MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — If Saturday was an audition, Julian Lewis passed.
And passed.
And passed.
But who was he auditioning for?
After throwing for two scores in a 29-22 loss at West Virginia on Saturday, the bag men are going to be sniffing around Ju Ju’s inner circle, trying to coax a promising young slinger into the portal.
“I think you (could) tell how bad we wanted this one,” the crown jewel of the Buffs’ 2025 recruiting class said of his first collegiate start. “So this is going to hurt on the way home, of course. But just recoup, re-gather and get ready for the next week.”
Tough day. Tougher kid. Morgantown threw everything at Lewis but the Don Knotts statue downtown. The Buffs’ freshman quarterback got shoved. Jostled. Trampled. At one point, a West Virginia defender even reached over and ripped off a clump of the young man’s hair.
One quarter in, Lewis looked his age. He completed three throws on eight attempts. He had already been sacked twice. And the Buffs trailed 9-0. He wound up nailing 19 of his next 27 attempts and finishing with 299 passing yards on the day, each drive a little more comfortable than the last.
After the game, in the spirit of Knotts’ Barney Fife, Lewis nipped his afternoon straight in the bud.
“I mean, we knew they were going to send pressure,” he said. “Freshman quarterback, all that stuff. I had to get the ball out faster. O-line did all they could, protected up front, gave me some time back there.”
At 3-7, let’s call this Buffs season what it probably always was from the jump: A rebuilding one. Deion Sanders needed to turn the calendar — and give Ju Ju the keys — weeks ago, in hindsight.
But right now, Coach Prime needs to ask Lewis three questions:
What do you want?
Who do you want?
What has to happen for you to stay?
The Buffs (1-6 Big 12) need to craft CU’s offense to fit Lewis, not the other way around.
Give him a vote on personnel. Give him a vote on recruits. Give him a vote on his coordinator.
If it’s for Pat Shurmur, ask him to take a deep breath and vote again.
Dadgum it, there’s something there. Saturday was no masterpiece, whether you go by the eye test or analytics. Ju Ju looked past open receivers. He looked ready to turtle whenever the Mountaineers sent the house. He took seven sacks.
But he also looked like Shedeur Sanders out there at times, didn’t he? Especially when dropping ball after ball in the bucket for wide receiver Omarion Miller.
For the first time in what feels like forever, we saw snippets of last fall’s aerial attack. We saw the deep ball and the vertical passing game that scared the Big 12 half to death.
2024: Shedeur to Travis Hunter.
2025: Ju Ju to Omarion.
The chemistry was undeniable. The combo was almost unguardable: Miller finished with six catches for 131 yards and a score.
“Definitely (felt it),” Lewis said of the connection. “Same thing with Joseph (Williams) and Sincere (Brown) and all those guys out there. Just those extra reps after practice are so important. … It took a minute for the offense to get going. But when it got going, it felt like the expectation was there. It was moving.”
Sure was. Especially in the second quarter, when the freshman completed 8 of 10 throws for 123 yards and got the Buffs off the mat.
Lewis didn’t just look like someone the Buffs like playing with. He looked who might be able to lure other players, at other places, into the party.
“You can see he’s going to be special,” Coach Prime said.
“(He) played outstanding out there,” West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said.
And yes, some context applies here, too. West Virginia’s defense headed into the weekend ranked last in the Big 12 in opponent passer rating (160.25) and 14th in the league in passing yards allowed per game (270.8). It was a little like debuting a rookie hitter against the 2025 Rockies at Coors Field — a soft landing, a chance to build numbers and confidence.
Still, you could see that confidence growing in real time.
On the CU drive that ended the third quarter and opened the fourth, the freshman faced second-and-7 from the West Virginia 20. He felt the pocket constrict to his left and his right. It was the kind of bang-bang play that would’ve been a sure-fire sack earlier in the game, never mind earlier in the season. Lewis stepped up and took off for a 3-yard gain, giving CU a third-and-4 at the home 17. The Buffs eventually got a 35-yard field goal out of the deal, pulling to within 22-19 with 14:51 left in the tilt.
Some of the seven sacks could be attributed to two new blockers on the outside, as left tackle Jordan Seaton watched the game in sweats while wearing a boot on his right ankle.
“I mean, guys stepped up this week that didn’t expect to play,” Lewis said. “So I’m just grateful that they did their thing. I’ve just got to do better next time.”
Sanders said earlier this week that his decision to start Lewis at quarterback was guided by “common sense.” Coach Prime should’ve listened to his common sense sooner.
While senior Kaidon Salter offered zero juice and minimal downfield danger at QB1, Lewis walked into coal country and didn’t just talk the part. He looked it.
“I’m not going home or anything like that,” the freshman promised after the game. “I’m going to sit in the facility, watch the (film), try to grow, get better, try to keep all the receivers back (on the practice field) so we can keep building that connection. And get ready for next year.”
After the Utah and Arizona debacles, CU faithful have been looking for a reason to stay invested. Ju Ju was worth the wait. But only if you can figure out a way to keep him.
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