Colorado Buffaloes head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders has sparked a quarterback controversy while keeping reporters guessing about the status of starting quarterback Julian Lewis.
The quarterback uncertainty follows back-to-back conference losses, beginning when Sanders benched Lewis at halftime during a 23–13 loss to Baylor on Sept. 26. Utah transfer Isaac Wilson then started in a 29–7 home loss to Texas Tech on Oct. 3.
Lewis, a former five-star recruit from Carrollton, Georgia, managed just 75 passing yards against Baylor before sitting out the Texas Tech game entirely. With backup signal-callers delivering inconsistent results, Colorado enters its bye week relying on Lewis to recapture the form that made him one of the nation’s top recruits.
Replacement Struggles in Loss to Red Raiders
In the Buffaloes’ home loss to Texas Tech on Saturday, Wilson struggled throughout the game to move the offense. He also threw a pick-six from his own end zone, which the Red Raiders returned for a touchdown. In the aftermath of the loss, a perturbed Coach Prime addressed the uneasiness surrounding the quarterback position and what’s going on with Lewis.
“I would love for JuJu (Julian Lewis) to come here, and he tell you what happened,” Sanders said. “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 Struggles Are Well-Documented But Not the End All Be All
Lewis struggled in the first half of the previous week’s game against Baylor, completing 11 of 16 passes for 75 yards with no touchdowns. His performance prompted Coach Prime to bench him at halftime in favor of Wilson.
Sanders emphasized that the quarterback job remains an open competition every day among three options heading into the team’s Week 6 bye week, calling the position group’s inconsistency a major factor holding the offense back.
Fans Chime In
Following Coach Prime’s always-entertaining postgame press conference, fans quickly took to social media to share their varying opinions on the messy quarterback situation in Boulder.
“Juju Lewis headed to GA Tech or Ga Southern,” a fan said.
“I really think JuJu is going to hit the portal at the next opportunity,” another fan said.
“Y’all that call him Coach Prime are the problem too…cult followers that obviously don’t know what good coaching really is,” a fan replied.
“Prime is done. Just a matter of time,” another fan commented.
“To this day, people still defend this man lol,” a fan mentioned.
“All this dude had to do was fade into the sunset as a legend. Now he’s showing his ass and sucking as a coach. Sad,” another fan quipped.
With no Shedeur in sight to bail his dad out, things in Boulder are gradually getting worse and the Coach Prime gig looks to be just about up.
Without Shedeur anchoring the offense in Boulder, his dad is now left to navigate a growing quarterback controversy, mounting pressure and an offense struggling to find its footing.
Chris Carter Says Deion Is Moving Backward
It’s been an open secret that Sanders’ dream coaching job is back at his alma matter Florida State. However, since rising to heights with a 9-4 Colorado team that also went 7-2 in the Big 12, Colorado fell to 3-9 last season. The team is 2-2 through four games in 2026. Even though he remains under contract through 2029, those results have brought plenty of scruitiny and criticism.
Hall of Famer NFL receiver Cris Carter says Deion’s latest results are hurting his chances to eventually be the Seminoles’ head coach. In a recent episode of Fully Loaded Podcast on Sept. 29, Carter said Florida State would have been a natural destination for Sanders if he could have kept the momentum goign after Travis Hunter, Shilo and Sheduer Sanders left.
“If Deion had Colorado in the right light, his perfect transition would be to come back to Florida and go to Florida State,” Carter said.
