Julian Lewis needed three offensive snaps to make Saturday afternoon a different kind of game than the one Colorado played in Atlanta.
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Now the 18-year-old quarterback is being recognized for it.
On Monday, Lewis was named the Big 12’s Freshman of the Week after throwing for 366 yards and four touchdowns in the Buffaloes’ 52-21 win over Weber State at Folsom Field.
Lewis finished 17 of 23 without an interception and added a 3-yard touchdown run, accounting for five scores. He threw for 212 yards in the first quarter alone, a school record that broke Joel Klatt’s 211 against Texas A&M in 2005, and his 265.0 pass efficiency rating set another CU mark for a game with at least 20 attempts. His four touchdowns passes are the most ever thrown by a Colorado freshman.
In all, Lewis set or tied at least 10 school records in a single afternoon.
It followed an opener in which he threw for 124 yards and completed 14 of 27 passes at Georgia Tech before engineering the 75-yard drive that won the game in the final minute. Asked whether the coaching staff had deliberately set out to get their quarterback going against Weber State rather than simply running the ball again, head coach Deion Sanders did not pretend otherwise.
“Yes, it was,” Sanders said. “And we accomplished that goal.”
Sanders’ assessment of the result was shorter.
“Seventeen of 23. 366 (yards). Four touchdowns and no picks,” Sanders said. “I’m happy. I’m happy.”
Lewis has not thrown an interception in his college career, a streak that now stands at 144 attempts.
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For his part, Lewis declined to connect the two performances.
“I wouldn’t say the last game had anything to do with today,” he said. “I think every week is a new week to prove yourself.”
He was more willing to talk about the group in front of him.
“I love my big guys,” Lewis said of the Buffs offensive line. “As y’all can see, we’re sitting back there comfortable. All you can ask for as a quarterback is time to throw the ball, and they’ve been providing that every week. I took those guys out to eat this week. I’m consistently trying to feed those boys.”
Offensive lineman Chauncey Gooden, who took his official visit to Colorado alongside Lewis, said the belief predates the numbers.
“I trust JuJu with everything,” Gooden said. “JuJu is a winner. He’s always going to find a way to win the game.”
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