Quarterback to Back: Colorado’s Isaac Wilson Returns to Stillwater with a Different Team

Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker is set to square off against Colorado’s Isaac Wilson.

On one side, you have an established QB1 set to rebound after his first loss in four tries. On the other, you have a recent QB change that saw a journeyman trying to right the ship. But he’s only extended the Buffs’ losing streak.

Let’s take a look at Mestemaker and Wilson’s numbers before getting into the matchup.

Isaac Wilson is making his return to BPS but wearing a different jersey.

Back in 2024, Wilson led Utah to a 22-19 win over then- No. 14 Oklahoma State in the Cowboys’ Big 12 opener. Yes, if you’re a bizarro history buff, you’ll remember that this was the loss that started a nine-game skid to finish the season — and a two-year losing streak against teams not in the FCS.

Earlier in that week, Cam Rising was expected to start for the Utes (even then-Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham thought so) but a nagging finger injury kept him out and Wilson took the reps and Rising only made one other appearance due to a leg injury.

Against OSU, Wilson went 17-for-29 for 207 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also rushed for 41 yards. Not exactly Heisman buzz numbers, but it was enough to overcome an OSU offense that was just starting to get exposed.

In nine games for the Utes that year, Wilson finished throwing for 1,510 yards, 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, completing just 56.4% of his passes. Those 41 yards rushing against OSU was a season-high, and he totaled just 47 all year. The Utes went 0-5 in his appearances the rest of the way that season, so maybe Wilson just has a thing against OSU.

That wasn’t even his first trip to Stillwater. Wilson, like Rising, was also an OSU offer. The Cowboys even made a final group for the younger brother of current-New Orleans Saints QB Zach Wilson, but he chose to stay with in-state Utah, ultimately.

So what about Wilson today? After losing the job to current Utes QB1 Devon Dampier, Wilson sat on the sidelines all last season before transferring to Colorado this offseason. He was set, once again, to play backup, this time behind five-star freshman Julian Lewis. But after a blowout loss to Northwestern and a slow start against Baylor, head coach Deion Sanders made the switch to Wilson.

Wilson didn’t get the win against Baylor but apparently did enough to keep the freshman on the sidelines. He’s started the last two games, even narrowly missing out on an upset win against his former team last week. Wilson overcame his second interception of the game to set up a Hail Mary that would have been a game-winner, but a Utah defender made a play on it. The Utes eked it out 27-24.

Now Wilson returns to Stillwater in the similar spot as the backup-turned-starter, hoping to pull another upset. His numbers coming in aren’t exactly impressive, and he’s not won a game against a Power Four opponent since that trip to Stillwater over two years ago. But Sanders and Co. see something in Wilson, at least for now.

But those were two very different teams. If you look at the numbers this year, Wilson has been pedestrian at best and more so when under pressure. He also appears incapable of straining a defense on the back end. In deep attempts (20-plus yards) this season, Wilson is 2-of-16 with no touchdowns and three interceptions. If the Cowboys can simply bring pressure and win at the line of scrimmage, they should be able to corral the journeyman and cross off one more trivia factoid that they picked up over the past two seasons.