Colorado gained 348 yards, held Northwestern to 3.6 yards per carry and lost by 34 points. The Buffaloes’ first defeat of 2026 was decided by the things that sit outside the yardage column: four turnovers, three drives that ended on downs and an official penalty ledger that erased two completed passes in the moments before two interceptions.
Northwestern won 41–7 on a rainy Saturday night at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, the last football game the Wildcats will play at the temporary 12,000-seat venue before opening the rebuilt Ryan Field on October 2. Deion Sanders did not look for a softer word for it afterward.
“Great game by Northwestern. Head coach came over and spoke to me before the game, such a wonderful man, such a wonderful coach, doing a phenomenal job with this school, with this team. And my old buddy Chip Kelly, we shared some tremendous moments before and after the game. Called a heck of a game. Flat out butt kicking.”
Deion Sanders, postgame
Colorado fell to 2–1 and now opens Big 12 play at Baylor. Northwestern moved to 2–0 two days after the school extended head coach David Braun’s contract through the 2031 season.
Four turnovers, and the two that produced points
Colorado’s second possession was its first mistake. Julian Lewis had just completed a 16-yard pass to DeAndre Moore Jr. to reach the Colorado 45 when Micah Welch lost the ball on the next snap, with Michael Kilbane forcing the fumble and Northwestern recovering at the Colorado 44.
Northwestern needed seven plays to cover the 44 yards, helped by a 21-yard run from receiver Drew Wagner to the Colorado 2, and Aidan Chiles scored on a one-yard keeper with 43 seconds left in the first quarter.
The second turnover cost Colorado points rather than giving them away. The Buffaloes answered with their best drive of the half, eight plays and 52 yards behind four Damian Henderson II carries and a 15-yard Lewis scramble, until Henderson lost the ball on third-and-three at the Northwestern 17. Northwestern recovered at the 20.
The third was the most costly. After two holding penalties turned first-and-10 at the Colorado 48 into first-and-30 at the Colorado 28, Lewis threw up the middle for Joseph Williams and Braden Turner intercepted at the Colorado 40. Two plays later, Chiles found Joseph Himon II alone on the left for an 18-yard touchdown and a 14–0 lead.
“Forced us to turn the ball over. Forced us into bad decisions.”
Deion Sanders, postgame
Lewis was intercepted again in the fourth quarter, by Ore Adeyi at the Northwestern 31, on a possession that had also just been pushed backward by a hold. Colorado finished minus-three in turnover margin. Northwestern’s only giveaway, a Caleb Komolafe fumble forced by Jason Stokes Jr. and recovered by Naeten Mitchell, was the one takeaway Colorado converted into a touchdown.
Chiles and Himon delivered exactly what Sanders had warned about
Sanders spent his mid-week press conference describing Chip Kelly’s tempo offense as a set of dilemmas. The dilemmas were mostly resolved by two players.
Chiles completed 17 of 22 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns and added two short rushing scores, five total on the night. Himon caught only three passes, and all three were touchdowns: 18 yards in the second quarter, 25 yards in the third and a three-yard toss that made it 35–7. He also carried four times for 28 yards and averaged 27 yards on two kickoff returns.
Griffin Wilde was the volume receiver, catching all five of his targets for 85 yards, including a 32-yard gain to the Colorado 6 that set up Himon’s third score. Braun praised his quarterback’s ability to improvise and keep his eyes downfield when plays broke down, and said afterward that his own team still had work to do, tackling included.
What Northwestern did not do was overwhelm Colorado physically. The Wildcats ran 51 times for 182 yards, an average of 3.6, and Colorado actually gained more yards per carry, 5.5 on 33 attempts. Northwestern converted five of 13 third downs and its one fourth-down try. The separation came from where its drives began and what Colorado’s did not finish.
“Chip called a great game, man, offensively. He really did.”
Deion Sanders, postgame
The penalties did the same damage twice
Colorado was flagged nine times for 80 yards, down from 13 for 107 against Weber State. The count improved. The consequences did not.
Three offensive holds cost Colorado 30 yards, and two of them erased completed passes. In the second quarter, a hold on Clements added 10 yards to a first down that had already produced an incompletion; on the next snap, a hold on Chauncey Gooden nullified a completion to Dekalon Taylor that had reached the Colorado 49. That is the sequence that created first-and-30 and preceded Turner’s interception. Gooden was also the player named on the penalty that erased a third-quarter gain against Weber State.
The fourth quarter repeated the pattern. On first-and-10 at the Northwestern 39, a completion to Taylor that reached the Northwestern 20 was erased by a hold on Kinney. First-and-20 followed, then Adeyi’s interception.
The most expensive flag was not a hold. On second-and-15 from the Colorado 42, Gavin Sawchuk gained four yards before an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Boo Carter moved the ball from the Colorado 38 to the 23 and gave Northwestern a fresh set of downs. The drive continued for five more plays and ended with Chiles scoring from the three with 59 seconds left in the half. A likely third-and-11 became the possession that made it 21–0 instead.
Lamont Lester Jr. added a roughing-the-passer penalty after Northwestern’s second third-quarter touchdown.
The third quarter Colorado nearly turned
Colorado’s halftime deficit was 21 points, but the yardage was close to even, and the third quarter opened with a real opportunity.
JaQuail Smith ran 35 yards on the first snap after halftime to the Northwestern 40. The drive stalled there, and a fourth-and-11 pass attempt ended with Kobie McKinzie sacking Lewis for a 10-yard loss.
Three plays later, Stokes forced Komolafe’s fumble and Mitchell recovered at the Colorado 34. This time Colorado finished: eight yards and four yards from Smith, four from Welch, then Lewis to Williams for 50 yards and the touchdown. Four plays, 66 yards, 21–7 with 10:24 left in the quarter.
Northwestern took the next eight plays 60 yards, converting a third-and-10 with a 24-yard throw to Ricky Ahumaraeze and a fourth-and-one with a Chiles keeper, before the 25-yard touchdown to Himon. Colorado’s reply ended with Welch losing two yards on fourth-and-one at the Colorado 49. Northwestern needed four plays and 76 seconds to cover 47 yards and reach the end zone again.
The Buffaloes finished 0-for-3 on fourth down and four of 12 on third. Three of their 12 possessions ended on downs, two on interceptions, two on fumbles.
What Sanders said he was watching
Sanders was asked what a coach looks for once a game has moved beyond reach. His answer was about behavior rather than scheme.
“The thing you wanna look at when you’re really getting your butt kicked is the mannerisms, their personalities. Will they quit, will they fight through it? Those are the things that you look for in those moments. And those are the things that I wanted to pay close attention to as the game journeyed on and got out of reach.”
Deion Sanders, postgame
He said the review had already produced consequences for a small number of players.
“Now you did see a couple of guys that I just got on. Because I don’t understand how you can have joy in a loss, especially when I’m upset and I’m walking right behind you. I don’t understand that. I can’t never understand that, because I wanna win every darn thing, and I can’t understand how in the world you can find joy, or you can find a laughing matter, when I’m right behind you walking in. I don’t understand that, and I addressed it. And I’m gonna put my foot in it, not on it.”
Deion Sanders, postgame
Sanders did not name the players involved, and his description concerned conduct after the game rather than anything recorded in the play-by-play. The one documented on-field discipline failure with a scoring consequence was Carter’s 15-yard penalty, which extended Northwestern’s third touchdown drive.
Week 3 snapshot
| Measure | Colorado | Northwestern |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 7 | 41 |
| Total yards | 348 | 423 |
| Passing yards | 168 | 241 |
| Rushing yards | 180 | 182 |
| Yards per carry | 5.5 | 3.6 |
| Third downs | 4 of 12 | 5 of 13 |
| Fourth downs | 0 of 3 | 1 of 1 |
| Penalties | 9 for 80 yards | 8 for 60 yards |
| Turnovers lost | 4 | 1 |
Five performances under review
TSP grades weigh production against the opponent and the job required, informed by coaching assessments. Previous letters are shown as originally published. Limited-sample and component grades are identified rather than presented as full-game assessments. Defensive snap counts and complete individual tackle data were not available for this edition.
NO. 10 · QUARTERBACK
Julian Lewis
Game contribution
19 of 29 · 168 passing yards · 1 passing TD · 2 INT · 3 carries, 7 yards
Week 2: B · Week 1: C+
A reasonable completion rate with almost nothing behind it, and two interceptions that both followed penalties.
Read the assessment
Lewis completed 65.5% of his passes but averaged 5.8 yards per attempt, down from 15.9 against Weber State. The 50-yard touchdown to Williams was his only completion longer than 20 yards. Subtract it and his other 18 completions produced 118 yards, which describes an offense working almost entirely underneath in the rain.
The context of the interceptions matters and does not excuse them. Both came on first down needing 20 or more yards after holding penalties, situations the quarterback did not create. Both were also throws into coverage that Northwestern was positioned to take, and the first one directly produced a touchdown two snaps later.
The C− reflects a night in which Lewis protected very little ground and gave away two possessions, while also accounting for the first Big Ten defense he has faced and the conditions in Evanston. It is his lowest mark of the season, below even the C+ from the opener at Georgia Tech.
From the home opener to Evanston
| Measure | Week 2 | Week 3 |
|---|---|---|
| TSP grade | B | C− |
| Passing | 17 of 23 | 19 of 29 |
| Completion rate | 73.9% | 65.5% |
| Passing yards | 366 | 168 |
| Yards per attempt | 15.9 | 5.8 |
| Passing touchdowns | 4 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 0 | 2 |
| Lost fumbles | 1 | 0 |
NO. 23 · RUNNING BACK
JaQuail Smith
Game contribution
8 carries · 91 yards · 11.4 average · long of 35 · 2 catches, 1 yard
First featured grade this season
Colorado’s most effective player on a night when almost nothing else worked.
Read the assessment
Smith entered the game with 16 carries for 61 yards across two games. He produced 91 on eight attempts here, including a 28-yard run that carried Colorado to the Northwestern 35 in the second quarter and the 35-yard run that opened the second half. His eight- and four-yard carries also started the only touchdown drive.
The other Colorado backs combined for 21 carries and 71 yards. Smith alone accounted for more than half of the team’s rushing output on roughly a quarter of the attempts.
The B+ recognizes genuine production against a Big Ten front in poor conditions. It stops short of an A because two of his three biggest gains came on drives that ended without points, and his two receptions lost a net yard.
NO. 8 · WIDE RECEIVER
Joseph Williams
Game contribution
10 targets · 5 catches · 88 yards · 1 TD · long of 50
Week 2: B+
He produced the only explosive play Colorado had, on a night when half his targets went incomplete.
Read the assessment
Williams caught a 20-yard pass on third-and-three to extend the opening possession and then took a short pass from the Colorado 46 the remaining 46 yards down the right side for Colorado’s touchdown. That single play accounted for 30% of the team’s passing yardage.
He was also the intended receiver on Turner’s second-quarter interception, a first-and-30 throw for which the responsibility sits mainly elsewhere, and he finished five of 10 on targets after catching all four against Weber State.
The B− keeps credit for the explosive score and the early conversion while accounting for a catch rate that fell by half. Across Weeks 2 and 3, he has nine catches for 211 yards and three touchdowns.
NO. 29 · RUNNING BACK
Micah Welch
Game contribution
7 carries · 14 yards · 2.0 average · 1 lost fumble · 1 catch, 3 yards
Week 2: 106 rushing yards, not featured
The fumble that started Northwestern’s scoring, followed by a 2.0-yard average a week after his 100-yard game.
Read the assessment
Welch lost the ball on a first-quarter carry from the Colorado 45 that had already lost a yard. Northwestern recovered at the 44 and scored the game’s opening touchdown seven plays later. He was also stopped for a two-yard loss on fourth-and-one at the Colorado 49 in the third quarter, ending a possession that trailed by 21.
Seven carries for 14 yards is a difficult line to grade generously, even accounting for the weather and the score. A week earlier Welch became the first 100-yard rusher of the Sanders era.
The D reflects a turnover that produced points, a failed short-yardage conversion and minimal production. It is a single-game assessment, not a judgment on a back who leads Colorado in rushing through three games.
DEFENSIVE BACK
Boo Carter
Component: discipline
1 unsportsmanlike conduct · 15 enforced yards · automatic first down · TD drive extended
Component assessment
A likely third-and-long in a two-score game became a fresh set of downs because of the flag.
Read the assessment
Northwestern faced second-and-15 at the Colorado 42 with 3:08 left in the first half, leading 14–0. Sawchuk gained four yards, then the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty handed the Wildcats 15 more and a new set of downs at the Colorado 23. Five plays later Chiles scored from the three, and Colorado went to the locker room down 21 instead of 14.
This is a component grade covering one documented failure, not an evaluation of Carter’s coverage work, which the available data does not support. It follows the muffed punt charged to him in the Weber State game, which makes two consecutive weeks in which a non-coverage error changed field position or points.
Sanders’ postgame remarks about mannerisms and about addressing players concerned conduct he observed after the game, and he named no one. The penalty here is a separate, recorded event with a measurable cost.
Statistics: official box score and play-by-play. Grades: The Sporting Page. Complete individual snap counts and full defensive tackle data were not available for this edition.
What carries into Baylor
Colorado opens Big 12 play at Baylor on Saturday, September 26, a 10:00 a.m. MT kickoff on ESPN or ESPN2. The Bears beat Louisiana Tech 36–19 earlier Saturday.
The recoverable parts of this game are specific. Colorado moved the ball at 5.5 yards per carry and had a legitimate 348-yard night against a defense that had spent two weeks preparing for it. Smith gave the running game a second dimension it had not shown. The defense held a tempo offense under four yards per rush and forced a fumble that produced Colorado’s only touchdown.
The rest is a repeat of the Week 2 complaint with a scoreboard attached. Two of the three holding penalties preceded interceptions. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty turned a likely third-and-long into a fresh set of downs and, five plays later, a touchdown. Two fumbles handed Northwestern a short field and took away Colorado’s best first-half possession. Sanders said after the Weber State win that 52 points was not enough because the execution was not clean. This is what the same problems produce against a team that does not give them back.
