Head Coach Deion Sanders during a time out at the game at Folsom Field Saturday Nov. 22, 2025. (Tyler Phillips/CU Independent)
Colorado football (2-2, 0-1 Big 12) fell 23-13 to Baylor (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) on Saturday at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, opening conference play with its second straight loss.
Coming off a 41-7 defeat against Northwestern, the Buffaloes showed improvement statistically. CU outgained Baylor 363-337, finished with 24 first downs compared to the Bears’ 22 and fought back from a 10-point deficit to tie the game early in the fourth quarter.
The final score, however, reflected Colorado’s inability to capitalize on that production.
CU converted only three of 15 third downs, failed on both fourth-down attempts and allowed five sacks. The Buffs were also flagged nine times for 82 yards, while Baylor repeatedly benefited from better field position through its return game.
Early opportunities go unfinished
Neither team found much offensive rhythm in the opening minutes, but Colorado created the first major scoring chance late in the first quarter.
Wide receiver Joseph Williams took a reverse and threw a 49-yard pass to Quanell Farrakhan Jr., moving the Buffs from their own 20-yard line to Baylor’s 31.
CU eventually reached the Bears’ 4-yard line, but a false start on third-and-one pushed the offense backward. Richard Young gained three yards on the following play, leaving Colorado to settle for an Elliott Arnold 24-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.
The Bears responded with a 13-play, 54-yard possession that ended with Rhett Armstrong’s 37-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
Colorado then gave Baylor a short field.
Facing fourth-and-one from its own 49-yard line, JaQuail Smith was stopped for a one-yard loss. The Bears took over at the CU 48 and needed only three plays to capitalize, with quarterback DJ Lagway finding Gavin Freeman for a 3-yard touchdown and a 10-3 lead.
The sequence highlighted two problems that followed Colorado throughout the afternoon: difficulty converting in short-yardage situations and an inability to establish a reliable ground game.
The Buffs finished with 83 net rushing yards on 39 attempts. Micah Welch led the team with 35 yards, followed by Smith with 33 and Young with 31.
CU’s defense gave the offense another chance before halftime when Jason Stokes Jr. intercepted Lagway, but the Buffs could not turn the takeaway into points.
Julian Lewis was sacked on the following play, and Colorado went into halftime trailing 10-3.
Lewis completed 11 of 16 passes for 75 yards during the opening half as Baylor’s defensive front prevented CU from finding much consistency.
Wilson helps spark second-half rally
Head coach Deion Sanders turned to quarterback Isaac Wilson after halftime, replacing Lewis for the remainder of the game.
Sanders said afterward that he took responsibility for the change and made the decision because he was “trying to get us going.”
The switch did not produce an immediate turnaround.
Colorado punted on its first two possessions of the third quarter. Baylor used the second of those punts to begin at CU’s 47-yard line after a 21-yard Jayden McGowan return.
The Bears moved close enough for Armstrong to connect from 27 yards, extending the advantage to 13-3.
Wilson and the Buffs began to settle in on their next possession.
A Baylor facemask penalty helped CU move out of its own territory before Wilson connected with Williams for gains of 15 and 27 yards. The drive stopped short of the end zone, but Arnold made a 46-yard field goal to trim the deficit to seven.
After the defense forced another punt, Colorado received the ball at its own 5-yard line.
This time, CU finished.
The Buffs went 95 yards in 12 plays, their best offensive possession of the afternoon. Wilson found Farrakhan for 17 yards on third-and-nine to extend the drive before continuing to move the offense into Baylor territory.
Wilson eventually connected with Williams for a 17-yard touchdown. Arnold’s extra point tied the game at 13 with 11:04 remaining, completing Colorado’s comeback from a 10-point deficit.
Baylor answers immediately
For the first time since the opening quarter, Colorado had a chance to take control of the game.
The defense could not preserve the momentum.
Baylor responded with its quickest and most consequential touchdown drive of the afternoon, traveling 65 yards in five plays. Lagway finished the possession with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jadon Porter, putting the Bears back in front 20-13.
The response stood out because CU had otherwise kept Baylor relatively contained. The Bears finished with 337 total yards, while Lagway completed 19 of 39 passes and threw an interception.
Sanders pointed directly to the defensive inconsistency afterward.
“I don’t like the fact that we can hold them for so long, and then break,” Sanders said.
CU followed Baylor’s touchdown with a three-and-out, putting the defense back on the field.
The Bears then put together a nine-play possession that took more than three minutes off the clock before Armstrong connected on a 54-yard field goal with 4:33 remaining.
Colorado still had a path back into the game, but its next drive ended with another costly mistake.
Smith picked up a first down before losing a fumble, which Baylor recovered. By the time the Buffs received the ball again, there was not enough time to overcome the 10-point deficit.
Penalties and special teams shift field position
Both teams dealt with penalty problems throughout the afternoon.
Colorado was flagged nine times for 82 yards, while Baylor committed 10 penalties for 84.
For CU, several came at particularly damaging moments.
The first-quarter false start occurred after the Buffs reached Baylor’s 4-yard line and contributed to a promising possession ending with three points instead of a possible touchdown.
A holding penalty later erased a 32-yard Boo Carter punt return in the second quarter, taking away what would have been excellent field position.
Special teams created an even larger difference.
McGowan returned seven Colorado punts for 130 yards, averaging 18.6 yards per return. The Buffs officially recorded no punt-return yardage.
Baylor’s advantage did not necessarily come from the distance of its punts. CU punter Damon Greaves averaged 49.5 yards, while Baylor’s Palmer Williams averaged 50.4.
Instead, the Bears consistently generated yardage after the catch and gave their offense shorter fields. Williams also placed four punts inside Colorado’s 20-yard line.
Armstrong added nine points with field goals from 37, 27 and 54 yards, allowing Baylor to come away with points even when its offense failed to reach the end zone.
Receiving corps stands out despite offensive inconsistency
Colorado finished with more yards, passing production, first downs and possession time than Baylor, yet reached the end zone only once.
Third down played a major role in that disconnect.
The Buffs went 3-of-15 and failed on both fourth-down attempts. Baylor also recorded 13 tackles for loss and five sacks, repeatedly putting CU behind schedule.
The ground game provided little relief. Colorado’s 83 net rushing yards came on 39 attempts, forcing the Buffs to rely heavily on their passing attack.
Wilson finished 12-of-25 for 156 yards and a touchdown after taking over at halftime. Lewis went 11-of-16 for 75 yards, and neither quarterback threw an interception.
Colorado’s receivers provided the clearest offensive bright spot.
Williams caught 11 passes for 127 yards and CU’s only touchdown. His 11 receptions tied for the ninth-most in a single game in program history, and he added another 49 yards through the air on the first-quarter trick play.
Farrakhan finished with seven receptions for 117 yards, giving the Buffs two 100-yard receivers in the same game.
Together, the pair accounted for 244 receiving yards, but their production could not overcome CU’s problems on third down, in the running game and around the line of scrimmage.
What needs to change moving forward
Despite consecutive losses, Sanders pushed back on the idea that Colorado’s problems are simply a reflection of its talent.
“We’re better than this,” Sanders said after the game. “We got to find out why.”
Finding that answer will require improvement across more than one position.
The quarterback situation will receive attention after Wilson replaced Lewis, but Sanders cautioned against placing Colorado’s problems entirely on the position.
“We need better play at a lot of positions, not just that one,” Sanders said.
The numbers against Baylor support that assessment.
Colorado needs to find more consistency on the ground after averaging just 2.1 yards per rushing attempt. The offensive line will have to limit negative plays after surrendering five sacks and 13 tackles for loss, while converting three of 15 third downs leaves another clear area for improvement.
Discipline remains another concern. CU has now committed nine penalties in back-to-back games, including several against Baylor that either erased positive plays or made scoring situations more difficult.
The defense showed it could limit the Bears for extended stretches, but its inability to respond after Colorado tied the game proved costly. Turning solid overall performances into wins will require stops in those high-leverage moments.
Special teams will also need to clean up the field-position battle after allowing 130 punt-return yards Saturday.
For Sanders, those individual problems all connect to the same larger question: why a team that can produce competitive stretches has not consistently turned them into results.
Colorado now returns to Boulder at 2-2 overall and 0-1 in Big 12 play, with a chance to find those answers as conference play continues against Texas Tech on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Folsom Field.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Shruthi Rajesh at shra3446@colorado.edu
