Evaluating Isaac Wilson’s first Colorado start
Isaac Wilson opened the game with a catch and closed it with a question mark.
Colorado’s first play from scrimmage in its 29-7 loss to Texas Tech was a pass caught by Wilson, setting the tone for a night that went from promising to painful.
The junior transfer got his first start on Saturday after coming off the bench against Baylor last week. Colorado came in ranked 114th in scoring offense, and Brennan Marion's "Go-Go" attack had been missing its juice for weeks.
The good
After that opening catch, Wilson led a nine-play, 75-yard drive capped by an 8-yard pass to Joseph Williams for a touchdown. After weeks of Colorado’s offense sputtering, it felt night and day. Marion called plenty of play action to stretch the field and set up Wilson deep shots, then balanced it with power runs between the tackles to keep the Red Raiders honest.
Throughout the first half, Wilson had individual stretches of six and seven straight completions. He spread the ball to seven different Buffs and gelled with the receiver room fast, especially Williams, who finished with 10 catches for 93 yards and CU’s only score. Colorado took a 7-3 lead into the half, and it would have been more without two missed field goals.
The most encouraging part was seeing Wilson look downfield. Colorado had averaged just 224 passing yards a game over its previous two outings. Colorado clearly had renewed energy with a fresh face at the helm.
"They were ecstatic … They've seen my energy,” Wilson said postgame. “They've seen what I bring to the table, but I can't let them down like that.”
The bad
The second half came down to two problems feeding each other: pressure and decision-making.
Texas Tech hurried Wilson out of the pocket multiple times, which affected his reads and accuracy. Drives stalled when the play-action looks that worked early became dysfunctional. The downfield aggression that made the first half exciting turned into forced throws.
The turnovers are what stuck. Three interceptions, two of them back-to-back early in the half, and one in Colorado's own end zone for a pick-6. That brought him to six interceptions at Folsom Field dating back to his time with Utah. A quarterback can survive a bad night, but it's harder to ignore when the same mistake keeps showing up.
To be fair to Wilson, not everything was on him. One third-and-long throw over the middle to Williams was right where it needed to be, and the drop ended a drive that could have shifted the momentum. But the interceptions are what distinguished the two halves.
He seemed to understand that.
"I take a lot of blame on that," Wilson said. "I just got to stop doing too much."
That might be the most telling line of the night, because the first half showed what he can do within the offense, and the second half showed what happens when he tries to go beyond it.
"It's gotta start with the quarterback room, gotta start with me," he added.
Deion Sanders didn't sugarcoat it either.
"We've been horrible," he said of the offense. "We got to play better at one specific position."
In a game where the quarterback threw three picks, it's pretty clear what he meant. Wilson finished 26-of-44, for 290 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
The verdict
For two drives, Buff fans thought they’d found the key to the season. Wilson showed what the “Go-Go” can look like when the ball is downfield, and the timing is there. But he also showed how fast it can all fall apart.
Colorado heads into its bye week with plenty to sort out. For Wilson, it's a chance to reset and rebuild confidence. For the team, it's a chance to decide what the rest of this season will entail.
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