The now 1-1 Colorado Buffaloes claimed they improved from last year, making the right additions and upping their attitude.
After two weeks of head coach Deion Sanders’ second season, it’s apparent the issues from his 4-8 first season stuck around, specifically in the run game.
Colorado running backs saw only 11 carries for 42 yards in their 28-10 loss at Nebraska on Saturday, just a week after seeing 14 carries for 35 yards versus North Dakota State. Against the Cornhuskers, Ohio State transfer Dallan Hayden led the way with five rushes for 32 yards while Isaiah Augustave and Charlie Offerdahl combined for the remaining six carries and 10 yards. The Buffs’ lone coordinated rushing play of the first quarter resulted in a turnover on downs from Offerdahl, who got stopped in a similar fourth-down situation later in the game.
Some have blamed offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur for favoring the pass and being unwilling to deviate from the original game plan, resulting in the few rushing opportunities. Others blame the offensive line, which was responsible for six sacks and four tackles for loss.
Either way, Coach Prime acknowledged the necessity of a reliable running attack in his postgame presser.
“We haven’t run the ball like we wanted to consistently,” Sanders said (h/t BuffZone). “But rarely do you have a great running offense and a great passing offense, rarely you have that. One is going to have to be the lesser of the two. We got to figure out how to have some type of running game because we have backs that can flat out do it. We really do.”
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