Dante Carter’s message to Colorado’s defensive line was short enough to fit on a sticky note, but the Buffaloes coach made it clear Wednesday that the standard has to rise.
“Do more,” Carter said. “Like, that’s my only words.”
Now in his first season leading the room, Carter took over after spending 2025 as a graduate assistant with the line and then being promoted in February when Domata Peko left for the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers. He hasn’t been judging the group by individual flashes. For him, the only scoreboard that matters is the one that decides wins and losses.
That’s why Colorado’s recent run defense, while not disastrous, still hasn’t been enough. Georgia Tech managed just 51 rushing yards on 30 carries in the opener.
Head coach Deion Sanders pointed out Tuesday that Toby Anene has had a tackle for loss in every game and that the Buffs have allowed a rushing touchdown in only one of four contests. Even in Saturday’s 23-13 loss at Baylor, the Bears had only 37 rushing yards through three quarters.
But Carter isn’t interested in nearly-good enough.
“We ain’t been winning, so that ain’t enough,” he said. “So we’ve got to take it up a notch.”
The part of the Baylor game that keeps sticking with Colorado’s linemen is the fourth quarter, when the Bears ran for 79 yards over the final 15 minutes and Dawson Pendergrass broke off runs of 16 and 17 yards. Santana Hopper said the group knows that stretch has to look different.
“We’ve stopped it pretty decently. Could always be better,” Hopper said. “So this week we want to play a whole four quarters and see how that goes.”
That challenge gets tougher Saturday. No.
12 Texas Tech comes in averaging 178.8 rushing yards a game, with Cameron Dickey and J’Koby Williams giving the Red Raiders two backs who can stress a front. Dickey ran for 1,124 yards last season, Williams is averaging 6.2 yards a carry this year, and Tech piled up 219 rushing yards against Sam Houston last week.
“If we want to win the game, we’ve got to win up front,” Hopper said. “We’ve got to win one-on-ones and just be dominant.”
Carter said the run has to be handled first, but he also wants more heat on the passer. Colorado needs “some juice in the pass rush game,” he said, and Anene said that responsibility includes him.
The fifth-year defensive end from North Dakota State said the room needs “more pressure on the quarterback,” himself included.
Colorado’s rotation has helped keep the interior fresher than it might have been otherwise. Hopper and Dylan Manuel have handled most of the snaps inside, but Samu Taumanupepe and Quency Wiggins have given them needed breathers.
Hopper, a fifth-year transfer who was first-team All-Sun Belt at Appalachian State and started 13 games at Tulane last year, said he’s used to playing nearly every snap. At Colorado, the rotation has made a difference.
“I come out and it’s like, hey, Samu, Quency, y’all up this time,” Hopper said. “It lets me catch my breath a little bit more.”
Carter said Taumanupepe, a 6-foot-3, 375-pound fourth-year lineman who arrived by way of Texas A&M and Baylor, has made “a big, big jump” since the spring. Wiggins, a former four-star recruit who transferred from LSU, moved inside last season out of necessity, and Carter said the transition hasn’t been a problem because Wiggins seems “more comfortable on the inside.”
Manuel said that help matters.
“Them coming in, taking a load off of us, it’s pretty darn good,” he said.
He also admitted there’s another grind that comes with heavy playing time: keeping his weight up.
“Some days I don’t feel like eating,” Manuel said. “When I eat, I eat a lot.”
Colorado gets another wrinkle from Chauncey Gooden, a 380-pound offensive guard who has also played on the defensive line. Manuel said Gooden’s presence changes the feel in the room.
“That lights up the room,” Manuel said. “Every time he gets in, he’s getting penetration.”
The Buffs will have to manage the matchup without linebacker Tyler Martinez, who Sanders said Tuesday may miss the rest of the season with a lower-leg injury. Carter said the absence doesn’t alter the job in front of the defensive line.
“We’re up for the challenge every week. We sign up for it because we play defense,” he said.
Anene said two weeks ago that he wanted to become more vocal, and on Wednesday he said that has started to happen, though he knows there’s still work ahead. With Martinez out, he said there’s “definitely more of an emphasis on it.”
“Within my room, I’ve gotten a little more vocal,” Anene said, “but I still have a lot of work to do.”
Colorado, now 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the Big 12, hosts No. 12 Texas Tech at 5:30 p.m.
Saturday at Folsom Field on FOX before heading into a bye. Manuel knows the size of the task.
“These are supposedly the top dogs,” he said, “so going against them and winning before we go into the bye week means a lot.”
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