Brett Bartolone Reveals Approach To Colorado's Play-Calling Duties

Now entering his third game as the Colorado Buffaloes' offensive play-caller, Brett Bartolone believes it still comes down to execution and improving on early downs.

Bartolone, who also serves as the Buffs' tight ends coach, took over play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur earlier this month and has so far produced 39 points in two games. True freshman quarterback Julian "JuJu" Lewis impressed under Bartolone's direction against West Virginia, and the two are now preparing for Saturday's test against the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Earlier this week, Bartolone opened up on his new role while appearing on "Coach Prime's Playbook."

"From a preparation standpoint, not much has changed," Bartolone told CBS Colorado's Romi Bean. "You know the players that you've had, you know the scheme that you have. As always, as a coach, it's about putting the players in the best possible position to succeed. That's just something that I've constantly been thinking about over these last couple of weeks."

Brett Bartolone Receiving Full Support

Brett Bartolone Approach Colorado Play-Calling Duties Pat Shurmur Deion Sanders Julian Lewis Buffaloes Football Offense Prime — Nov 8, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders walks along the sidelines late in the fourth quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Bartolone, who served as coach Deion Sanders' offensive coordinator at Jackson State in 2022, added that his fellow staff members have been supportive of the mid-season transition. Change was needed after Colorado's 53-7 loss at Utah on Oct. 25, and Bartolone's experience made him a clear choice for the role.

"The offensive staff has been a tremendous help and everyone has really just come along and has been there in their role and been super supportive of the whole deal," Bartolone said. "Now we got to execute a little better and we got to win."

On Saturday, Bartolone will lead Lewis into his second career start against a talented Arizona State defense. The 3-7 Buffs had an extra week to prepare during their second bye, but will again have plenty to prove.

"For us — not just Julian, but from an offensive standpoint — it just comes down to straight execution," Bartolone said. "There's a lot of things we need to get better at from a fundamental standpoint. Everyone may think that during a bye week it's X's and O's, and that's definitely a part of it, but we got to execute better... There's a million things that we got to work on from a fundamental standpoint."

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Julian Lewis Set For Second Career Start

With Bartolone calling plays, all eyes will be on Lewis throughout his second career start and his first at Folsom Field on Saturday. After throwing for 299 yards and two touchdowns against West Virginia, Lewis stayed in Boulder during the bye week to study film and prepare for the 7-3 Sun Devils.

Colorado's Senior Day game against Arizona State will kick off at 6 p.m. MT on ESPN2.