Colorado left Northwestern with very little worth carrying to Waco. The run game was the exception. Now even that comes with an asterisk.
The Buffaloes’ initial availability report for Saturday’s Big 12 opener at Baylor lists running back Damian Henderson II as doubtful and JaQuail Smith as questionable. Smith was Colorado’s best runner in the loss at Evanston, finishing with 91 yards on eight carries. Henderson added 23 yards on seven attempts.
That would be inconvenient in any week. This one is quite different because the ground game has quietly been Colorado’s most dependable offensive piece. Colorado has rushed for 183, 180 and 180 in the last three games, with a different running back leading the team each week. For an offense still trying to settle quarterback Julian Lewis and find consistency through the air, that production has been the safety net.
The injury report reaches beyond the backfield. Wide receiver Danny Scudero, center Demetrius Hunter, cornerback Preston Ashely and linebacker Colby Johnson are out. Starting tight end Charlie Williams is doubtful, along with defensive lineman Vili Taufatofua and punter Daniel Gerlach. Linebacker Bo LaPenna joins Smith in the questionable category.
Colorado may have to lean harder on its depth
The good news is Colorado built the running back room for this kind of problem. Micah Welch, DeKalon Taylor and Richard Young remain available, and running backs coach Johnnie Mack has spent the season treating the position more like a committee than a monarchy. If Smith is limited and Henderson sits, Welch and Taylor become the most established healthy options, with Young available for a bigger role.
“It just makes you feel a little better when you know you got depth,” Mack said during fall camp. That depth may move from luxury to necessity in Waco.
Smith’s 91 yards at Northwestern came on only eight carries, an average of 11.4 yards per attempt. His 35-yard run was Colorado’s longest rush of the night. Henderson has offered a different, more physical option in Colorado offensive coordinator Brannan Marion’s Go-Go offense, and losing both would take away two distinct pieces from a scheme built around changing backfield pictures.
Mack has resisted naming one permanent lead back because the plan can change with the game. “It may be a two-man rotation depending on the game,” he said earlier this month. If Smith or Henderson cannot go, the injury report may make that decision for him.
The tight end question changes the picture too
William’s status deserves almost as much attention. He has started all three games in an offense that uses multiple backs and tight ends to create extra gaps before the snap. Zach Atkins and Fisher Clements are both probable, so Colorado has alternatives, but losing a starter would still force another adjustment in a week when the offense is trying to simplify its problems, not collect new ones.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders made clear Tuesday that he is unhappy with the production around Lewis. “Offense is not doing what it’s supposed to do,” Sanders said ahead of Baylor. He later called the overall offensive output “not satisfactory whatsoever.”
Baylor is hardly arriving at full strength either. The Bears have four players listed out, but quarterback DJ Lagway is probable after missing the last two games with an ankle injury. Baylor enters the game 2-1 after consecutive home wins, which only adds to the pressure on Colorado to bring something reliable on the road.
For three weeks, the answer has been the run game. Colorado has changed the lead back, changed the formations, and still reached 180 rushing yards every Saturday. The injury report does not erase that identity. It simply asks how much of it will still be available when the Big 12 opener starts.
