Colorado’s receiver room has the kind of variety that makes a defense choose wrong, and that is exactly the point of Brennan Marion’s offense.
Ernest Campbell rattled off the differences Wednesday without missing a beat. Kam Perry is the shiftiest.
Quentin Gibson is “just a playmaker.” DeAndre Moore Jr. brings speed and route-running.
Joseph Williams is “just a contested catcher.” Campbell summed it up this way: “It’s just like whoever’s hooping that day.
It’s pretty much like basketball.”
That kind of collection matters most against a zone-heavy defense, and that is what Colorado will see Saturday at Northwestern. The Buffaloes, 2-0, face the Wildcats, 1-0, in Evanston, Illinois, at 5:30 p.m. MT on Fox in the first of two straight road games.
Moore said Northwestern’s coverages include “a lot of match principles,” which can look like man once routes develop. Colorado expects openings, but Moore made it clear the Wildcats bring more than scheme.
“They’re going to play physical. They’re going to play sound, and they’re going to bring their hard hat,” Moore said. “So we have to match that.”
Campbell sees the matchup in simpler terms: “pick your poison.” The key, he said, is finding the weakest defensive back. He pointed to Robert Fitzgerald, Northwestern’s downhill safety who finished second-team All-Big Ten last season with 115 tackles.
Colorado has already shown what this receiver group can do. Against Weber State, three Buffaloes found the end zone through the air: Williams twice for 123 yards, Moore for 107 yards and a touchdown, and Campbell on a 48-yard catch for his first score as a Buffalo. Campbell said that play had been part of the plan for a while.
“The play was already drawn up like two weeks ago. I thought we were going to use it at Georgia Tech, but we didn’t,” Campbell said.
“Pre-snap, I saw the safety come down, and I was like, ‘OK, I’ve just got to drive for five.’ Coach Marion told me to drive for five, beat him over the top and then just catch it.”
That assignment fits Campbell’s speed. He ran 10.02 seconds in the 100 meters at Texas A&M and finished 22nd at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships before transferring to Sacramento State and then Colorado.
In high school, he won back-to-back Texas 2A state 100-meter titles. He said flatly that he is the fastest player on the Buffaloes’ roster.
Moore’s start to the season has looked different, but the production still showed up. He had drops in the opener at Georgia Tech - uncharacteristic ones, according to receivers coach Rashad Davis - yet still led Colorado with four catches for 37 yards. The Texas transfer arrived in Boulder after catching 77 passes for 988 yards and 11 touchdowns over three seasons in Austin, including nine receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown in the 2024 SEC Championship Game.
“DeAndre is a pro. He goes to the next play,” Davis said.
“Did you see him come back in the second half (against Georgia Tech)? He made some explosive catches across the middle, taking some big hits, moving the chains on third down.
That’s who he is. He’s the leader in that room.”
The Buffaloes are not treating either win as proof of anything final. That has been the message since Deion Sanders addressed the team after a 52-21 win he did not enjoy. Moore, who reached the College Football Playoff twice in three seasons at Texas, said no one has earned the right to walk around with his chest out, and that beating Georgia Tech and Weber State does not make a season.
Colorado may also be without another weapon. Danny Scudero, the San Jose State transfer, has been dealing with an injury that Sanders said Tuesday might keep him out this week. Davis, who called Scudero as mentally and physically tough as anyone on the field, would only say that he is working.
“We may see him Saturday,” Davis said. “We may not.”
The game will be played in a stadium that seats about 12,000 as Northwestern finishes renovations on Ryan Field. Campbell said the size of the venue caught him off guard. Moore, who grew up in Bellflower, California, saw something more familiar.
“I saw it’s on the water, so it’s going to make me feel like I’m back at home a little bit,” Moore said. “But we’ve got to go in there and take care of business, man. This is another week just like any other week.”
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