Brennan Marion has little patience right now for the questions circling Colorado’s rushing attack.
After two straight shaky outings on the ground, the concern is obvious. A reporter on Wednesday asked about riding the hot hand when Micah Welch gets rolling, and Marion pushed back on the idea.
“Yeah, I mean, the hot hand on the running back thing is like, I don’t know. I’ll try to be polite and answer the question without being an a--hole,” Marion said. “To me, I don’t know why I’m getting asked run game questions when we’ve rushed the ball for, I don’t know, a lot of yards of my whole career.”
Marion’s point is hard to ignore: he knows how to build a run game. Colorado just hasn’t done it consistently lately.
He cited the results he’s had before, saying, “We were like number one in the country last year. We were number one the year before, number two, number three,” Marion said.
“So the run game will be fine. The running backs will be fine.
They’ll get the ball when they’re supposed to get the ball, and they’ll make plays.”
There is some context behind those rankings. Sacramento State averaged 262.6 rushing yards in 2025, third in the FCS, and Marion’s Go-Go offense has shown it can function with multiple backs. He said in February that the scheme needs to finish games on the ground, and Baylor coach Dave Aranda later praised those multiple-back looks.
The problem is that Colorado’s recent numbers have been ugly enough to keep the topic alive. The Buffaloes ran for 183 yards at Georgia Tech and 180 against both Weber State and Northwestern, but they managed only 83 yards on 39 carries at Baylor and 78 on 32 attempts against Texas Tech. Over those two games, that adds up to 161 yards on 71 official carries, or about 2.3 yards per rush.
That number does not tell the whole story, since college rushing totals include sack losses, but it does show Colorado has lost its rhythm since September. Welch popped for a 55-yard touchdown against Weber State, and JaQuail Smith, Damian Henderson II and others remain in the mix for Marion.
The other issue is what happens when Colorado falls behind the sticks. Against Texas Tech, the Buffaloes threw it 48 times, which is nowhere near the balance Deion Sanders wants. That makes the run game more important, not less: it has to create enough early success to keep the offense out of those long-yardage spots where pounding the ball becomes a tougher sell.
Sanders made that expectation clear Tuesday, saying he wants 17 to 24 pass attempts against Utah.
“We can run the ball. We’ve proven that.
We’ve got to rely on that,” Sanders said Tuesday. “Our linemen, they’ve taken on that responsibility to work their butts off this week so they can get back to that first and second-week type of running attack that we featured, as well as the third week as well.”
Utah presents another stern test after holding Kansas to 58 rushing yards. Marion has every reason to trust the system. Colorado just needs to start giving him less reason to hear about it.
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Utah brings an unbeaten record and the confidence that comes with it, powered by an attack built around running back Wayshawn Parker and quarterback Devon Dampier. The matchup gives Colorado a clear measuring stick: if the Buffaloes can slow an offense that has been rolling and find answers on their own side of the ball, the result could change the mood around the program in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Gets A Defining Home Test With Utah Coming To Boulder
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For Colorado, the intrigue goes beyond the obvious mismatch on paper. This series has been a long-running one in the Pac-12 footprint, and Utah has owned the broader edge over the years, so the Buffs will be trying to use the bye to sharpen whatever needs fixing before a familiar opponent brings urgency and physicality to Boulder. [Read more 🡒]