When I first heard that Brennan Marion was named offensive coordinator at CU, my first thought was that his offense seems to be a strange fit with Juju Lewis. A key component of the Go-Go offense, after all, has been the triple option. Juju Lewis is primarily a pocket passer.
After studying film of the Go-Go offense — specifically studying UNLV’s film from 2023 when Marion was the offensive coordinator with Jayden Maiava at QB – I’m feeling much more confident about the hire.
Jayden Maiava is a 6’4” 230-pound QB that started at UNLV in 2023 (he then transferred to USC and has starred for the last year and a half for the Trojans). Jayden Maiava also runs a 5.24 40-yard dash. He’s not a runner, folks. Yet Maiava was the trigger man in Brennan Marion’s Go-Go offense, leading the Rebels to the 17th best offense in college football in 2023, throwing for 256 yards per game while the offense averaged 203 yards rushing per game. UNLV scored 36 points per game for the season.
So how did Marion adopt his high-octane offense for a pass-first QB?
With deception, angles, leverage, and structure — and not with quarterback athleticism.
Heavy Run Game with Multiple Backs
Instead of designing runs for the QB, Marion focused on a powerful running game led by the team’s running backs. The Go-Go often lines up two RBs in the backfield (sometimes with both right next to the QB, a look called the “sidecar” formation) to create multiple run threats.
As a result of the sidecar formation, UNLV would have one running back fake a handoff one way while another RB ran a play to the opposite side – all while the QB watched the defense (and potentially run play action). This built-in misdirection made defenders chase ghosts, resulting in a strong run game without needing Maiava as a primary ball carrier.
UNLV’s 2023 offense saw three different running backs with more than 450 yards (CU didn’t have 1 RB with 450 yards this past season). With the running backs shouldering the rushing load, Maiava could focus on throwing the ball. Marion himself summed up his philosophy as “21 personnel (two backs) trying to run through you and then throw it over your head.”
With the running backs leading the charge offensively, Maiava didn’t have to run the football. However, since defenses didn’t key on him in the run game, he became surprisingly successful running the football. Here are some clips from a UNLV / Wyoming game with Maiava successfully running the Go-Go triple option for touchdowns (remember, folks, Maiava runs a 5.24 second 40-yard dash.).
While Julian Lewis lacks elite physical traits, he has good footwork and is a better athlete than most people think. Equally importantly, he is a good decision maker in the open field, which bodes well when occasionally running the option. And while Lewis doesn’t have a recorded 40-yard dash time, I guarantee that he’s faster than the much heavier Maiava. I expect to see Juju Lewis run the option successfuly when he is called upon to do so.
Play Action and “Shot” Plays
Because the run game was so physical and convincing, Marion frequently dialed up play-action passes to capitalize on defenses overcommitting. In the Go-Go offense, every running play is paired with an identical looking passing play, so that play-action looks identical to a run play that the defense has seen before. As a result, watching film it was common to see linebackers and safeties stepping up toward the run, and then receivers sprint past them. Maiava used these well-designed plays to throw the ball over the top of the defense.
In this video, Marion breaks down a pass play while noting how important it is to pair that play with an identical looking run play:
Sometimes the Go-Go Offense….Looks “Typical”?
While the Go-Go offense is famous for the sidecar formation, I noticed that with Maiava, UNLV often ran out of 11 personnel (1 running back and 1 TE/H-back.). Here is game film of Maiva running Marion’s offense in crunch time against Vanderbilt. Notice that the offensive formations don’t look particularly exotic — they run out of 11 personnel and the offense looks a lot like CU’s base formation this past season.
Marion Understands How to Use RPOs
Another way Marion maximized Maivia was by using lots of RPOs (Run-Pass Options). [An RPO is a play call that gives the quarterback a choice after the snap — he can either hand the ball to the running back if the targeted defender plays the pass, or throw a quick pass if the targeted defender tries to stop the run.]
Marion is very creative with RPOs. I noticed that he sometimes gave Maivia 4 RPO options on one play. At the line of scrimmage, he’d look at the outside WR and throw a bubble screen if he saw a plus outside matchup for the Rebels –> IF NOT, he’d hand the ball to a running back off-tackle if the targeted defender covered the TE in the flat –> OR he’d throw to the tight end if the targeted defender bit on the run fake –>AND IF HE DOESN’T THROW OR HAND OFF, he’d run the ball on a QB keeper right behind the running back that received the initial play action fake. While this might sound complex, it’s designed to be QB-friendly. No matter what the defense does, the QB has a prepared answer.
The effect was that Marion’s offense constantly kept defenses guessing and off-balance.
Tempo, Tempo, Tempo
The Go-Go offense stressed defenses with tempo. The Rebels often went no-huddle and hurry-up, running plays in quick succession to tire out defenses. Marion uses one-word play calls (after teaching the long versions in practice) so that his offense can line up and snap the ball rapidly.
This fast pace meant Maiava didn’t give the defense time to regroup or substitute new personnel packages. College football is becoming increasingly specialized and teams use a lot of different personnel packages, so limiting defensive flexibility with tempo and the offense choosing not substitute can create a real advantage for the offense.
Also as mentioned earlier, the play designs themselves help simplify reads. Many plays had defined first reads (like a primary deep route off play-action, or a single linebacker to read on an RPO). As a result, Maiava could play fast and confident. Even without running much himself, he was controlling the game by distributing the ball quickly to playmakers.
Motion and Misdirection
Marion liberally used pre-snap motion and unusual formations to aid his pass-first QB. Sending a man in motion quickly revealed to Maivia whether the defense was in man coverage or zone coverage. The Go-Go offense regularly motions a running back out wide and shifts the formation into an unbalanced look. On some occasions, Marion would line 3 receivers and 2 running backs up all on one side of the formation. These wrinkles forced the defense to communicate and adjust on the fly. At Marion’s tempo, that’s hard to do. By the time the ball is snapped, defenders might be a step out of position, which makes passing windows larger.
Misdirection is another constant theme. UNLV regularly faked a run one way, and went the other way. With Maiava, Marion often had the offense flow as if it were a run (linemen zone blocking to the right, for instance), but then Maiava would bootleg left and throw. All this motion and trickery meant Maiava didn’t have to fit balls into tiny windows. The scheme helped get receivers wide open.
So….What Does this Mean for JuJu?
Brennan Marion has already built a top-tier scoring offense with a pass-first quarterback.
What we saw with Maiava at UNLV in 2023 was a testament to Marion’s flexibility as a play-caller. He took a scheme that many assume requires a running QB and proved it can excel with a pocket passer. The offense still had the hallmarks of the Go-Go philosophy – fast tempo, physical run game, option principles, and big plays – but Marion tweaked the scheme to fit his personnel.
UNLV had success in 2023, finishing with a 9-4 record. Marion showed that the Go-Go can work without the QB being a focal part of the run game. This is encouraging for CU and Juju Lewis. It tells us that Marion will not force Lewis into a runner’s role. Instead, he’ll utilize Lewis’s football IQ, accuracy, and poise as a passer from Day 1.
We can expect a Buffs offense that still runs the ball with purpose and creativity, but when it comes to the quarterback, Lewis will mostly be distributing the ball, making reads, and taking timely shots downfield.
Other CU (and Random) Notes
–The Marion hire has already paid off on the recruiting trail. CU signed 4-star WR Xavier McDonald this past week after he decommitted from Sacramento State. The 6’3” McDonald was ranked the #313 player nationally in the 2026 class and originally committed to Sacramento State over offers from LSU, Alabama, Miami, Penn State, Tennessee and many more.
Xavier McDonald’s brother, cornerback Dolph McDonald, has also committed to CU. Dolph McDonald is ranked the #317 player in the 2027 class and had offers from Michigan, Ole Miss, Florida State, Auburn and Tennessee.
–Watch for the potential signing of several other players that were committed to Sacramento State but haven’t yet signed. Those players include safety Kyshawn Robinson (a 3-star player with offers from CU, Ohio State, Penn State, Oklahoma, Penn State and many more), wide receiver Kamarie Smith (3-star receiver with offers from Oregon, Washington, Utah, Nebraska, Arizona and more), cornerback Jasiah Denmark (a 3-star cornerback with offers from Cal, Washington, Penn State, Vanderbilt, Boise State and more), running back Carter Meeks (a 3-star player with offers from San Diego State, Washington State, Nevada and more), running back Jadarius Dobie (a 3-star back with offers from Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, UNLV and more), and more.
–Marion’s class at Sacramento State was ranked more than 35 spots higher than Colorado’s class. Marion is known as one of the best recruiters in the country.
–Defensive backs Teon Parks and Noah King have announced that they will enter the transfer portal. Good luck to both of them.
–I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Marion could very well be the next head coach at Colorado. Getting Marion in the Champions Center is a very smart move as it gives CU’s administration the opportunity to observe him very closely. If Sanders’ health issues force him to leave the coaching profession, having an in-house candidate that is magnetic, a top recruiter, and has coached at both Power 4 programs (Texas, Arizona State and Pittsburgh) and smaller programs (Sacramento State and Oklahoma Baptist) gives him a unique skill set that might fit well in Boulder.
–Congrats to the CSU men’s hoops team for beating CU over the weekend. Relatedly, should fans really storm the court after beating the 65th ranked team in KenPom? Seems silly from this end.
–This has to be the best tradition in D3 college basketball.
–If you want to read more in the BuffsBlog blogosphere, check out our summary of the recruiting class thus far. Read about the offense’s new signings or the defense’s new signings — it’s a choose your own adventure.
Fan fucking tastic hire. I’m back “in” with CU football. And great article – the best I’ve seen anywhere on Marion-to-CU.
Thanks. I think it’s a great hire, and I feel much better about it after watching film on Maivia at UNLV.
I debated including the last note on Marion as a potential future CU HC, but I think that had to be part of the thinking when CU administrators approved CU paying a $1m+ buyout to hire him from Sacramento State.
Wait – CU paid a $1m+ buyout for Marion? I thought CU’s AD was $30m in the hole this year.
/s
lol. I saw that clickbait USA Today article, which was really horrific journalism, and it got aggregated by a lot of other services. I might write a post about how misleading that article was — and why it wasn’t worth the ink it was printed on. (Can I still say that in 2025 when people don’t really read USA Today on paper anymore?)
Please write this post!
anndddddd just like that, im completely bought back into the hype train. Despite the 3-9 season, I had a blast tracking all movement up until the season and watching every game this year. So frustrating to see what appeared to be a complete lack of culture this year, however, with Marion at OC, Juju returning, and a (hopefully) healthy Prime, I’m already excited for 2026. A large part of this is that I am currently doing my undergrad at NYU (no football), so I am definitely living vicariously through the CU football team.
Good luck at NYU – we have a family friend whose son is a freshman baseball player at NYU.
Excellent hire. Great breakdown of the Go-Go.
Can’t wait for the season to begin.
Thanks Phanny! I hope you’re well!
Great hire… I just hope we can portal enough Oline and defensive guys, so we do not get caught. It is a jump on competition from the MWC and Div II. We have proved that we can’t run offense 1.5 if the Oline is exposed even with a QB who is not playing on Sundays. We can’t run defense 2.0-2.5 if the D is on the field most of the time. Luckily, Marion’s TOP stats where-ever he has been has not been totally out of wack. It will be a team effort to obtain the overall resources that he needs for a complete/successful install.
Anyone see Sean Lewis’ DC was just hired away. SDSU will probably live or die with his O next season.
Moving from San Diego to Lincoln is quite the downgrade. That defensive coordinator is nuts.