Colorado Coach Deion Sanders' Comments on Julian Lewis Spark Intrigue

The Colorado Buffaloes lost their third game of the season, falling to No. 11 Texas Tech in a game that felt closer than what the final score indicates. Still, Colorado coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes were unable to come away with the upset win, and a bit of quarterback controversy as well as a leaked playbook linger around the program.

At his postgame press conference, "Coach Prime" spoke about Colorado's quarterback situation and failed to provide a clear explanation for the status of Buffs quarterback Julian Lewis.

colorado buffaloes deion sanders julian lewis quarterback situation texas tech red raiders isaac lewis utah utes big 12 — Oct 3, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders before the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Folsom Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"I would love for JuJu (Julian Lewis) to come here, and he tell you what happened," said Sanders. "So don't, 'You benched JuJu, first and third string.' No, that's not how it went down. . . . It didn't happen like that."

"It's always competition everyday. . . . We have three options there [at quarterback], somebody just has to grab a hold of it and get it done," Sanders continued.

Lewis started the season as Colorado's starting quarterback, but his struggles in the first half against Baylor led the Buffaloes coaching staff to bench Lewis in favor of quarterback Isaac Wilson, who then got the nod at home against Texas Tech. Against the Red Raiders, Wilson completed 26 of 44 pass attempts for 290 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.

The turnovers proved especially costly, but Colorado's inability to put points on the board kept the Buffs from pulling off the upset.

"We got one glaring problem, you guys know darn well what that is. Let's stop the foolishness. We got to play better at one specific position."

Alluding to the Buffaloes' quarterback issues, Sanders and the Colorado offense also struggled to run the ball against Texas Tech. Wilson was only sacked once by the Red Raiders, and he led the team with 42 yards on 17 carries. Meanwhile, Colorado running back Damian Henderson rushed for 19 yards on three carries, followed by running back Micah Welch with five yards on two carries.

The defense

Deion Sanders Sticks Up for Julian Lewis

While taking questions after the game, Sanders kept the attention on the players that did play against Texas Tech, seemingly attempting to keep the quarterback saga from becoming a distraction for his team.

"JuJu didn't play today. I'm not going to badger the kid or say nothing derogatory for the kid. He didn't play today. . . I'm worried about our team and winning. You're trying to single out a kid and you can't do that man. These kids are pretty darn comfortable."

Sanders has often played his cards close to his chest, especially concerning the quarterback plans of his team. As a result, the plan for Lewis and whether or not he'll see the field again for Colorado in 2026 or in the team's next game remains to be seen.

After falling to Texas Tech, Colorado will enjoy a bye week before hosting another ranked Big 12 opponent at Folsom Field. On Oct. 17, the No. 12 Utah Utes will travel into Boulder to face the Buffaloes.

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