BOULDER • As Isaac Wilson stepped off the elevator inside the Colorado facilities, a playful jab came from his head coach.
“Isaac, make sure you throw the ball to the guys on our team,” coach Deion Sanders recalled telling the junior quarterback recently.
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Whether it was a way to break the tension after Wilson’s struggles in the 29-7 loss to then-No. 12 Texas Tech or not, Coach Prime sees it as a sign of a strong relationship with the quarterback he’s going to start for a second straight game when the Buffaloes host No. 11 Utah on Saturday (8:15 p.m. ESPN) at Folsom Field.
Colorado quarterback Isaac Wilson looks to throw a pass in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Texas Tech, Saturday, Oct. 3 2026, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
“See, we can joke like that because Isaac is one of those kids that — Isaac is Isaac,” Sanders said Tuesday. “He ain’t taking that to heart. He’s not gonna cry and have a pity party. That’s the balance of our relationship. We can get down like that. Then, when he does something (in practice he says), ‘Yeah, what you got to say now?’ That’s how Isaac gets down with me.”
CU needs Wilson to get down to business if it is going to have a shot against the Utes, who enter at 5-0 and with arguably the best statistical profile of any team in the Big 12.
“It’s gonna be a daunting task,” Sanders said. “Offensively, they get after it. Defensively, they get after it. Probably the best team we’re gonna face this season.”
Oh, and it also happens to be Wilson’s former team. The Utah native spent the first two seasons of his college career with the Utes, playing primarily as a freshman when he started over half of his team’s games in 2024, including one against the Buffs at Folsom Field in mid-November. But Sanders isn’t worried about that personal history affecting Wilson’s mentality.
Utah quarterback Isaac Wilson (11) in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
“Isaac is always up to the task. This ain’t no different week,” Sanders said. “He just broke down the huddle (after Tuesday’s practice) and there was some profanity laced in the huddle. I heard that as I was walking off the field. Isaac is the same Isaac. He don’t flinch. He don’t place blame. He is what he is.”
Wilson took the blame for his three costly interceptions in his first start of the season on Oct. 3. He said afterward he needs to stop trying to do too much and simply get the ball to CU’s playmakers.
“We’ve got dudes at every position. It’s the quarterback. It’s me,” Wilson said after the loss to Texas Tech. “I had my chance tonight. I had a week of preparation. (The) o-line did a fantastic job. I just gotta stop doing too much.”
It’s been a perplexing start to the season for the Buffs offense, which is now led by first-year coordinator Brennan Marion, author of the “GoGo” system that has had plenty of success at each of his previous stops.
Coach Prime said in the offseason a big reason he hired Marion was because of his career points-per-game average over 30 during his time as a play caller. Right now, though, CU is averaging a Big 12-worst 18.6 points per game. Second worst is nearly seven points better at 25.4 per game.
Colorado offensive coordinator Brennan Marion calls a play during the Buffaloes’ annual spring game April 11 at Folsom Field in Boulder. (Courtesy of CU Athletics)
If the Buffs were averaging 30 points per game, that would still only be good enough for 14th in the conference, but it would have the team at 4-1 instead of 2-3.
“We just gotta score more,” Sanders said. “You’re gonna see a lot more aggression, I promise you.”
Aggression wasn’t the issue for Wilson the last time out. Maybe Coach Prime meant aggression in terms of sticking to a game plan, because Sanders himself said he doesn’t want Wilson throwing the ball 44 times like he did two weeks ago.
Even with poor quarterback play through five games, Sanders still believes there’s a recipe for offensive success. He’s turning to Wilson to find it.
“We don’t want to throw the ball 40-some times,” Coach Prime said. “We want to keep the ball in between 17 and 24 pass attempts, but it’s dictated by how the game is flowing. We’re not great when we’re throwing the ball that much. I don’t know too many teams who are. We can run the ball, we’ve proven that. We gotta rely on that.”