LaJohntay Wester knew that coming to Colorado would be different from what he was used to at Florida Atlantic. Still, he felt some frustration when the Buffaloes were in Lincoln, Neb., on Sept. 7 and the ball wasn’t coming his way often.

“I was kind of getting down on myself because it wasn’t happening on my timing,” said Wester, a speedy, 5-foot-11, 170-pound senior receiver for the Buffs.

That changed a bit when Wester caught his first touchdown pass as a Buff midway through the fourth quarter of a 28-10 loss to Nebraska.

“I just had to keep praying about it,” he said of his slow start. “It’s God speed. God showed His faith in the Nebraska game, and I just kept building off of it going into Colorado State.”

Wester may not be the top dog like he was at FAU, but he busted loose with five catches for 80 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s 28-9 win at Colorado State and hopes to keep it going when the Buffs (2-1) host Baylor (2-1) on Saturday at Folsom Field (6 p.m., Fox).

“For my first time playing a rivalry game like this, it was definitely great to be able to not only get in (the end zone) one time, but twice and just to contribute to help us win the game too,” said Wester, who transferred to CU in the offseason. “It was a great experience.”

A fifth-year senior, Wester is the FBS active leader in career receptions (266) and he ranks seventh among active players in receiving yards (2,852). A year ago, he was second in the country with 108 catches and 14th in yards (1,168).

Wester had 71 more catches than anyone else on his team but knew that wouldn’t be the case at CU with Travis Hunter, Jimmy Horn and Will Sheppard on board, too.

“It’s something I knew, but it’s definitely an adjustment that I also still had to do,” he said, “because once you get the ball that many times, that early in the game, at your old school and then come here and don’t get it as much, it’s just something you got to adjust to.

“But I knew coming here what they was wanting from me, what my role was, and I’m gonna play my role to the best so we can be able to win. Because at end day, I came here for us to win, not for my personal goals.”

Hunter (30 catches for 342 yards and five touchdowns) is the clear No. 1 option for CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders. But, Wester (14 catches, 158 yards, 3 TD), Horn (14 catches, 246 yards, 1 TD) and Sheppard (12 catches, 143 yards) are making plays, too.

Respect

Baylor leads in the country in pass defense, allowing just 75.7 yards per game. The Bears have played mainly running teams, especially Air Force last week, to impact those numbers, but the secondary has stepped up.

Opponents have completed just 21 of 46 passes (45.7%) for 227 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Bears will face a new challenge this week against the Buffs and Shedeur Sanders, who has completed 85-of-121 passes (70.2%) for 999 yards, nine touchdowns and two intercep- tions.

“I have a lot of respect offensively for what they do,” Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said. “The quarterback makes some really hard throws. If he knows what you’re in, he eats you up. The throws are out before the turns are made and before the coverage has a chance to work leverage. Once he knows, it’s bad for the defense. The skill is such that you can only double cover so many people.”

CU opponents have countered that by putting pressure on Sanders and Baylor will try to do that, as well, but Aranda said it’s a challenge for his team.

“I have a lot of respect and it’s going to take our best,” he said. “We’ve been playing a lot of running teams, and so to go from one end to the other end is our task. It’s a lot of work that needs to happen for us.”

Notable

CU running back Dallan Hayden, who missed last week’s game with a high ankle sprain, has participated in practice the past two days, but it’s unclear if he’ll play against Baylor. … Wester, who was a star punt returner at FAU, said he has been “very anxious” to make a special teams play. “They put me back there for a reason,” he said, “so at the end of the day, I got to trust my abilities, and y’all gonna see one soon, so you just gotta be patient.”