Sports

Colorado Quarterback Julian Lewis Showed An Extreme Lack Of Care During Blowout Loss To Northwestern

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Julian lewis effort care attitude run out of bounds frist down colorado football

It was a very big deal when five-star quarterback Julian Lewis committed to Colorado but his college football career has not yet lived up to the hype. He showed an extreme lack of care during a blowout loss to Northwestern on Saturday.

The redshirt freshman ducked out of bounds instead of picking up an easy first down…

Fortunately, there are still eight college football games remaining for the Buffaloes in 2026 so Lewis can keep getting better in all facets of the game. Unfortunately, their most recent loss to the Wildcats does not bode well for them.

Did Julian Lewis regress from last college football season?

Kaidon Salter played most of 2025 as the starting quarterback for Colorado. The Buffaloes gave the keys to Lewis late in the season. He went 0-2 with a seven-point loss to West Virginia and a 24-point loss to Arizona State. His completion percentage dropped below 60% and he finished with negative rushing yards.

2026 is off to a similar start. Lewis completed only 52% of his passes for less than 130 yards during a win over Georgia Tech in Week 1. He finished with less than 175 yards passing and only seven yards rushing in a loss to Northwestern on Saturday.

Former Colorado head coach Gary Barnett thinks Lewis has actually regressed from 2025 to 2026. His mechanics are a concern.

Through three games, Lewis is 50-of-79 for 658 yards with six passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown, five sacks and two interceptions. It did not seem like the quarterback was on the same page as his offensive coordinator. He was out of sync with his receivers. The defense jumped all over a few throws that he shouldn’t have forced over the middle.

Colorado looked completely lost on both sides of the ball. However, the bigger concern might’ve been attitude.

Colorado’s quarterback ran out of bounds.

Raw talent can only take a team so far. The head coach must create a winning culture. The players must buy into the culture.

That seems to be an issue out in Boulder. Deion Sanders was extremely frustrated with how his team reacted to the loss. His players don’t seem to care. They were laughing in defeat.

However, there were also warning signs during the game. Starting with the quarterback.

Julian Lewis was forced out of the pocket on 2nd-and-5 inside the red zone and took off running toward the line to gain. The first down was well within reach. He decided to run out of bounds. It was a clear business decision.

Lewis actively chose not to pick up the first down.

It would be one thing if he was trying to avoid a big hit and got out of bounds to protect his health. That was not the case here. Lewis had at least three more yards before the crashing defender would’ve made contact. Even then, a quarterback who truly cares about winning would fight for every yard possible.