Colorado’s matchup with West Virginia was filled with highs, lows, and plenty of storylines reflected in the stat sheet.
Freshman quarterback Julian Lewis made his first career start and turned heads with nearly 300 passing yards and two touchdowns, showing poise even under constant pressure.
The Buffs’ rushing attack struggled once again, totaling just 51 yards, while the offensive line allowed seven sacks that stalled key drives. On defense, Colorado forced three turnovers but couldn’t get stops when it mattered most.
From Lewis’s breakout debut to Omarion Miller’s continued surge, the numbers tell the story of a team still growing.
Julian Lewis’ statline
In his first career start, Julian Lewis impressed. He made several big-time throws, fit passes into tight windows, and consistently found his receivers throughout the game. Lewis finished with 22 completions on 35 attempts for 299 yards and two touchdowns. The one knock on his performance was the sacks he took, though that was partly due to a makeshift offensive line missing several key starters. Despite the loss, it was a strong debut, and Lewis will start the remaining games for the Buffs as he looks to build on this performance.
Colorado’s rushing yards
Another game, another disappointing outing for the Buffs’ ground attack. On 38 attempts, Colorado managed just 51 total rushing yards. A chunk of that came from negative yardage on sacks, as Lewis was dropped for -39 yards. Even so, the combination of Dallan Hayden and Dre’lon Miller totaled only 76 yards on 20 carries. It’s far from ideal, and the lack of a consistent run threat made things even tougher on the freshman quarterback. With key offensive linemen out, including future NFL tackle Jordan Seaton, the Buffs struggled to open lanes all afternoon.
Omarion Miller is heating up
Since Julian Lewis took over as QB1, Omarion Miller has been thriving. Against Arizona last week, he caught five passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns. This week against West Virginia, he followed that up with six receptions for 131 yards and another score. Miller has clearly become Lewis’s favorite target, and the two connected for several highlight plays against the Mountaineers’ secondary. This is the version of Omarion Miller Buffs fans have been waiting to see—showing off the elite talent everyone knew he had.
Colorado’s sacks allowed
The Buffs gave up seven sacks to the Mountaineers, as Lewis faced pressure nearly every time he dropped back. Some of those sacks were on him, as he needs to improve his internal clock and get rid of the ball faster, but the offensive line didn’t do him many favors either. Allowing seven sacks can’t happen, and head coach Deion Sanders will no doubt look to tighten up protection for his freshman quarterback heading into next week’s matchup against Arizona State.
Colorado’s defensive struggles
Despite forcing three turnovers—two interceptions and a fumble—the Buffs’ defense still surrendered 29 points. It was an odd performance: they did a solid job limiting explosive plays, giving up just one big reception of 69 yards while holding the rest of the Mountaineers’ gains to under 20 yards. Still, in a game where Colorado needed key defensive stops, they couldn’t come up with them when it mattered most.
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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Stats that defined Colorado football’s loss to West Virginia
