Colorado’s offense is getting a real test every day in fall camp, and Chris Marve sounds like a coach who knows exactly why that matters.
The Buffaloes’ defensive coordinator spent Thursday breaking down what Brennan Marion’s “Go-Go” offense has looked like from the other sideline in practice, and his message was pretty clear: this thing is hard to sort out, hard to prepare for, and exactly the kind of challenge Colorado needs before its Week 1 matchup against Georgia Tech.
Marion is in his first year running the offense, so plenty of Buffs fans are still waiting to see the full picture. Marve, though, has had a front-row seat to the whole operation while Colorado’s coordinators work through their own first season together.
“Yeah, ball coach B (Brennan Marion), that's my guy, man,” Marve said. “We challenge each other pretty good.
Hyper competitive against one another. But I fundamentally believe iron sharpens iron, and I think we've been able to do that for one another.”
That daily back-and-forth has turned into one of the most useful parts of camp. Marion’s pace on offense forces Colorado’s defense to stay sharp, and Marve believes that kind of work will pay off once the Buffaloes get into the Big 12 grind.
He also made it clear the two coordinators aren’t just crossing paths on the field and moving on. They keep pushing each other in every way they can.
“We're going to continue to do that throughout the course of the year, whether we're in good-on-good periods, whether we're popping down the hall to ask questions, you know, we're on the text message chain,” Marve said. “I think we've been good for each other. So I appreciate and respect the opportunity to work with him."
What stands out most to Marve is the unpredictability of Marion’s system. Even late in camp, he says the offense can still force defensive players into uncomfortable spots because it doesn’t present the same look over and over again.
"You don't know what you're gonna get,” Marve said. “Good luck figuring it out.
Our guys better have their eyes in the right place. [The ‘Go-Go’ offense] has certainly helped us shore up some rules defensively, but you just don't know.
So he's hyper creative, innovative in that way; he challenges guys, so he gets the most out of his guys. And so man, I respect that."
Colorado is preparing for a Georgia Tech team that also leans on the triple-option and a mix of RPOs, so the Buffs should have a better feel for that style after living against Marion’s offense all camp. Marve’s takeaway is simple: the defense should come out of this with a stronger foundation because of the daily work it’s been forced to do.
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Georgia Tech Opener Turns On One Unsettling QB Unknown
Colorados season opener against Georgia Tech brings a quarterback matchup with more uncertainty than polish, and both sides are leaning on players who have not yet had much time to settle in. The Buffaloes will turn to redshirt freshman Julian Lewis in their new Go-Go offense, a scheme built to put the quarterback on the move, while Georgia Tech counters with sophomore Alberto Mendoza, a transfer from Indiana who is stepping into his first start with the Yellow Jackets.
The intrigue is not just who can make the cleaner throws, but who can survive the chaos that comes with so little proven game tape. Lewis enters with limited college experience, and Mendoza arrives after spending a season behind his brother Fernando Mendoza, so both offenses are asking a lot from quarterbacks still trying to define themselves. For Colorado, the question hanging over the opener is whether that youth helps the Buffaloes unlock something fresh or leaves them exposed against a Georgia Tech team built to make quarterbacks work for everything. [Read more 🡒]
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Deion Sanders has already pointed to Smiths professional play-calling experience and his work in quarterback development technology as part of what makes him useful in Boulder. Smith has helped develop a virtual reality system and a quarterback analytics platform called Modern Football, the kind of behind-the-scenes work that can matter most when a young QB room is trying to speed up its growth. The full impact may take time to show, but Colorado clearly sees value in adding a mind built for both teaching and innovation. [Read more 🡒]
Julian Lewis Now Carries Colorados Biggest 2026 Question
Danny Scuderos move to Boulder gives Colorado another piece for an offense that badly needed more help after last seasons struggles. Under Deion Sanders and offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, the Buffaloes have been trying to reshape the receiver room with transfers, and Scudero joins a group that will be judged not just on talent, but on how quickly it can mesh in Marions Go-Go offense.
Julian Lewis is the name that hangs over all of it. The young quarterbacks development will go a long way toward determining whether Colorados offense can take a real step forward in 2026, and the additions around him are meant to make that path smoother. Scudero and the other newcomers raise the ceiling, but the bigger question remains how much Lewis can grow into the job once the ball is in his hands. [Read more 🡒]