Brennan Marion’s high-speed scheme revitalizes Colorado's ground game, but persistent offensive line vulnerabilities threaten to derail the Buffaloes before they face Big 12 foes.
The Colorado Buffaloes (2-0) head into their matchup against the Northwestern Wildcats (1-0) on Saturday.
The Buffs, under new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, showed promise in the early stages. Like the two previous offensive coordinators who had success during Deion Sanders' tenure, the jury is still out. Each of those coordinators' play calling was based on the talent within the program, which allowed Coach Prime's teams to have instant success.
Sanders' offensive coordinators ran the Air Raid or Pro-Style schemes to allow Shedeur Sanders to control the tempo. Now the Go-Go offense with Marion provides a different look. In fact, each of those offenses is different for the Buffs' offense in a matter of four years. The adjustments look good and cover inconsistencies within the offense. The biggest problem for Coach Prime and his staff continues to be the offensive line woes. The personnel on the field has played a factor going back to Sanders' days at Jackson State.
In 2022, under Brett Bartolone's Air Raid offense at Jackson State, there was one featured back used in the offense. Sy’veon Wilkerson rushed for 1163 yards, and the team averaged 148.2 yards rushing per game. Shedeur Sanders was making quick decisions, which prevented unnecessary hits or sacks in games. The offensive line was able to create the running lanes needed for the backs to be successful. But that has been a major problem under the Pat Shurmur-led offense since Coach Prime moved on to Colorado.
During the 2024 season, the Buffs went 9-4 with Shurmur as the offensive play-caller. But Shedeur Sanders took 43 sacks that season. He was looking for any escape route he could with the abysmal offensive line. The development of the plays being called on the field was harmful.
The offense proved to be more of a 7-on-7 matchup, with Sanders looking for the Buffs receivers to get immediate separation from the opposing defenders. The rushing attack was even worse, averaging 2.3 yards per carry for the season. Even though the Buffs made a postseason appearance, the expectation of the offense didn’t live up to their record that season.
The Buffs' early success under Marion has fans' expectations rising again. They hope the hype will return as well. Being able to compete against the Big 12 teams when conference play begins will be key to that. Colorado could go 3-0 to start the season, but what happens when Texas Tech and Utah are on the schedule?
Marion's Go-Go offense has netted its first 100-yard rusher under the Coach Prime era in Boulder. Give credit to Marion’s ability to stress out opposing defense with different offensive concepts and formations. That's been successful early on in the season.
Georgia Tech showed aggression against the Buffs offense, getting to Julian Lewis throughout the game. But the Yellow Jackets only recorded one sack. The Buffs' offense scored 14 points in that matchup, showing that an offense's passing attack can be slowed down with pressure.
Each coordinator brought something different to the Buffs' offense that allowed them to work. The question that everyone wants to see answered is: Will the Go-Go offense be able to sustain the pressure from opposing defenses? Also, will Lewis make the necessary plays to keep the ball moving down the field?
Colorado should feel excited to be 2-0 after ending last season at 3-9. But this is the point where real teams create separation. The Buffs will have another opportunity to make that happen on the shores of Lake Michigan against Northwestern on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX).
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