Colorado took care of business this weekend, beating Weber State 52 to 21 in the home opener and moving to 2-0 on the season. The Buffs’ offense exploded for 578 total yards, the passing game really opened up and fans got a much better look at what Brennan Marion’s offense can be when everything is clicking.

That being said, Deion Sanders and the Buffs aren’t satisfied. At the postgame press conference, Colorado certainly did not sound like a team that had just won by 31 points. Sanders and a handful of his star players expressed frustration with their performance, saying they expect much more from themselves than that they showed fans against Weber State.

There were plenty of positives, but there is also clearly a lot this team wants to clean up before getting into the heart of the schedule. To make sense of that, here are my three biggest takeaways from the win:

1. JuJu is THE guy

This was probably the biggest thing that Colorado fans wanted to see coming into this game.
Starting quarterback JuJu Lewis did not have a terrible game against Georgia Tech, but things just seemed a little bit off. There were throws that were slightly late, some missed opportunities downfield and it felt like he was still getting comfortable in a new offense.

Against Weber State, it was the complete opposite. Lewis finished 17 of 23 for 366 yards, four passing touchdowns, no interceptions and added another touchdown on the ground. He looked comfortable from the very beginning,and it seemed like the game had slowed down for him. He was seeing the field, getting the ball out and most importantly, hitting his receivers in stride when they got open.

The first quarter was probably the best example. JuJu went 7 of 8 for 212 yards and three touchdowns, setting the Colorado record for passing yards in a first quarter. He hit DeAndre Moore Jr. for a 66 yard touchdown, Joseph Williams for 63 and Ernest Campbell for 48. Colorado scored on JuJu’s first pass of the game and never looked back. It was a phenomenal performance and the Big 12 took notice, as Lewis was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week following the game, along with being named a Manning Award Star of the Week. His four passing touchdowns also set a Colorado freshman record.

Obviously, Weber State is not the toughest defense Colorado will see this season, but this was exactly what fans wanted from JuJu. He looked confident, decisive and in complete control of the offense, proving that JuJu Lewis is our guy.

2. The Buffs have playmakers

JuJu deserves a ton of credit, but his receivers certainly made life easy for him. Joseph Williams finished with four catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns. DeAndre Moore Jr. had four catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. Ernest Campbell only needed one catch to make his impact, taking it 48 yards for another touchdown. Those three combined for 278 receiving yards and all four of JuJu’s passing touchdowns.

What stood out to me was the variety of ways Colorado was able to create explosive plays. There is legitimate over the top speed in this receiver room, but there is also a ton of quickness underneath. On Williams’ 63 yard touchdown, JuJu found him underneath and JoJo did the rest, breaking multiple tackles on is way from taking a quick slant route all the way to the house. Moore’s 66 yard touchdown showed the ability to simply get behind a defense.

Then you add Micah Welch, who ran for 106 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries, including a 55 yard touchdown run, making him the Colorado’s first 100 yard rusher in the Deion Sanders era. If JuJu continues to see the field the way he did Saturday, there are enough playmakers around him to make this offense extremely dangerous.

3. There is work to do

This is probably the weirdest takeaway from a 31 point win, but Colorado was far from perfect against Weber State. The Buffs finished with 13 penalties for 107 yards and lost two fumbles. Weber State also finished with 372 total yards and scored three touchdowns through the air. Those are mistakes you can survive against Weber State. They become much more costly once Big 12 play begins.

You could tell immediately after the game that the coaching staff was not satisfied. Deion Sanders was frustrated with mistakes on offense, defense and special teams, particularly the penalties and mental errors. Brennan Marion apparently told the offense before the game that if they did not score 70 points, they were going to run. Colorado scored 52, so probably had a really “fun” conditioning session shortly thereafter.

Colorado won by 31 points and put up nearly 600 yards of offense, but this team does not seem particularly interested in celebrating a blowout against an FCS opponent. There is clearly a higher standard inside the building. Cleaning up the penalties, protecting the football and eliminating some of those mental mistakes is going to be crucial going forward.

Next Week

Overall, there was a lot to like Saturday. JuJu Lewis looked like the quarterback Colorado needs him to be, the Buffs showed that they have legitimate speed and playmakers all over the offense and despite winning by 31, this team still feels like it has plenty of room to improve.

Colorado is now 2-0 and heads on the road this Saturday to take on Northwestern at 5:30 PM Mountain Time on Fox. That should give us a much better idea of how much of what we saw against Weber State can carry over against stronger competition.
We will have the full preview later this week, and Sko Buffs!