Deion Sanders backs Julian Lewis after Colorado's first loss of season

The Colorado Buffaloes‘ trip to Baylor gives Julian Lewis an immediate opportunity to respond after the toughest start of his young career.

Lewis threw the first two interceptions of his college career in Saturday’s 41-7 loss at Northwestern, a game in which Colorado’s offense never recovered from four turnovers and a pile of self-inflicted mistakes. With the Buffs beginning Big 12 play at Baylor on Saturday, the freshman quarterback will return to the road with little time to sit on the loss.

Deion Sanders made clear after the Northwestern game that he is not interested in turning one difficult night into a larger judgment of Lewis.

When asked about Lewis’ interceptions, Sanders immediately pointed to his quarterback’s limited college experience.

“How many games has he played in his career?” Sanders said after the Northwestern loss. “Don’t put that much pressure on him. Let’s take it off. That’s going to happen. You didn’t think we were going to go through the durn whole season without a pick, did you? That’s not going to happen.”

Lewis entered the Northwestern game without an interception across his first 150 passing attempts. That streak came to an end in the first half after consecutive holding penalties put Colorado in first-and-30, leaving Lewis to force a throw over the middle. His second interception came in the fourth quarter as Colorado chased a 35-7 deficit.

Colorado’s offensive issues extended beyond Lewis. The Buffs lost two fumbles, went 0-for-3 on fourth down and accumulated 80 penalty yards in the loss. Northwestern finished with 423 total yards, while Colorado had 348 and held the ball for only 23:07.

Sanders said he wants Lewis to avoid becoming hesitant after his first difficult night as Colorado’s starter.

“The way he rebounds and recovers from that is what’s important,” Sanders said. “We just don’t want him getting afraid to go out there and hang it out. Just go do your thing. If it happens, it happens, let’s go.”

Sanders compared the mindset to a cornerback responding after allowing a completion.

“It’s just like a cornerback getting beat,” Sanders said. “Okay, let’s go, let’s flush it and let’s go. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Colorado will get an immediate chance to see that response in a more demanding setting. The Buffs, now 2-1, travel to Waco for Saturday’s Big 12 opener against Baylor at McLane Stadium. The game is scheduled for 10 a.m. MT and will air on ESPN2.

Lewis has thrown for 658 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions through three games, and has completed 63.3% of his passes. Colorado will need a steady offensive performance as they open conference play, particularly after producing only seven points at Northwestern.

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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Deion Sanders backs Julian Lewis after Colorado’s first loss of season