Through four games, the lack of a running game was a source of concern for the Colorado Buffaloes.
On Saturday, the Buffs finally found a spark on the ground.
It was just one game – and it came against a team that ranks 11th in the Pac-12 against the run – but CU’s performance in the run during a 48-41 loss to USC on Saturday at Folsom Field could be the boost it needs.
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Yes, Deion Sanders lost CU’s 17th straight game to USC. But Buffs might have found run game, identity, in the process.
Led by running back Anthony Hankerson, the Buffs finished with a season-high 193 yards on 45 carries against the Trojans.
CU had 223 rushing yards all season – 55.8 per game – going into the USC contest.
“Running game showed its face and you see how better the offense flowed with the running game,” head coach Deion Sanders said.
It was an important development for an offense that has been prolific through the air all season, but not on the ground. The Buffs (3-2, 0-2 Pac-12) will look to keep it going at Arizona State (1-4, 0-2) on Saturday in Tempe, Ariz. (4:30 p.m. MT, Pac-12 Network).
Against USC, it started with Hankerson, a sophomore and one of only nine scholarship players back from last year’s team. Hankerson had career highs of 16 carries and 74 yards and he scored his first touchdown of the year on a 2-yard run that cut CU’s deficit to 41-21 late in the third quarter.
“He ran the ball hard,” Sanders said. “He ran good. He’s been consistent every game. We try to let everyone touch it to see, how are they going? I think we had maybe four or five tailbacks that had opportunity to touch the ball today. That’s a good thing because all of them want to play because all of them deserve to play because they’re really really good.
“But Hankerson stood out. He hit it. … Hank is resilient, man. He’s been doing a good job. All these guys came in (as transfers) and tried to come in and force him out and he wouldn’t relinquish his position. So I’m proud of him as well, as a man.”
Freshman Dylan Edwards, CU’s leading rusher with 201 yards this season, had 44 yards on 12 carries against USC. Alton McCaskill and Sy’Veon Wilkerson each had one carry, while receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. contributed with a 19-yard run on a reverse.
Of course, the other key to the run game was quarterback Shedeur Sanders. He finished 50 yards on 14 carries, but that includes sacks. Take out his three sacks and he posted 76 positive yards on 11 carries – including a 25-yard touchdown run. Several of his big runs came on timely scrambles.
“We don’t have predetermined, ‘Oh, I’m gonna take off,’” he said. “That’s not what it is. We’ve got to understand how they’re playing us, how they’re gonna contain me and stuff like that and understand OK, basically the rush lane. “
The Buffs still have work to do in the run game, including proving they can repeat the performance. They also have running backs they haven’t really unleashed yet with McCaskill (six carries this season), Wilkerson (20 carries) and Kavosiey Smoke (one carry).
McCaskill, a transfer from Houston, was the AAC freshman of the year in 2021; Wilkerson rushed for 1,152 yards last season for Coach Prime at Jackson State; and Smoke racked up 1,552 yards during his career at Kentucky before coming to CU.
Whether it’s Hankerson, Edwards or the transfers, the Buffs will aim to keep it going in the run game this week.
“These are the same plays we’ve been running forever,” Shedeur Sanders said. “Everybody runs power, everybody runs zone. That’s what it is. It’s about just the players executing it, so I feel like (against USC) we had a better mindset and understanding OK, we’ve got to execute these plays for them to be able to work and that’s what we did.”
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