MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — If Saturday in Morgantown was an audition, Julian Lewis passed.
And passed.
And passed.
Ju Ju looked past open receivers. He looked ready to turtle whenever West Virginia sent the house. But he also looked like Shedeur Sanders out there at times, didn’t he?
Especially when dropping ball after ball in the bucket for CU wide receiver Omarion Miller.
The Buffs dropped their third game in a row at Milan Puskar Stadium, falling 29-22 against the Mountaineers and slipping to 3-7 on a lost season.
Yet it was the most fun the Buffs have been in what, a month? For the first time in what feels like forever, we saw snippets of last fall’s passing game. 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.
Sanders said earlier this week that his decision to start Lewis, a true freshman, at quarterback was guided by “common sense.”
Hindsight is 20/20, especially when a year goes off the rails. But what took so long?
Coach Prime should’ve listened to his common sense sooner.
While senior Kaidon Salter offered zero juice and minimal downfield threat at QB1, Lewis walked into coal country and looked the part. The Mountaineers blitzed from the left. They blitzed from the right. At one point, they even pulled out a piece of Ju Ju’s hair. Kid hung tough: 22 completions on 35 attempts for 299 yards and two touchdowns.
Lewis to Miler was the combo CU has been waiting for all year. The chemistry was undeniable. The combo was almost unguardable: Miller finished with six catches for 131 receiving yards and a score.
Ju Ju was at his strongest rolling and throwing to his left, hitting Miller for a 43-yard rainbow early, then Sincere Brown (19 yards) and Joseph Williams (13 yards) on CU’s second drive of the second quarter.
And yes, some context applies here, too. West Virginia’s defense going 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 not unlike 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 scanned quickly, feeling the pocket constricting 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 in the pocket and took off for a 3-yard gain, giving CU a third-and-4 at the home 17. CU eventually got a 35-yard field goal from Alejandro Mata to pull the Buffs to within 22-19 with 14:51 left to play in the tilt.
Even more impressive was the fact that Lewis found himself working from behind the ‘8’ ball from the start. Especially with two new blockers on the outside, as left tackle Jordan Seaton watched the game in sweats while wearing a walking boot on his right ankle.
It didn’t take long to show.
Lewis was sacked twice in the first quarter and four times in the opening half. The first 30 minutes had the disjointed, stop-start look of two freshmen quarterbacks facing off, struggling to find their respective rhythms early.
Yet in the end, as auditions go, Lewis passed with almost flying colors. After the Utah and Arizona debacles, CU fans 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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