After Colorado lost 41-7 to Northwestern, Coach Sanders called the big guns to help. Coach Prime knows there is a leadership void in Boulder. So he invoked the legacy of the Buffaloes’ 1990 consensus national championship team, legends Alfred Williams and Charles Johnson, to deliver a blunt reality check to Julian Lewis and the rest of the roster.
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“We made something happen that we’ve never ever talked about outside of our football family,” Williams said as per Well Off Media on September 24. “We were going to do is that we were going to be a team like none other. We weren’t going to drink during the week. We weren’t going to go out during the week. We weren’t going to party during the week.”
He spoke about how this decision came about after their team too had started things on a sour note with a 1-1-1 record. But the team had a special feeling.
“The one day that we got to hang out together and go out to party was after a celebration,” Williams continued. “When y’all are out there getting it. I know that’s a big a** sacrifice. We knew we had something special…and we held everybody accountable.”
The Hall of Famer Alfred Williams and the former quarterback Charles Johnson led CU to its 1990 National Championship victory in the Orange Bowl. To date, they remain the gold standard of Colorado football leadership. Surely, they wouldn’t be happy with the performance put on by Julian Lewis.
During Week 3, the offense was derailed by four total turnovers. In addition to Lewis’s two interceptions, two separate fumbles by the Colorado running backs gifted Northwestern short fields. It allowed the Wildcats to take a commanding 21-0 lead by halftime. Lewis threw for just 168 yards and one touchdown to two interceptions on 19 of 29 passes.
Lewis’s second interception of the night came deep in the fourth quarter. Colorado was desperately chasing a massive 35-7 deficit. The offense was forced into an aggressive passing game, allowing the Northwestern defense to relax.
The first fumble occurred on Colorado’s second offensive possession of the game. Micah Welch put the ball on the turf near midfield, allowing Northwestern to secure possession and march down the field for their first touchdown of the night.
Then came Damian Henderson II’s fumble. On the very next Colorado drive, Henderson fumbled inside the Northwestern 20-yard line. The mistake happened during a botched handoff exchange with quarterback Julian Lewis, instantly killing the scoring threat.
Quarterback Lewis was blunt about the unit’s lack of preparedness. He called the team’s offensive execution “pitiful”. It looks like there was a clear lack of connection and communication during their practice week.
Deion Sanders sparked significant conversation during his media press on Tuesday, September 22. He critically assessed the leadership of the sophomore Lewis. He still hasn’t earned the team’s “L” (Leader) patch yet for a reason.
“I told y’all he’ll be coming around the mountain, so what does that mean? He isn’t there yet. I can’t expect something out of you that’s not in you. That’s not an insult,” Sanders explained with a raised voice.
Coach Prime pointedly noted, “I don’t expect that,” when talking about Lewis’ leadership in the locker room. Furthermore, Sanders is fully confident in Lewis as his starting quarterback, but he is protecting the QB from the emotional weight of captaincy as he adjusts to college football.