Gut-punch against Northwestern will foretell rest of the Buffaloes' season
Colorado was embarrassed on Saturday. But maybe it was for the better.
The Colorado Buffaloes took a gut-punch loss to the Northwestern Wildcats, getting obliterated 41-7. Everything that could’ve gone wrong did.
Redshirt freshman Julian Lewis threw two interceptions after 150 passes without one. The Buffs got caught sleeping not once, not twice, not three times but three times by Wildcats’ quarterback Aidan Chiles. It seemed like every time Wildcats’ offensive coordinator Chip Kelly dialed up a red zone wheel route, the Buffs defense was caught in no man’s land three times.
Colorado also had nine penalties for 80 yards after 13 for 112 against an FCS squad. Lewis’ picks barely scratch the surface of their turnover woes, as the Buffs’ top two backs each put the ball on the ground, and the Go-Go was a no-go on fourth-and-short thrice.
After earning top-25 votes after their week one thriller, Colorado has hit rock bottom. In two weeks, the Buffaloes’ entire narrative has changed from potential to a negative point differential.
What will they do about it? We find out on Sept. 26.
Colorado’s blowout loss to Northwestern has a little déjà vu to it. In head coach Deion Sanders' era, his Buffaloes have suffered a loss like the one in Evanston in all four seasons. All games were on the road, too.
Throwback to 2023, Dan Lanning’s team defeated CU’s clicks 42-6. In Travis Hunter’s Heisman year, the Buffs lost to their Big Red rival in Lincoln 28-10. Last season, Houston’s Conner Weigman threw all over Colorado’s defense in a game that foreshadowed the rest of the season, losing 26-20.
That last part matters. Each one of those games foretold the rest of the season like the Crypt Keeper told moralistic tales of terror.
In Coach Prime’s first year, the Buffs went 1-7 the rest of the season after being dive-bombed by the Ducks. In 2024, the Buffs responded and won eight of their next 10 games. After losing in H-Town in 2025, CU beat up on those Cowboys from Cheyenne before also going 1-7 the rest of the way.
2024 is the outlier. Granted, the Hunter factor most likely duplicated wins. But what was different about that squad is how, in the face of adversity, they proved they were legit.
Four score and two seasons ago, the Buffs defeated their little brother in Foco, then survived an overtime comeback nail-biter in their infamous Big 12 opener against Baylor. Colorado was punched in the mouth, and two games later, punched back.
So, if history holds, the lesson isn’t that Buffaloes can’t get blown out, because they will. But the next important game after will matter more than the blowout itself.
The Buffs' road test in Waco, Texas, this weekend will show their hand. Baylor won’t be about erasing Northwestern, but demonstrating their response. Maybe the Buffs can even channel whatever magic lifted them over the Bears in 2024.
Kickoff in the heart of Texas is set for 10 a.m. MT (ESPN2).
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