically and physically better than us. I really don’t. I’ll stand on that.”
The Buffs did, at least, put up a fight after getting blown out the previous two weeks. Sitting at 3-4 coming off its first bye a few weeks ago, the Buffs looked like a beaten team ready to pack it in for the season during a 53-7 loss to Utah and a 52-17 loss to Arizona.
Saturday got off to a rough start — falling behind 9-0 — but behind the five-star talent of Lewis and a defense that battled, the Buffs had a shot against the Mountaineers. They trailed by just three before West Virginia’s Curtis Jones Jr. scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 4 minutes, 15 seconds left to make it a 10-point game.
Of course, it wasn’t a moral victory to competitors such as safety Tawfiq Byard, who has seen the Buffs fall short too many times in close games. This was CU’s fourth one-score loss.
“We just got to get better,” Byard said. “Continue to preach the little things, continue to do the little things, we get better. We got to finish games like this. We’ve got them (down 22-19), the defense, we got to get off the field, get a stop, get the ball back to the offense. That’s just what it comes down to.”
“No (it’s not a moral victory). We lost.”
They did, but not without showing some spirit they hadn’t shown in the previous two games.
“These guys hadn’t quit, man, contrary to what people may write, what they may say,” Sanders said. “These guys are still fighting. They still want it.”
Perhaps none more than Lewis, a five-star recruit in the 2025 class who has been waiting all year for his shot. Lewis played off the bench in a win against Delaware in Week 2 and in the loss to Arizona. But, on Saturday, the Buffs benched senior Kaidon Salter and handed the offense to Lewis.
The 18-year-old Lewis completed 22-of-35 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns, but he was sacked seven times.
“I mean, it felt amazing playing football again, realistically as a starter,” Lewis said. “But of course it hurts, the loss. Got to play better. Got to play better next week, go out there and execute.”
Behind Lewis, the Buffs battled back from early deficits of 9-0 and 16-3. His first touchdown pass, to Joseph Williams, cut the deficit to 16-9 late in the first half. His second, to Omarion Miller, pulled the Buffs within 19-16 midway through the third quarter.
“I think he played a good game,” Sanders said. “It’s his first start. He did some wonderful things that you can see that he’s going to be special. Did some things that you can see as youth. But overall, to me, the kid played well. He played well enough for us to win the game.”
So did the defense, at times, forcing three turnovers and getting some key stops throughout the day.
As has been the case with the Buffs too often this year, though, costly mistakes piled up.
CU was penalized just six times, but several were crushing.
Lineman Andre Roye Jr. was flagged on back-to-back plays, costing the Buffs 20 yards and a big pass from Lewis to Miller early in the second quarter. That killed a promising drive (and ended the day for Roye, who was benched after the second flag).
Late in the second quarter, Anquin Barnes sacked Mountaineers quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. but grabbed the facemask for a 15-yard penalty. That put West Virginia in range for a field goal before the half. Another penalty, a holding call on cornerback Teon Parks, kept a third-quarter drive alive for West Virginia that resulted in another field goal.
The Buffs also had a punt blocked for a safety, gave up seven sacks and 15 tackles for loss, and allowed the game-sealing touchdown by the Mountaineers.
It all added up to CU once again falling just short and now looking toward the future. Yet with Lewis behind center, there’s some hope going forward.
“Realistically, I mean, we’re not going to give up,” Lewis said. “I feel like the past couple beatdowns we’ve had, it looked like we’d given up and haven’t wanted it as bad, but I think you could tell how bad we wanted this one. So, this is going to hurt on the way home, of course, but, I mean, just recoup, regather, and get ready for the next week.”