Colorado’s Go-Go offense looked a bit more like the Air Raid on Saturday afternoon at Folsom Field.
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Julian Lewis threw for 366 yards with four touchdowns, ran for a fifth and led the Buffaloes to a 52-21 victory over Weber State in their home opener. It was CU’s first win at Folsom Field since Oct. 11, 2025, a 24-17 victory over then-No. 22 Iowa State.
The 18-year-old quarterback came out firing. Lewis threw for 212 yards in the first quarter alone — a school record, passing Joel Klatt’s 211 in 2005 — and had three touchdown passes before the period ended.
The first came on Colorado’s opening offensive snap, a 66-yard connection with DeAndre Moore Jr. On the Buffs’ next possession, Joseph Williams took a slant 63 yards to the end zone. After a Lewis fumble set up Weber State’s only first-quarter touchdown, Ernest Campbell answered with a 48-yard scoring catch, and Micah Welch broke loose for a 55-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.
Lewis found Williams again from 32 yards out and punched in a 3-yard score before the break. Colorado led 42-14 at halftime.
Head coach Deion Sanders was not especially pleased about any of it.
“We didn’t capitalize on offense,” Sanders said. “We only scored 52 points. It should have been a lot more productivity. We’re not satisfied with the outcome. We’re not.”
Asked whether a 31-point win met the standard, he didn’t hedge.
“We’re trying to win a championship,” Sanders said. “We’re not just trying to win a game. Maybe you’re comfortable with that. I’m not comfortable with that.”
Lewis, who finished 17 of 23 without an interception, sounded much the same.
“We’re definitely still not where we want to be in terms of the pass game,” he said. “There’s room to grow. Nobody’s satisfied where we’re at. (Being) 2-0 is not the end goal.”
Told he had set a school record, Lewis didn’t seem self-involved: “That’s cool,” Lewis said of the record, “But we’re trying to win the game. Those guys were out there competing against us, so we still got a lot to grow on. Nobody cares about 300 yards or whatever.”
Welch’s 106 yards on 11 carries made him the first Colorado running back to reach 100 yards in a game under Sanders, a fact the head coach absorbed in real time at the podium.
“He’s the first 100-yard rusher?” Sanders asked. “Dang. We were that bad?”
The frustration had specific sources. Colorado was penalized 13 times for 107 yards, roughly double its output at Georgia Tech, and lost a would-be touchdown run late to a holding call.
“They’re mindless penalties. They don’t make sense,” Sanders said. “We can’t win consistently with those types of penalties. We’re much better than that.”
The Buffs also turned it over twice, including a muffed punt by Boo Carter with 13 seconds left in the first half, and allowed 372 yards to an FCS opponent. Weber State receiver Noah Kjar, the son of first-year Wildcats coach Eric Kjar, caught seven passes for 121 yards and two scores.
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“We’re not happy about giving up 21 points, for sure,” linebacker Tyler Martinez said. “Sloppy technique. Too many missed tackles, including myself — I missed two or three.”
Colorado moved Carter inside to the nickel after the second Weber State touchdown, a change Sanders said settled things down and opened up snaps for Jason Stokes Jr., who broke up three passes.
“Boo went in the slot and shut that thing down,” Sanders said. “That presents an opportunity to Stokes, and he was ready. He didn’t back down.”
The passing game answered the question it left open in Atlanta, and Joseph Williams said it was built during the week.
“We spent 30 minutes after practice every day, just getting extra routes in,” said Williams, who caught four passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. “(Julian) was forcing us, whether our legs felt good or not. He needed to get that timing with us.
Williams’ own assessment of the afternoon was in keeping with everyone else’s.
“My mom was able to see me score a few times,” he said. “But I still felt like I didn’t play my best.”
Elliot Arnold handled the kicking after Daniel Gerlach had the job in the opener, making a 52-yard field goal and all seven extra point attempts before missing from 47 yards out in the fourth quarter. Sanders said the depth chart at the position had thinned.
“Everybody went down, so he was the only active kicker we had,” Sanders said. “He got his confidence back. He got his swagger back.”
The Buffs played in front of a near-capacity crowd in their first game at Folsom this season.
“That first run out was awesome. It was loud.” Martinez said. “I had to cover my earphones because I couldn’t hear that call. And then the flyover gave me goosebumps.”
Colorado (2-0) plays at Northwestern next Saturday, Sept. 19, the first of two straight road games.
“Overall, I’m ecstatic about the win,” Sanders said. “But my expectations far exceed our productivity of the day.”
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