BOULDER — Dylan Edwards runs like a Google map on your phone, set to “avoid tolls.” Eventually you’ll get there, but not without fancy seesaws, clever weavings, and maybe a few back roads you never knew existed.

Isaiah Augustave and Micah Welch, on the other hand, prefer the direct approach. From A to B. Whatever it costs.

“He’s a little different,” CU defensive quality control analyst Vincent Dancy said of Edwards, the former Buff who is leading his new program, No. 18 Kansas State, for a massive prime-time Big 12 showdown Saturday night at Folsom Field starts. “But I think they’re using it similar to how we used it last year.”

Ah yes. Last year. Did you know that Augustave has more rushing yards in two Big 12 games (80) than Edwards had in his last five tilts combined (71) against the Pac-12 in 2023?

Or that Welch scored three times as many conference rushing touchdowns (three) in just two league games this season as Edwards (one) in the entire conference slate last fall?

When the lightning-quick Edwards, the offensive gem in Deion Sanders’ 2023 recruiting class and son of a Coach Prime family friend, entered the transfer portal in April, the Buffs faithful were shocked.

Six months later, you know what could be more shocking?

How CU didn’t really miss him.

Well, that’s no knock on the 5-foot-10 Edwards, a four-star scatback who has NFL quickness and changes direction like an F-16.

His CU debut at TCU was an experience for the ages. Despite hitting a rookie wall, he became the first true freshman in Buffs history to accumulate at least 250 rush yards and 250 receiving yards in the same season. Edwards has also been a force for the Wildcats, scoring touchdowns on the ground, through the air and on punt returns while averaging nine all-purpose yards each time he touches the ball.

“That’s probably one that he really wants,” K-State quarterback Avery Johnson told reporters Monday, “because whenever you play against an old-school player, you definitely want to play your best game and win can contribute.”

Look, if Edwards sticks around, there’s no way he’s going to make the ’24 Buffs (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) any better. But here’s the thing: The combination of Augustave and Welch makes CU… different. In a good way.

In baseball, Edwards is a home run hitter who can score from anywhere on the field. But when he struck out or the blocks in front of him failed to get through, CU’s offense was faced with a pretty unsightly second-down-and-forever.

Welch and Augustave are one-two punches. Chain mover. Grinding machines. Masher.

Sanders has a plethora of options at tailback, but his top three are all physical runners – Welch is 205 pounds; Augustave is 210; Dallan Hayden is 205 years old – and he usually gives as much as he gets.

The Buffs still have talent making plays all over the roster. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Travis “Heisman” Hunter have long proven that they can win games on their own.

But you know what brought some of those Shedeur haymakers through the air against Baylor and at UCF? A steady jab-jab-jab from Augustave and Welch that systematically softens the defense. Gets the already cautious and exhausted linebackers and safeties to lean forward. Just a bit.

Even when it comes to pass defense, it doesn’t hurt to have big defenders next to the number 2. Not that Edwards wasn’t willing to do it – but 5-9, 167 pounds is still 5-9, 167 pounds.

The Buffs have rushed for almost as many yards in their last three games (328, good for 109.3 per tilt), all wins, as they did in the last six games of 2023 (355, 59.2 per tilt), all losses.