The longest road trip of the season for Deion Sanders and Colorado hasn’t come at an opportune time.

The Buffaloes (3-6 overall, 1-5 Big 12) are reeling. They’ve been outscored 105-24 over their last two games as they head to Morgantown, W. Va., to face a Mountaineers team with an identical record.

Before the season, many CU fans identified this game as one of the easiest on the schedule. Now, CU is desperate to keep alive its hopes of going .500 in Coach Prime’s third season, one that has gone off the rails following back-to-back embarrassing losses.

Here are five storylines to watch when the Buffs and Mountaineers face off Saturday (10 a.m. TNT/HBO Max):

The gameplan for “JuJu”

In desperate need of a spark, Sanders is handing over the keys to a freshman quarterback as former five-star recruit Julian “JuJu” Lewis will make his first career start. After previously playing just two series against Delaware, Lewis saw his first extended action of the season last week against Arizona after Kaidon Salter and Ryan Staub were benched for poor performance. There’s also a new offensive coordinator calling plays in tight ends coach Brett Bartolone, who took over prior to last week’s game. The plan for Lewis must be simple. Limit the freshman’s reads, and make sure he knows what to do with the football if his first options aren’t there. He’s not going to win this game by trying to make something out of nothing on every series.

Key injuries

The injury bug just continues to bite CU. The good news is left guard Xavier Hill is set to return. The bad news is the Buffs’ offensive line could be without a different starter or two. Star left tackle Jordan Seaton is listed as questionable, while Larry Johnson III, who moved from right tackle to left guard in place of Hill last week, is listed as doubtful. CU is also likely to be down its top cornerback, DJ McKinney, who is also listed as doubtful, while fellow starting cornerback RJ Johnson has already been ruled out.

Containing the QB run

A reeling Buffs defense will have its hands full after allowing 50+ points to two very different offenses. Defensive coordinator Robert Livingston will be tasked with limiting a mobile quarterback as the Mountaineers’ Scotty Fox Jr. is set to start again after leading WVU to an improbable upset win at Houston. The true freshman accounted for over 200 yards and three total touchdowns.

The first quarter

Two weeks ago at Utah, it took the Buffs nearly the entire first quarter to go down 17-0. Last week, Arizona needed less than 8 minutes to take the same lead at Folsom Field. How CU performs in the first 15 minutes in Morgantown should tell us if this team has quit on Coach Prime.

Coach Prime’s demeanor

Sanders has remained positive despite the big margins of defeat the last two weeks, all while blocking the local media from talking with his staff and players since the most recent loss. If the Buffs fall for a third-straight game, which would be their longest losing streak since the end of the 2023 season, it will be interesting to see how Coach Prime reacts if his team is officially eliminated from bowl eligibility. He’s yet to go after any specific players or coaches, but that could soon change if the losses continue to mount.

King’s prediction

West Virginia 34, Colorado 31

It’s hard to pick the Buffs against anyone in the Big 12, except maybe Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys aren’t on the schedule. This game felt like the easiest on the conference schedule for the Buffs coming into the year, but now the Mountaineers are the team with momentum coming off their win at Houston. Julian “JuJu” Lewis excites in his first start, but it’s not enough. 

King’s Players to Watch

Colorado: WR Omarion Miller, LB Shaun Myers

Julian Lewis’ first career touchdown — a 59-yard bomb to Miller — was a beauty. If the freshman QB hopes to jumpstart a sputtering CU offense, getting the ball to No. 4 as much as possible would be a wise strategy. The Buffs need their best playmakers to show up in order to snap the losing streak. Defensively, CU needs anyone to step up and make plays, especially with safety Tawfiq Byard out for the first half and other starters down with injuries. Amid poor linebacker play all season, Myers showed some flashes last week of being able to make plays in the run game and that will be necessary against the Mountaineers.

West Virginia: RB Diore Hubbard, S Fred Perry
The blueprint against the CU defense has been do what you do best because it likely won’t be stopped. For WVU, that’s running the football. The Mountaineers ran for nearly 250 yards as a team at Houston, led by Hubbard’s 108 yards. He could be in for another big game against a poor Buffs rush defense. On defense, Perry is one of a few playmakers to keep an eye on for WVU. He’s not just the team’s leading tackler, but he’s also capable of making plays in the backfield and getting to the quarterback.