Deion Sanders was not asked after Colorado's 28-10 loss to Nebraska which of his team's 16 rushing yards were his favorite, but he could've been.
The Buffaloes were credited with 16 rushing yards on 22 carries in the loss. Making things better (?) for the Buffs' offensive line: removing Shedeur Sanders's six sacks for 41 yards improves CU's rushing total to 57 yards on 16 carries, a sterling 3.5 per attempt.
Colorado only attempted four runs by a running back in the first half, a half that saw them take a 28-0 deficit to the locker room before an academic second half. It's a chicken-egg question for CU: are they not running the ball because they can't, or are they not good at running it because they never try? The answer to both questions is undoubtedly yes.
"It's the flow of the game. Pat has done a wonderful job. I'm not going to go there whatsoever. Pat has done a wonderful job," Deion Sanders said Saturday night.
Dallan Hayden led all Buffaloes with five carries for 32 yards, highlighted by a 17-yard burst that, through two games, stands as the longest of CU's season. Colorado ran for 59 yards (2.6 per carry) in last week's win over North Dakota State; Hayden led the Buffs with 20 yards on nine carries in that game.
Colorado's 75 rushing yards would rank 113th in the country -- assuming the rest of FBS had only played one game.
Relatedly: other than center Hank Zilinkas, none of the key figures involved in CU's run game played or coached for CU last season. Left tackle Jordan Seaton is a true freshman, left guard Justin Mayers (UTEP), left guard Khalil Benson (Indiana), left tackle Tyler Brown (ineligible), and running back Dallan Hayden (Ohio State) are all new to the lineup, and offensive line coach Phil Loadholt is in his first position coaching job after spending the past six years off the field at UCF, Ole Miss and Oklahoma.
"We've got to want to run the ball," Sanders said. "We've got to have those guys salivating: 'Coach, let's run, let's run. Let's go get it.'
"We're going to get to that point."
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.