Can the Colorado Buffaloes still salvage a lost season?

Julian Lewis will move forward as Colorado's starting quarterback after receiving redshirt eligibility. (Photo by Jacob Hock/Sko Buffs Sports)

The word ‘salvage’ is defined as “to rescue a wrecked ship’s cargo from loss at sea” by Oxford Dictionaries. After two straight blowout losses, that’s exactly what the Colorado Buffaloes football team (3-6, 1-5 Big 12) is trying to do with its season.

Their opponents on Saturday, the West Virginia Mountaineers (3-6, 1-5 Big 12), give the Buffs an example that it's possible for wreckage to be repaired. Since falling short in their first five conference matchups, the Mountaineers have galvanized an identity by going on the road in Week 10 to stun then-ranked No. 22 Houston Cougars. 

Meanwhile, in Boulder, the once-present buzz on campus for the team is now nonexistent, and frustration among students has continued to grow.

“Last year, going to football games was so much fun,” Colorado sophomore student Russell Stevens told Sko Buffs Sports. “Because any given play, there was the possibility that Shedeur [Sanders] would scramble and launch a missile to one of our four NFL-level wide receivers.”

“[It’s] like watching a game from 1932,” he continued. "The amount of screen passes and inside runs that I’ve seen is not fun at all. And part of that seems to be the play calling, but the other half is just kind of the lack of fun because we don’t have the spark of Travis Hunter. You would think that the forward pass wasn’t invented yet.” 

Saturday’s game against West Virginia provides a new face to ignite sparks again, though. Freshman quarterback Julian Lewis is confirmed to be the starter this weekend, and he showed signs of optimism in last week’s 52-17 loss to Arizona.

The highly-touted recruit threw for 121 yards and a 59-yard deep ball touchdown pass to Omarion Miller in his first series after being introduced. 

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders said in his Tuesday press conference that the choice to start Lewis was “common sense.”

If there’s anything left to salvage from the Buffaloes’ season, it’s about having the belief that what Coach Prime is building can hold off struggles even as the waves are hitting the hardest. Then, there might just be something worth saving from the wreckage. 

Kickoff against West Virginia is scheduled for 10 a.m. MT in Morgantown (TNT).