BOULDER — The biggest cheer of the night came when a fan dressed as Andy Reid took his shirt off.

But the second biggest cheer? That was reserved for the moment freshman phenom Julian “JuJu” Lewis entered the game at quarterback.

Granted, there wasn’t much to cheer about on Saturday night as Colorado (3-6, 1-5 Big 12) suffered a second-straight embarrassing loss, this one a 52-17 defeat at the hands of Arizona (4-4, 2-3), and the 48,000-plus people in attendance had mostly all left by the start of the second half.

However, those who stayed — most notably a group of bare-chested male students waving their shirts that kept growing and growing — kept encouraging the 18-year-old Lewis in the first extended action of his career.

“I’m proud the kid got an opportunity,” coach Deion Sanders said. “Sometimes you’re forced to do some things that probably should be done anyway. He got his feet wet a little bit; he got to see blitzes, just real play. What he needed to work on, he will. He’s a worker. He’s gonna try his best to get it done.”

After both Kaidon Salter and Ryan Staub continued to struggle — combining for 11-for-17 passing for 49 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions — Coach Prime finally had enough and put Lewis in the game for the first time since he played just two series against Delaware in Week 2.

“Common sense,” Coach Prime said, went into the decision to put Lewis in.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was a sign of life for a program that has looked lifeless since returning from the bye week. The Buffaloes have now lost the last two games by a combined score of 105-24, but at least the fans got a reminder of what the future could hold with Lewis at quarterback.

The Georgia native threw his first career touchdown pass on his second attempt of the night and it was a beautifully-placed throw downfield to Omarion Miller, who caught it and ran into the end zone for a 59-yard score.

Lewis finished 9-for-17 passing for 121 yards and a touchdown. 

After Saturday’s loss, the Buffs now need to win out in order to reach a bowl game, but that’s probably not the concern of anyone inside the CU program with a defense that has allowed 50-plus points in back-to-back games for the first time under Sanders.

Maybe the final three games — at West Virginia, vs. Arizona State and Kansas State — are about seeing how much Lewis and the rest of the young players can progress with in-game reps, even if it means Lewis plays in five games and burns his redshirt.

“I don’t know his thought process, or his parents’. I just control what we can control,” Coach Prime said. “You gotta understand, I’m for the kids. If (a redshirt) is what they want, that’s what they’ll get. I’m not gonna mandate (that) you gotta play. Whatever’s best for these young men’s careers, I’m for that.”

But in today’s era of college football, that might not even matter. All that does is winning, and the Buffs might not do any more that this season, even if their coach believes they haven’t given up yet.

“I know a quitter when I see one,” Sanders said. “I haven’t seen one.”