On a rainy summer night in Atlanta, the Buffs dug in and got the job done. Colorado beat Georgia Tech by a final score of 14-13, but it wasn’t without a heart attack in the process.

Now that fans have finally got their first look at this team in action, there’s a lot to unpack. As we move into week two, let’s revisit last Thursday evening’s game and see what we at The Ralphie Report think the five biggest takeaways from CU’s performance are.

1. The Buffs Look Much Better in the Trenches

After losing Jordan Seaton, rebuilding the offensive line was one of the biggest projects of the offseason season. Losing a tackle with that kind of talent leaves a pretty significant hole.

Last Thursday gave us plenty of reason to feel great about the group. The interior created room to run and allowed Colorado to sustain possessions, even when the passing game wasn’t giving them much. All-in-all, that was probably the most complete performance we’ve seen from an offensive line in the Deion Sanders era, which is very encouraging. Finishing opportunities in the red zone needs work, but being able to move people up front is a welcome sight.

The defensive line was even more impressive. Georgia Tech managed just 51 rushing yards on 30 carries, with Lamont Lester Jr. earning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors after finishing with three sacks. The defensive front as a whole picked up the conference’s Defensive Line of the Week honor to go along with that. Not a bad way to start the year!

2. Brennan Marion is Going to Pound the Rock

That improvement up front brings us to new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, who seems perfectly happy running the ball at just about any cost.

Colorado finished with 49 rushing attempts, compared to just 27 passes, running on roughly 64% of its offensive plays. That is a pretty dramatic change of pace for Buffs fans, who’ve gotten accustomed to seeing their team have an aversion to committing to the run game. Micah Welch and Sac State transfer Damian Henderson II led a committee that also included JaQuail Smith, DeKalon Taylor and Richard Young. Five backs contributed to Colorado’s 183 rushing yards and Marion clearly intends to use the depth in that room to his advantage.

Despite their success on the ground, there were stretches when the run game stalled and Georgia Tech appeared to be loading the box. In previous years, that probably would have been the end of Colorado’s commitment to running. That didn’t deter Marion, as he kept coming back to the ground game, using both different looks and different backs to regain momentum.

After three years of watching a pass first offense struggle to run even against defenses that knew exactly what was coming, this was extremely refreshing. We’ve seen big name transfers come and go to little avail. It’s nice to see Welch rewarded for sticking around, alongside Henderson, who followed Marion from Sacramento State after previously playing at Colorado State.

3. JuJu Has a Fast Internal Clock

JuJu’s internal clock looked a little fast Thursday, which can both a good and a bad thing. For the most part, he seemed to recognize what the defense was doing and found the right guy. He didn’t look lost by any means, but identifying the throw and actually delivering it are two different things.

He missed deep balls with room available, put passes behind receivers and left others too low. At times, it looked like he rushed the ball out despite having enough protection to take another half second in the pocket, set his feet and make a better throw.
Marion and Deion appeared to be calming him down as he came off the field a couple of times, which is understandable since this was only his third collegiate start, being in his hometown no less. A lot of his misses looked more like a young quarterback needing to take a breath, opposed someone who didn’t understand the offense.

Alright that’s enough negativity. Let’s talk about that final drive. That screen he rainbowed over a defensive end who had diagnosed the play was unbelievable. Getting that ball over the defender and giving his target a chance to track it down was one of the wilder plays of the night.

The touchdown pass was even better. Charlie Williams initially looked like he was running a short out to stop the clock, then turned it into a double move. JuJu stepped up, held the ball and layered it over the linebacker. Perfect throw, perfect play call. Williams, a transfer TE from UNLV, finished with the winning 20 yard touchdown.

That patience was exactly what seemed to be missing earlier. His 14 of 27 passing for 124 yards won’t jump off the page, but that finish matters. Expect a much bigger statistical performance against Weber State and plenty for him to learn from this one.

4. The Buffs Found a Way to Finish

This was a gritty game in the rain and elements, with loose footballs, missed opportunities and enough special teams chaos to make you go crazy. Georgia Tech returned a kickoff 100+ yards for a touchdown. Colorado had a field goal blocked. Then Boo Carter blocked Georgia Tech’s potential winning field goal as time expired. Fans had no chance to relax until it was over.

We’ve seen the Buffs lose their footing late in close games during the Deion era. Not every time, but enough that watching another tight finish comes with some familiar nerves. This time, the offense put together the drive it needed and Carter finished the job. One win doesn’t establish a pattern, but seeing Colorado hang around through a rock fight and actually pull it out was a huge positive.

5. Chris Marve Brought More Variety on Defense

Chris Marve, CU’s new defensive coordinator, entered the season with less attention from fans than his offensive counterpart. Oh boy, did he made a pretty good first impression.

Colorado appeared to mix in more zone coverage instead of leaning so heavily on press man coverage on the outside. There were also linebacker pressures and designed blitzes from the secondary that gave Georgia Tech lots to account for. Particularly, safety Randon Fontenette stood out when coming downhill, including a blitz that helped blow up an important rushing play. Those pressures felt more varied than what we saw under Robert Livingston.

Overall, the defense looked much more balanced. Marve seemed comfortable being conservative when the situation called for it, but he was still willing to send pressure from unexpected places. That can speed up the opposing quarterback’s clock without asking your corners to win the same matchup all night. The defense didn’t allow an offensive touchdown, which is as good of a start to the year as fans could hope for.

Back to Boulder

There is plenty to clean up, particularly in the passing game and on special teams, but there’s much to be encouraged about from this group going forward. The Buffs showed improvement in areas that have frustrated fans for years, as they found a way to leave Atlanta with a win.

Next up, CU gets Weber State at home and a chance to build on that momentum. Hopefully, next Saturday is a little easier on everybody’s heart.