The Colorado Buffaloes showed promise in the first half on the road against Oklahoma State, leading the Cowboys 24-23 at halftime, but the train fell off the tracks in the second half as Oklahoma State scored 34 unanswered points in the second half to beat Colorado 57-24.
Wilson finished the game completing 19 of 27 passes for 280 yards and two touchdown, but his inability to protect the ball proved costly once again, throwing two interceptions to the Oklahoma State defense. He started the game with a hot hand, completing 14 of 16 pass attempts for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, but the second half told a different story.
In his postgame press conference, Sanders praised Wilson for his first half performance but noted the second half struggles in the loss.
"First half, Isaac played his butt off. he really did. First half wise, we played together as a unit. We gave up some things that we shouldn't have. Blew some coverages early on. I think the first series we blew a coverage and gave up a touchdown. Gotta do better. We came back out and made sure we paid attention to detail, put them in situations they can handle. . . . But we didn't have it."
Colorado Buffaloes' Quarterback Concerns
The Buffaloes received the second half kickoff but started the third quarter with a turnover, handing the ball immediately back to Oklahoma State. After Wilson's second interception in the fourth quarter, the Buffaloes coaching staff turned to freshman quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne for the final two drives of the game. Sweetwyne completed three of five pass attempts for 63 yards.
With Wilson being benched for Sweetwyne, the uncertainty at the quarterback position continues for "Coach Prime" and Colorado ever since former Buffaloes star Shedeur Sanders was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Draft.
Deion Sanders arrived in Boulder, Colorado, with his son Shedeur transferring in as the starting quarterback, but the search for the Buffaloes' next quarterback has taken multiple seasons.
The team started the 2025 season with transfer Kaidon Salter while Lewis and backup quarterback Ryan Staub also played in multiple games while Colorado rotated through multiple signal-callers to find the right option. 2026 has featured a similar story for the Buffaloes.
Colorado quarterback Julian Lewis entered the season as the expected starting quarterback, and he led the Buffs to a road win over Georgia Tech to start the year. However, as the offense struggled to score in losses to Northwestern and Baylor, Lewis was benched in favor of backup quarterback and Utah transfer Isaac Wilson.
While Wilson provided a spark in relief of Lewis against Baylor, Wilson has yet to win a game as Colorado's starting quarterback. The Buffaloes nearly upset Utah with Wilson leading the way, but "Coach Prime" and the Colorado coaching staff have seemingly entertained the idea of Sweetwyne playing more in 2026 after giving the freshman quarterback snaps in the loss to Texas Tech.
The Colorado defense gave up 41 points in the early-season loss to Northwestern, but Oklahoma State's 57 points scored is the most points surrendered by the Buffs in 2026. Still defensive coordinator Chris Marve and the Buffs held Cowboys quarterback Drew Mestemaker to a completion percentage below 60 percent, but the potential first-round NFL Draft pick still finished with 386 passing yards and four touchdowns.
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