One Colorado Buffaloes Coach Under Pressure to Perform

The Colorado Buffaloes have struggled to find sustained success under coach Deion Sanders, especially on offense.

That is why Coach Prime brought in a new face to change the offense, in former Sacramento State head coach Brennan Marion. The expectations for Marion are sky high based on what he has done at his previous stops.

If Marion is not able to help this offense reach a new level, the entire Colorado program may be under more criticism than it has ever been before.

Colorado Buffaloes Coach Under Pressure 2026 Offensive Coordinator Brennan Marion Go-Go Offense Big 12 Coach Deion Sanders — Nov 8, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Julian Lewis (10) runs out of the pocket during the third quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Colorado’s Offensive Struggles in 2025

Last season, Colorado struggled to consistently put points on the board with an average of 20.9 points per game, ranking 116th in the nation. The offense could never find rhythm and constantly had a new quarterback, trying to run what, throughout the season, became a dysfunctional offense.

The Buffaloes also didn’t have a clear strength on the offensive side of the ball, as they struggled to consistently move the chains rushing or passing.

In terms of the air attack, Colorado finished 95th in the country, averaging 202.8 pass yards per game. At certain points, there are some bright spots, like quarterback Julian Lewis being able to find a rhythm, but otherwise, the passing attack was just not something that the Buffaloes could rely on.

On the ground, Colorado was not much better. The team averaged 125.58 rush yards per game, which was 104th in the nation, due to the inability of Sanders' squad to run the football consistently. As a result, the offense was frequently put into obvious passing situations, which led to lots of sacks and stalled drives.

If Colorado wants to become a better offense, something must change. Marion may just have the right attack to do so.

Brenan Marion‘s Success Last Season at Sacramento State

In 2025, Marion was able to lead one of the better offenses in the Big Sky conference. The Hornets averaged 33.8 points per game, which was the fourth highest in the conference.

The ground game was really where Marion showed his strengths. For the season, Sacramento State ran for a total of 568 carries for 3151 yards, 39 touchdowns, and averaged 262.6 rush yards per game. On top of that, the team averaged 5.5 yards per carry.

All of these were top three in the conference, showing Marion‘s ability to find a consistent run game that could help move the chains.

In the past game, Marion took a different approach. In 2025, the Hornets totaled 1956 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, and averaged 163 passing yards per game. The Sacramento State quarterbacks went 131-222 with a completion percentage of 59.0 and threw only eight interceptions.

The main takeaway from Marion's passing offense was that the average yards per completion of 8.8 ranked second in the conference. Otherwise, Marion was mainly focused on creating an efficient passing attack to complement the run game, which is why this offense has been known as the go-go.

Marion‘s main approach is to find ways to get the ball and open space in the hands of his playmaker and let them go make plays.

Pressure in Colorado

Because of the struggles that Colorado’s offense has had, there’s going to be extra attention to what Marion can do with the Buffaloes. In a way, Colorado’s success comes down to whether Marion‘s offense translates from the FCS level to the FBS level in the Big 12.

The nice part for Marion is that he brings over Damian Henderson II and JaQuail Smith, two his running backs during the 2025 season at Sacramento State. Henderson and Smith could help the backs and the offensive line understand the rushing attack and what Marion wants so that everyone is on the same page.

Marion also brings over wide receiver Ernest Campbell from Sacramento State, who had a solid freshman campaign, creating explosive plays with his speed. Campbell has an opportunity to continue to grow and also use his experience in the office to aid the receiver room and understand the way Marion likes routes run, the timing, and understand the offense as a whole.

This will be a battle for Lewis and the other quarterbacks to learn an offense of this complexity. However, this offense should be able to maximize the skill set of Lewis, who is projected as the starter.

Lewis’s skill set focuses on acting as a facilitator and getting the ball to his playmaker and open space, which allows them to use their physical abilities to put defenses in tough positions.

Marion has an opportunity to help Colorado not only become a better team on the offensive side, but also on the defensive side, as he is able to go against defensive coordinator Chris Marve, who is also entering his first year in the role at Colorado.

Marion’s offense should not only enable Colorado to have more sustained drives, but it should also create explosive play opportunities.

Marion does have a lot of pressure, but if Colorado's offense can produce at a high level in the Big 12 in 2026, there is no telling what that could mean for his future, but also the future of the Buffs program.

SIGN UP FOR THE COLORADO BUFFALOES ON SI NEWSLETTER HERE!