Former University of Utah quarterback Isaac Wilson got his first extensive snaps for Colorado on Saturday in the team’s Big 12 opener at Baylor, as he replaced benched starter Julian Lewis in the second half.
Wilson had a pair of scoring drives and led the Buffaloes on a game-tying touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter, but the Bears responded with 10 straight points to end the contest and win 23-13 at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas.
Wilson, who starred as a former four-star quarterback at Corner Canyon High, took over the Colorado offense after Lewis led the Buffaloes to just three points on seven first-half possessions, as Baylor led 10-3 at halftime.
Coach Deion Sanders said the coaching staff will need to “reassess and see where we’re going” regarding the quarterback position, without commenting on who might be starting moving forward.
“We need better play at a lot of positions, not just that one,” he told reporters, while also expressing words of confidence in what Lewis has done for the Buffaloes.
“Don’t give up on JuJu. That kid plays with tremendous effort and tremendous heart. He’s not quitting and he’s not abandoning anybody. We just needed a change. We needed an inspiration at that time in some kind of way.”
Sanders said the decision to move from Lewis to Wilson was simply to try and get the offense going. Combined with a 41-7 loss to Northwestern the week before, Colorado had scored 10 points in six quarters of play.
“It’s a decision that I made because I was trying to get us going. I said, we gotta get going. We gotta score. We gotta score some points,” Sanders said.
The Utah native got off to an inauspicious start, as he completed just 1 of 5 passes to start the second half and 4 of 11 just past midway through the third quarter. Colorado punted on its first three possessions of the second half.
That’s when Wilson started to show a better command of the offense, though.
With Baylor up 13-3 after tacking on a field goal, the Buffaloes started their fourth possession of the second half at their own 20 with 4:19 left in the third.
Wilson led Colorado on a six-play, 63-yard drive that ended in a 46-yard field goal with 2:17 to go in the third to make it 13-6. That included completing passes of 15 and 27 yards to Joseph Williams on back-to-back plays to move the Buffaloes into field goal range.
Then, after a Baylor punt that pinned Colorado at its 5, Wilson led the Buffaloes on their lone touchdown drive.
Colorado marched the ball 95 yards in 12 plays on the ensuing possession, with Wilson capping the drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Williams to tie the game at 13-13 with 11:04 to play.
After beginning the drive with an incompletion, Wilson completed his last four passes of the possession.
“Isaac came in, a little shaky, nervous. Then he calmed down a little bit, got us down the field, did his job,” Sanders said.
“That’s all we want. And one thing I told him that you don’t have to be the man, just get the ball to the men. That’s the one thing we need to understand from that position. Don’t have to be the guy, just get the ball … to the guys and we’re fine."
Unfortunately for Colorado, that was where the positives ended. Baylor responded with a quick touchdown drive of its own to regain the lead, as DJ Lagway found Jadon Porter for a 33-yard touchdown two minutes later to push the Bears back ahead 20-13.
Following a three-and-out from Wilson and Colorado, Baylor added a field goal to make it 23-13.
The Buffaloes gained just 22 yards on their final three drives, which included a lost fumble and a turnover on downs.
Wilson completed 12 of 25 passes for 156 yards and one touchdown in a half of play, while also rushing for minus-11 yards on five carries.
He was sacked twice, including a 14-yarder on Colorado’s final drive.
Up next for Colorado is a home matchup with No. 11 Texas Tech next week. The Red Raiders beat Sam Houston 49-14 on Saturday.