BOULDER — The Colorado rushing attack had only one way to go after the last two seasons.

Up.

The Buffs ranked nationally in rushing yards per game in 2023 and 2024.

Even in a 27-20 loss to Georgia Tech in the season opener Friday, the Buffs took a positive step toward becoming an impactful rushing team. Five players combined for 146 yards on 31 carries (4.7 yards per attempt). While it paled in comparison to the Yellow Jackets’ 320 rushing yards, it was as good of a performance Deion Sanders could’ve asked for.

“You saw the physicality that we’ve been talking about offensively and on that line. We ran well, I thought we could’ve had a lot more yards than we had, but that’s quite wonderful considering years past,” Sanders said. “I think that’s probably the highest we’ve had in a couple years, huh? God bless that.”

Bot quite, but close. The top mark for rushing yards during the Sanders era was 193 against USC in the first month of the 2023 season. The 146 yards on Friday was the third-most since Coach Prime arrived and just the seventh time they’ve crossed the 100-yard mark as a team. Alex Fontenot in 2022 is still the last individual to rush for over 100 yards.

But CU feels like it has a handful of guys that could achieve that this season.

Sophomore Micah Welch built off his impressive freshman season with 11 carries (tops among the running backs) for a team-high 64 yards.

Quarterback Kaidon Salter was second with 43 yards on a team-high 13 attempts.

Coastal Carolina transfer Simeon Price also made the most of his five carries with 30 yards.

That doesn’t include Incarnate Word transfer DeKalon Taylor, who only had one carry but was actually the team’s leading receiver on the night, and returning senior Dallan Hayden, who will miss the first few weeks of the season with an injury.

“I think we should have capitalized on a few more (possessions) and understand the backs that we have are pretty darn good backs,” Sanders said. “You got three guys back there — and Dallan (Hayden) isn’t even playing right now — that can do the job.’

Coach Prime wants to see his quarterback use his legs more often, as well.

“I don’t want him to prove to us that he can throw the ball,” Sanders said of Salter. “We know he can throw the ball. He’s a dual threat, and we want him to be a dual threat.”

Salter was at his best two seasons ago at Liberty when he balanced both his arm and his legs for nearly 4,800 passing and rushing yards combined.

“I feel like I had those opportunities (against Georgia Tech), but with me being a dual threat quarterback, I keep my eyes down the field, and I feel like I had chances to throw the ball downfield and make some plays and execute moving the ball downfield,” Salter said. “But most definitely, I feel like I could have used my legs better.”

Most important, the mindset seems to have been established among the Buffs offensive players. With Shedeur Sanders and a quartet of NFL wide receivers gone, a non-existent run game will be a death sentence this season.

“I think people try to make football complicated,” left tackle Jordan Seaton said. “You run the ball, they stack the box, now you throw the ball. Once they do that, now they spread out. Now (we‘re) running RPO’s. We have a quarterback with legs, now we’re going to let him use his legs. So now we have to get to the point where we’re playing chess with teams. And I think establishing a team will help. The pass, RPO’s, quick plays, to help everything. When you run the ball, people fear to run.”

The 5 best rushing performances of the Coach Prime era (since 2023)

1. 193 yards vs. Southern Cal (Sept. 30, 2023)

2. 148 yards at Arizona (Oct. 19, 2024)

3. 146 yards vs. Georgia Tech (Aug. 29, 2025)

4. 132 yards vs. Stanford (Oct. 13, 2024)

5. 128 yards at Central Florida (Sept. 28, 2024)