Deion Sanders and the Colorado football team weren’t given much of a chance to beat No. 12 Texas Tech on Saturday.

The Buffs came to Folsom Field as 12.5-point underdogs but apparently no one told them. Coach Prime made Utah transfer Isaac Wilson his starting QB after benching Julian Lewis last week and the change gave Colorado an early spark.

That spark only lasted until halftime, though.

Here are three takeaways from the Colorado football team’s 29-7 loss to Texas Tech (5-0).

Isaac Wilson has ups, downs in first CU start

Isaac Wilson came out on fire in his first start as a Buff.

He led Colorado on a nine-play, 75-yard TD drive on the opening possessions. Joseph Williams caught a eight-yard TD pass from Isaac Wilson to give the Buffs a 7-0 lead just five minutes into the game.

Wilson engineered a 12-play, 65-yard drive on the next possession but a missed field goal (more on that later) kept Colorado from extending its lead.

Isaac Wilson finished the game with 292 passing yards (career high) and a TD, including completions to seven different Buffs.

Wilson was decisive, fearless (perhaps to a fault) and threw into tight windows in the first half but the Buffs were shutout in the second half. He appears to be a better fit for Brennan Marion’s Go-Go offense than Julian Lewis but it remains to be seen if Isaac Wilson will be Colorado’s starting QB after the upcoming bye week.

Isaac Wilson did, however, throw three costly INTs (including a pick-six in the fourth quarter). WR Joseph Williams also tossed an INT on a trick play early in the third quarter. Those four turnovers led to 19 to of Texas Tech’s 29 points.

That was the difference in the game.

Defense continues strong play

For the second consecutive week, Colorado’s defense played well enough to win.

After allowing just 23 points in the Big 12 opener to Baylor last week, the Buffs held Texas Tech to just three first-half points. DC Chris Marve’s unit began to break down a bit in the second half due to penalties and their own offense’s mistakes, but the Red Raiders were held to just 3-for-12 on third down.

Texas Tech QB Will Hammond threw for just 134 yards and the Buffs’ defense totaled 11 TFLs.

Colorado DL Santana Hopper had arguably his best game in the black and gold, racking up 10 total tackles, five TFLs and four QB hits. RJ Johnson made his first start of the season at cornerback with the Buffs’ secondary thin due to injuries and played well (two PBUs). Toby Anene and Randon Fontenette each notched a sack.

The Buffs will be in more games than people think if Chris Marve’s defense continues to play this way.

Special teams were not special. Again.

Colorado’s special teams issues can no longer be ignored. They’ve popped up each week and Saturday night was no different.

The Buffs had to burn a timeout in the first quarter because they only had six players on the field to block a Texas Tech field goal. Then they only had nine players on the field after the timeout as the Red Raiders kicked a 52-yard field goal.

Colorado kicker Elliot Arnold also missed two field goals (52 yards, 29 yards) in the first half to keep Texas Tech in striking distance.

That wasn’t the end of the special teams gaffes.

The Buffs tried a fake punt on 4th and 11 to no avail as safety Naeten Mitchell was stuffed short of the first down. Deion Sanders does not have a special teams coach and that decision is getting harder and harder to defend by the week.

Penalties also hurt Colorado on Saturday night. The Buffs entered Week 5 as the most-penalized team in the Big 12 and that wasn’t helped by their eight penalties for 84 yards vs. Texas Tech.

Follow Colorado Buffaloes beat reporter Scott Procter on X.